Orange-based energy company Avangrid Inc. has promoted two executives to lead its finance organization, splitting the duties of departing Chief Financial Officer and Controller Justin B. Lagasse.
Effective Wednesday, Ryan Shields was promoted to senior vice president of finance and corporate development and Teresa Bradford was named senior vice president and controller. Both will report directly to CEO Jose Antonio Miranda and join the company’s management committee.
The moves divide the responsibilities of Lagasse, who served as senior vice president, chief financial officer and controller since February 2024. A spokesperson for Avangrid said Lagasse is leaving to pursue a new professional opportunity.
The company said the changes mark a return to Avangrid’s previous organizational model, which separated the finance and controller functions. Avangrid consolidated the two roles under Lagasse after former CFO Patricia Cosgel resigned in November 2023.
Lagasse, a certified public accountant based in Portland, Maine, joined Avangrid in 2017 as director of technical accounting and rose through the finance organization, serving as vice president and chief accounting officer before being named controller in July 2023 and interim CFO later that year.
Shields, who joined Avangrid in 2019 and most recently served as senior vice president of corporate development, will oversee treasury, corporate development, sustainability, financial strategy, capital allocation and long-term growth initiatives. He has led numerous strategic transactions and enterprise initiatives during his tenure, the company said.
Bradford, currently vice president and strategic initiatives controller, has held a series of leadership roles in finance and strategic growth functions during her long tenure with Avangrid and its predecessor organizations. Her background spans accounting, financial reporting, business development and operational finance.
Avangrid, a subsidiary of Spanish energy giant Iberdrola, owns and operates seven electric and natural gas utilities serving more than 3.4 million customers in New York and New England, including United Illuminating, Southern Connecticut Gas and Connecticut Natural Gas. The company has roughly $50 billion in assets, operations in 25 states and about 8,500 employees. It also owns nearly 100 energy generation facilities nationwide with a capacity of more than 11 gigawatts.
