Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson to Retire From PSEG Board of Directors
PSEG has appointed Susan Tomasky as Lead Director while announcing the retirement of Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson from the Board, effective April 19, 2022. Tomasky, a board member since 2012 and former president of AEP Transmission, will oversee PSEG's governance as the board expands to 11 members. New members Jamie Gentoso and Valerie Smith bring valuable leadership and sustainability experience. CEO Ralph Izzo plans to retire at the end of 2022, with Ralph LaRossa set to succeed him on September 1, 2022, following unanimous board support.
- Appointment of experienced directors enhances governance.
- Tomasky's leadership expected to strengthen PSEG's reputation.
- Gentoso and Smith add expertise in sustainability and diversity.
- Retirement of long-tenured director raises continuity concerns.
- Leadership transition may create uncertainties during the change.
PSEG Elects Susan Tomasky as Lead Director; Adds New Board Seat; Elects Jamie Gentoso, Valerie Smith to Board
NEWARK, N.J., April 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. (PSEG) announced today that Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson will retire from the board, effective April 19. Susan Tomasky, retired president of AEP Transmission, a division of American Electric Power Corp., and a member of the PSEG Board of Directors since 2012, has been elected lead director. Tomasky is a member of the board's audit, corporate governance, executive, and organization and compensation committees, serving as chair of the audit committee since 2016.
In addition, the company has expanded the number of seats on the PSEG Board of Directors to 11, and has elected Jamie M. Gentoso, global head of Solutions and Products at Holcim, and Valerie Smith, president of Swarthmore College, to the board, also effective April 19. Details of the changes effective today were made available in the proxy statement filed on March 10, 2022.
Jackson was the first African-American woman to earn a doctorate from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and began her career in the Theoretical Physics Department at Bell Labs in New Jersey. She first joined the PSEG Board of Directors in 1987, but departed in 1995 when she was appointed by President Bill Clinton to chair the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. She left that role in 1999, when she was named president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., and eventually rejoined the PSEG Board of Directors in 2001.
Jackson is the company's longest tenured independent director since PSE&G was incorporated in 1924. On the PSEG Board of Directors, Jackson has chaired the corporate governance, finance, nuclear generation and organization and compensation committees and was a member of several others including executive, audit, industrial operations to name a few. She was elected lead director in 2019. Also in 2019, the NJ Chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) awarded Jackson with its inaugural Lifetime Achievement in Governance award. During her tenure as lead director, PSEG received the 2021 public company board of the year award from the NJ Chapter of the NACD.
"I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have worked alongside Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson for many years, and I am extremely proud to call her my colleague and mentor, as well as my friend," PSEG Chairman, President and CEO Ralph Izzo said. "Dr. Jackson has been a trailblazer for women and for people of color and, as a scientist, she has been an inspiration and role model for a generation of physicists such as myself. Her leadership, experience and commitment to the PSEG Board of Directors have been invaluable to our company. On behalf of the board of directors and the 12,500 employees of PSEG, we wish Dr. Jackson well as she moves on to the next chapter in her storied career. Her counsel and her friendship will be sorely missed."
"Susan is a tremendously experienced director and her leadership will continue to help enhance PSEG's excellent governance practices and reputation," Izzo said. "Susan's guidance and perspective are ideal to help navigate our company's continued evolution and growth."
Gentoso was appointed global head of the Solutions & Products Business Unit of Holcim, a leading global manufacturer of building materials such as cement, insulation and roofing, in March 2021. Prior to this role, Gentoso was CEO of U.S. Cement Operations for Holcim and had also served as Senior Vice President of Concrete at Sika Corporation U.S. Gentoso is passionate about sustainability and the drive to achieve net-zero, especially in the construction industry as buildings are responsible for
Gentoso is a Professional Engineer (P.E.) and received both her bachelor's degree in civil engineering and MBA from the University of Michigan.
Smith, a scholar of African American literature, is president of Swarthmore College, a renowned liberal arts college in suburban Philadelphia. During her seven-year tenure, Smith has prioritized expanding diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and strengthened Swarthmore's commitment to access and affordability, ensuring the college continues to admit students regardless of their ability to pay tuition. Her other areas of focus include supporting curricular innovation; improving campus facilities and infrastructure; and ensuring the college fulfills its commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2035.
Smith is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on the boards of the American Council on Education, the Consortium on Financing Higher Education, and the National Museum of the American Indian. Previously, she was a professor of English and African American studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the Woodrow Wilson Professor of Literature, founding director of the Center for African American Studies, and dean of the College at Princeton University.
A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Bates College, Smith earned her master's and Ph.D. at the University of Virginia.
"Jamie and Valerie each bring a track record of strategic leadership and commitment to the principles of environmental stewardship, social responsibility and ethical governance that will be a tremendous asset to our board," Izzo said. "In addition, their contributions to building diverse, equitable and inclusive organizations will be extraordinarily beneficial as we continue forward as an infrastructure company focused on a clean energy future, and powered by a diverse, dedicated and highly skilled workforce."
In a separate announcement today, PSEG announced Chairman, President and CEO Ralph Izzo plans to retire at the end of 2022 and the board of directors elected PSEG COO Ralph LaRossa as his successor. Jackson led a long and robust leadership succession planning effort that culminated in unanimous support for LaRossa as the next president and CEO, effective September 1st. Ralph Izzo will continue to serve as Executive Chair of the Board through a transition period until the end of 2022. His last day with the company will be December 31, 2022. Ralph LaRossa will assume the additional responsibilities of chair on January 1, 2023.
With the addition of Gentoso and Smith, the makeup of PSEG's Board of Directors remains diverse, as illustrated in the graphic.
About PSEG
Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) (NYSE: PEG) is a predominantly regulated infrastructure company focused on a clean energy future. Guided by its Powering Progress vision, PSEG aims to power a future where people use less energy, and it's cleaner, safer and delivered more reliably than ever. PSEG's commitment to ESG and sustainability is demonstrated in our net-zero 2030 climate vision, our pursuit of science-based emissions reductions targets and participation in the U.N. Race to Zero, as well as our inclusion on the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index, the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index and the list of America's most JUST Companies. PSEG's principal operating subsidiaries are Public Service Electric and Gas Co. (PSE&G), PSEG Power and PSEG Long Island. (https://corporate.pseg.com).
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From time to time, PSEG, PSE&G and PSEG Power release important information via postings on their corporate website at http://investor.pseg.com. Investors and other interested parties are encouraged to visit the corporate website to review new postings. The "Email Alerts" link at http://investor.pseg.com may be used to enroll to receive automatic email alerts regarding new postings.
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