TAMPA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--TECO Energy (NYSE: TE) President and Chief Executive Officer John Ramil announced today he will retire Aug. 31, after the closing of the purchase of the company by Nova Scotia-based Emera Inc.

Ramil, 60, has had a distinguished 40-year career with TECO Energy and has been a significant leader in the Tampa Bay community. Ramil, a Tampa native, joined Tampa Electric in March 1976 as a cooperative education student. After serving in a variety of positions within the company, he became TECO Energy’s president in 2004 and joined the board of directors in 2008. Ramil became chief executive officer in 2010.

“John Ramil’s outstanding leadership helped guide the company through some difficult times and brought us into this new era of strength,” said Sherrill Hudson, chairman of the TECO Energy board of directors. “He had a long and impressive career at the company, and he took the business to new places.”

Ramil received his Bachelor of Science, Master of Science and honorary Doctorate degrees in Engineering from the University of South Florida (USF). In 1999, he was named USF's Distinguished Alumnus. He is the longest-serving member of the USF board of trustees and served as its chairman from 2010 to 2015.

“I’m grateful for the chance to serve this company, our customers and our shareholders for four decades,” Ramil said. “I have been so fortunate to have spent my career among the wonderful men and women of TECO Energy. I am excited for the future of TECO Energy as part of the Emera family.”

Ramil serves on the boards of directors of the Moffitt Cancer Center Institute, GuideWell Mutual Holding Corp. and its subsidiary, Florida Blue, and he is chairman of the Audit and Compliance Committee for both. He will continue to serve on those boards after his retirement. He also serves on the board of the Edison Electric Institute, an industry association, and the Tampa Bay Partnership, which he will discontinue upon his retirement. He is a member of the Florida Council of 100. Previously he served as chairman of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce and the Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corp.

Emera announced today that Ramil will serve on the Emera Inc. board of directors upon his retirement.

After the transaction closes, the subsidiaries that currently report to Ramil will report to separate boards.

TECO Energy Inc. (NYSE: TE) is an energy-related holding company with regulated electric and gas utilities in Florida and New Mexico. Tampa Electric serves nearly 725,000 customers in West Central Florida; Peoples Gas System serves nearly 365,000 customers across Florida; and New Mexico Gas Co. serves more than 515,000 customers across New Mexico.