COLUMBUS, Ohio, April 6,
2023 /PRNewswire/ -- American Electric Power (Nasdaq:
AEP) has made organizational and executive leadership changes to
support the company's strategic priorities, according to
Julie Sloat, president and chief
executive officer. The changes are effective today.
Antonio Smyth, currently senior
vice president, Grid Solutions, has been named executive vice
president, Grid Solutions and Government Affairs. Smyth will
continue to oversee planning for regulated infrastructure
investment and policy related to the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission (FERC) and Regional Transmission Organizations, with
expanded responsibility for federal and Ohio government affairs. He will report to
Sloat.
"Antonio brings expertise in policy and strategy and a proven
ability to plan and execute on infrastructure investment
opportunities to benefit all of our stakeholders. His vision and
knowledge will allow us to continue developing and advocating for
policy that supports our investment strategies as we work to build
a cleaner, more efficient energy system that meets the future needs
of our customers and communities," Sloat said.
AEP's executive vice president of External Affairs position is
being eliminated, and the responsibilities have been realigned.
Raja Sundararajan is leaving the
organization to pursue other opportunities.
Regulatory Services will now report to David Feinberg, executive vice president,
general counsel and secretary. Communications & Marketing will
report to Phillip Ulrich, executive
vice president and chief human resources officer. Strategy &
Transformation will report to Greg Hall, executive vice president
and chief commercial officer. Charles
Zebula will remain in his role as executive vice president,
Portfolio Optimization. The Sales, Economic & Business
Development organization will report to Peggy Simmons, executive vice president,
Utilities.
"AEP has benefitted greatly from Raja's leadership and keen
understanding of the unique regulatory and policy challenges facing
our industry over the two decades that he has been with the
company. His technical expertise and experience were incredibly
valuable during his time as president of AEP Ohio and as he led
parts of our regulatory, transmission and finance organizations. I
want to sincerely thank him for his contributions and leadership.
We wish him all the best and continued success," Sloat said.
Smyth, 47, has been senior vice president, Grid Solutions, since
2021. In that role, he led the commercial development of new grid
resources, including AEP's investments in large-scale generation
projects, renewable energy projects, competitive transmission,
energy storage, and emerging technologies. Previously, he was
senior vice president of Transmission Ventures, Strategy and
Policy, where he led transmission strategy, finance, commercial
development activities, and federal regulatory and policy for AEP's
$40 billion electric transmission
business. He also has held key leadership roles in the Strategic
Initiatives and Corporate Finance organizations since joining AEP
in 2001.
Smyth is chair of the board of directors of the ReliabilityFirst
Corporation and a member of the Compensation Committee. He also
serves as a board member of Electric Transmission Texas, LLC, a
$4 billion electric infrastructure
joint venture between AEP and Berkshire Hathaway Energy, and as a
trustee of the Center of Science and Industry (COSI) in
Columbus, Ohio. He earned
bachelor's and master's degrees in economics from The Ohio State University and is a veteran of
the United States military.
American Electric Power, based in Columbus, Ohio, is powering a cleaner,
brighter energy future for its customers and communities. AEP's
approximately 17,000 employees operate and maintain the nation's
largest electricity transmission system and more than 224,000 miles
of distribution lines to safely deliver reliable and affordable
power to 5.6 million regulated customers in 11 states. AEP also is
one of the nation's largest electricity producers with
approximately 31,000 megawatts of diverse generating capacity,
including more than 6,900 megawatts of renewable energy. The
company's plans include growing its renewable generation portfolio
to approximately 50% of total capacity by 2032. AEP is on track to
reach an 80% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from 2005 levels
by 2030 and has committed to achieving net zero by 2045. AEP is
recognized consistently for its focus on sustainability, community
engagement, and diversity, equity and inclusion. AEP's family of
companies includes utilities AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power
(in Virginia and West Virginia), AEP Appalachian Power (in
Tennessee), Indiana Michigan
Power, Kentucky Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, and Southwestern Electric Power
Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana, east Texas and the Texas
Panhandle). AEP also owns AEP Energy, which provides
innovative competitive energy solutions nationwide. For more
information, visit aep.com.
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/aep-names-smyth-executive-vice-president-grid-solutions--government-affairs-announces-organizational-changes-301791634.html
SOURCE American Electric Power