Sandra Pianalto to Conclude Service to FirstEnergy Board of Directors; Melvin Williams Nominated for Election at the 2021 Annual Meeting
FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) announced that Sandra Pianalto will not seek re-election to the Board of Directors at the 2021 Annual Meeting, prioritizing other commitments. Melvin D. Williams has been nominated to fill her position, keeping the Board at 14 members. Williams brings over 32 years of utility experience, focusing on regulatory matters and operations. Pianalto, who served since 2018, contributed significantly to the company. The changes aim to strengthen the Board’s leadership and support FirstEnergy's long-term growth and shareholder value.
- Melvin D. Williams brings 32 years of utility experience, enhancing leadership.
- Williams' focus on diversity and inclusion aligns with company values.
- Sandra Pianalto's departure may create a gap in institutional knowledge.
AKRON, Ohio, March 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) today announced that Sandra Pianalto, a member of the company's Board of Directors since 2018, has decided not to stand for re-election at the company's 2021 Annual Meeting in order to focus on other commitments. The Board has nominated Melvin D. Williams for election at the company's 2021 Annual Meeting. These changes will maintain the size of the Board at 14 members.
"Sandy's counsel and financial expertise have been invaluable to FirstEnergy," said Donald T. Misheff, chairman of FirstEnergy's Board of Directors. "On behalf of the entire Board, I thank her for her service and contributions over the past few years and wish her well in the future."
"Melvin will bring to our Board and shareholders more than 32 years of utility experience, including a focus on regulatory matters, utility operations, and financial planning and analysis," Misheff added. "We are confident his significant industry knowledge and leadership experience, together with his long history as a champion of diversity and inclusion, will be a valuable addition to our Board as we continue to take steps to position FirstEnergy for long-term success and enhance value for shareholders."
"It has been an honor to serve on the FirstEnergy Board," Pianalto said. "I'm proud of the work we've accomplished to address recent challenges and of how the Board and the executive management team are working to advance FirstEnergy into a more resilient, industry-leading organization."
Pianalto, 66, serves on the Board's Compensation and Audit Committees. She retired in May 2014 as president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, a position she held since 2003. Prior to retiring, she also chaired the Federal Reserve's Financial Services Policy Committee. Pianalto is an executive in residence at the University of Akron and also serves as a director of Eaton Corporation plc, Prudential Financial, Inc. and The J.M. Smucker Company. She earned a master's degree in economics from The George Washington University and a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Akron. She is also a graduate of the Advanced Management Program at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business.
Williams, 57, retired in 2020 as president of Nicor Gas, a natural gas distribution company and subsidiary of the Southern Company, and senior vice president of Southern Company Gas, positions he held since 2015. He began his career at Southern Company Gas in 1989, and served in a wide range of leadership positions at the company and its subsidiaries, including senior vice president of planning and business services at Nicor Gas, and vice president and general manager at Atlanta Gas Light Company and Florida City Gas Company. Williams also served on the Southern Company Gas Leadership, Empowerment, Acceptance and Diversity Council and is the founding chairman of the Illinois Utilities Business Diversity Council, as well as a member of the Chicago chapter of the American Association of Blacks in Energy. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Savannah State University.
Editor's Note: Photos of Sandra Pianalto and Melvin Williams are available on Flickr.
FirstEnergy is dedicated to integrity, safety, reliability and operational excellence. Its 10 electric distribution companies form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, serving customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York. The company's transmission subsidiaries operate approximately 24,500 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. Follow FirstEnergy on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp or online at www.firstenergycorp.com.
Forward-Looking Statements: This release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 based on information currently available to management. Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. These statements include declarations regarding management's intents, beliefs and current expectations. These statements typically contain, but are not limited to, the terms "anticipate," "potential," "expect," "forecast," "target," "will," "intend," "believe," "project," "estimate," "plan" and similar words. Forward-looking statements involve estimates, assumptions, known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, which may include the following: the results of our ongoing internal investigation matters and evaluation of our controls framework and remediation of our material weakness in internal control over financial reporting; the risks and uncertainties associated with government investigations regarding Ohio House Bill 6 and related matters including potential adverse impacts on federal or state regulatory matters including, but not limited to, matters relating to rates; the risks and uncertainties associated with litigation, arbitration, mediation and similar proceedings; legislative and regulatory developments, including, but not limited to, matters related to rates, compliance and enforcement activity; the ability to accomplish or realize anticipated benefits from strategic and financial goals, including, but not limited to, maintaining financial flexibility, overcoming current uncertainties and challenges associated with the ongoing governmental investigations, executing our transmission and distribution investment plans, controlling costs, improving our credit metrics, strengthening our balance sheet and growing earnings; economic and weather conditions affecting future operating results, such as a recession, significant weather events and other natural disasters, and associated regulatory events or actions in response to such conditions; mitigating exposure for remedial activities associated with retired and formerly owned electric generation assets; the extent and duration of COVID-19 and the impacts to our business, operations and financial condition resulting from the outbreak of COVID-19 including, but not limited to, disruption of businesses in our territories, volatile capital and credit markets, legislative and regulatory actions, the effectiveness of our pandemic and business continuity plans, the precautionary measures we are taking on behalf of our customers, contractors and employees, our customers' ability to make their utility payment and the potential for supply-chain disruptions; the potential of non-compliance with debt covenants in our credit facilities due to matters associated with the government investigations regarding Ohio House Bill 6 and related matters; the ability to access the public securities and other capital and credit markets in accordance with our financial plans, the cost of such capital and overall condition of the capital and credit markets affecting us, including the increasing number of financial institutions evaluating the impact of climate change on their investment decisions; actions that may be taken by credit rating agencies that could negatively affect either our access to or terms of financing or our financial condition and liquidity; changes in assumptions regarding economic conditions within our territories, the reliability of our transmission and distribution system, or the availability of capital or other resources supporting identified transmission and distribution investment opportunities; changes in customers' demand for power, including, but not limited to, the impact of climate change or energy efficiency and peak demand reduction mandates; changes in national and regional economic conditions affecting us and/or our major industrial and commercial customers or others with which we do business; the risks associated with cyber-attacks and other disruptions to our information technology system, which may compromise our operations, and data security breaches of sensitive data, intellectual property and proprietary or personally identifiable information; the ability to comply with applicable reliability standards and energy efficiency and peak demand reduction mandates; changes to environmental laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, those related to climate change; changing market conditions affecting the measurement of certain liabilities and the value of assets held in our pension trusts and other trust funds, or causing us to make contributions sooner, or in amounts that are larger, than currently anticipated; labor disruptions by our unionized workforce; changes to significant accounting policies; any changes in tax laws or regulations, or adverse tax audit results or rulings; and the risks and other factors discussed from time to time in our SEC filings. Dividends declared from time to time on FirstEnergy Corp.'s common stock during any period may in the aggregate vary from prior periods due to circumstances considered by FirstEnergy Corp.'s Board of Directors at the time of the actual declarations. A security rating is not a recommendation to buy or hold securities and is subject to revision or withdrawal at any time by the assigning rating agency. Each rating should be evaluated independently of any other rating. The foregoing factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements and risks that are included in our filings with the SEC, including but not limited to the most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K. The foregoing review of factors also should not be construed as exhaustive. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for management to predict all such factors, nor assess the impact of any such factor on FirstEnergy Corp.'s business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements.
FirstEnergy expressly disclaims any current intention to update or revise, except as required by law, any forward-looking statements contained herein or the information incorporated by reference as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.
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