PG&E names 11 new members to corporate board
PG&E Corp. on Wednesday announced the names of 11 new board members who will help steer the company after the expected conclusion of its bankruptcy case this year.
The San Francisco parent of Pacific Gas and Electric Co. said six of the new directors are from California, in keeping with the desires of state officials. PG&E agreed to “substantial modifications” to its board in a bankruptcy deal with Gov. Gavin Newsom this year.
PG&E said the directors will provide “substantial expertise in key areas critical to the company’s work” such as utility operations, safety, risk management, regulatory affairs, engagement with customers and more.
New directors will be seated on the board “at or prior” to the end of the bankruptcy, PG&E said.
PG&E’s announcement comes more than one month after the company said that only three of its current 13 board members would remain in their roles after the company emerges from Chapter 11. It’s part of a series of changes coming to PG&E as its bankruptcy case winds down, including the forthcoming departure of CEO Bill Johnson.
The new board members will be: Rajat Bahri, chief financial officer of San Francisco ecommerce company Wish; Kerry Cooper, former president and CEO of shoe brand Rothy’s; Jessica Denecour, former senior VP and chief information officer at Palo Alto’s Varian Medical Systems; Ret. Adm. Mark Ferguson, senior adviser to private consultancies and the Institute for Defense Analysis and NATO Allied Command Transformation; Bob Flexon, former CEO of Houston energy company Dynegy; Craig Fugate, chief emergency management officer of Menlo Park startup One Concern and a former administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency; Arno Harris, managing partner of Virginia housing developer AHC; Mike Niggli, who spent 13 years at San Diego Gas & Electric parent Sempra Energy; Dean Seavers, former president and executive director at British energy company National Grid; Dara Treseder, chief marketing officer of Redwood City’s Carbon; and Ben Wilson, chairman of the law firm Beveridge & Diamond PC.
PG&E previously said that it would retain three of its current board members: Cheryl Campbell, John Woolard and Bill Smith, a former AT&T executive who will become interim CEO of PG&E when Johnson departs at the end of the month.
“Throughout the bankruptcy, the governor has stressed the need for fundamental transformation of this utility so it can provide its customers with safe reliable affordable and clean power,” a spokesman for Newsom said in a statement. “Consistent with these goals, the state required that the company’s new board of directors be independent of Wall Street hedge funds, primarily comprised of Californians, with deep expertise on safety and operational change. The board that was announced today meets the state’s requirements.”
Nora Mead Brownell, the current PG&E board chairwoman, said in a statement that installing a new board is a “critical component of PG&E’s plan to emerge from bankruptcy as a reimagined utility.” She thanked the departing directors for helping PG&E “navigate the very difficult issues this company has faced.”
“This is the right time for a changeover given that the company will soon emerge from bankruptcy and start a new chapter,” Brownell said in the statement.
California regulators approved PG&E’s bankruptcy restructuring plan, which included changes to the board, two weeks ago. The company’s bankruptcy judge is weighing whether to do the same, which would help PG&E meet a June 30 deadline to be eligible for a new form of statesanctioned corporate wildfire insurance.
The company said this week that it plans to sell its San Francisco headquarters and move to Oakland in 2022. PG&E has been based in San Francisco since its founding 115 years ago.