Jul 31, 2001
PPL Announces Board, Executive Appointments
PRNewswire
ALLENTOWN, Pa.
In anticipation of the retirement of one of its long-time executives, PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL) Tuesday (7/31) announced four key appointments that will further strengthen its executive management team:
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19981015/PHTH025 )
-- Larry De Simone has been named PPL Corporation executive vice
president-Supply, with responsibility for generation and marketing,
the fastest growing segments of the company.
-- John Biggar, executive vice president and chief financial officer, has
been named to the PPL Corporation Board of Directors.
-- Paul Champagne has been named president of PPL EnergyPlus, the
company's wholesale and retail marketing operation.
-- Roger Petersen has been named president of PPL Global, the subsidiary
that identifies and develops growth opportunities for PPL Corporation
and operates its international businesses.
"These appointments will further strengthen PPL's executive management team as we prepare for the retirement of Frank Long, who has dedicated nearly four decades to building high-performing PPL organizations," said William F. Hecht, PPL chairman, president and chief executive officer. Long, executive vice president and a member of the PPL Corporation Board of Directors, will retire Oct. 1.
Larry De Simone
In his new position, De Simone will join the PPL executive management council, which sets the strategic direction for PPL Corporation and its subsidiaries. Other members of the council are Hecht; Long; Biggar; and Robert Grey, senior vice president and general counsel.
"Larry De Simone is uniquely qualified to fill this important executive vice president role as PPL continues to grow its generation and marketing businesses. As the president of our marketing company (PPL EnergyPlus) since its inception, Larry has been instrumental in making PPL one of the fastest growing energy companies in the United States," said Hecht.
De Simone, who joined PPL in 1998 as president of PPL EnergyPlus, has nearly 30 years' experience in the electricity and natural gas business. Immediately before coming to PPL, he was senior vice president-Energy Services for Virginia Power Co. He also has served in executive positions at Central & South West, San Diego Gas & Electric and Pacific Gas & Electric.
He also was a partner at Scott, Madden and Associates, an Atlanta-based energy consulting firm and a senior vice president with Energy Management Associates, a computer software company that developed programs for electric companies. De Simone earned an economics degree from Claremont McKenna College in California and a Ph.D. in business administration from the University of California at Berkeley.
De Simone will have executive management responsibilities for PPL EnergyPlus, headed by new president Paul Champagne; and for PPL Generation, headed by president James Miller. PPL Generation operates about 10,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the United States.
John Biggar
Biggar has served as PPL's chief financial officer since 1998. He began his PPL career in 1969 as an attorney in the company's legal department. He also served as manager of Finance and assistant treasurer before being named vice president-Finance in 1984, a position that he held until being named CFO. He has been a company executive vice president since last year. Biggar earned a bachelor's degree in Political Science from Lycoming College and a law degree from the College of Law at Syracuse University.
"John Biggar's financial counsel and innovation, including the recent successful securitization of our electric utility operation, have resulted in significant improvement in value for our shareowners," said Hecht. "His addition to the board of directors will make him an even more valuable part of the executive team."
Paul Champagne
In his new position, Champagne will be responsible for PPL's wholesale and competitive retail energy sales and services operation. PPL EnergyPlus markets all the electricity generated by PPL's domestic power plants, making sales in most of the U.S. states and in Canada; markets electricity to retail customers in the eastern and western United States; and offers a full range of energy management services in the Mid-Atlantic, New York and New England regions.
Champagne has served as president of PPL Global since 1999. A founding executive of PPL Global, Champagne served as vice president and senior development officer from 1995 until 1999. Prior to coming to PPL, he held several business development roles with Mission Energy Co. He also served as a research engineer at the Research Triangle Institute, which provided consulting services to the Electric Power Research Institute. He earned a degree in chemical engineering from the University of Illinois and has pursued graduate studies in mechanical engineering as well.
Roger Petersen
Petersen is returning to PPL Global, where he served as chief operating officer from the company's founding in 1995 until 1999. Since 1999, he has led the acquisition and operation of PPL Montana, a company that operates about 1,150 megawatts of generation. In his new post, Petersen will lead the PPL organization that develops generating facilities in the United States and operates electricity distribution companies in Latin America and the United Kingdom.
PPL Global is developing about 4,600 megawatts of generating capacity at sites in Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Illinois and Washington state. The company's international operation provides electricity delivery services to more than 4.5 million customers in England, Wales, Chile, Bolivia, El Salvador and Brazil.
As chief operating officer at PPL Global, Petersen was instrumental in the company's acquisition of electricity distribution companies in the United Kingdom and Latin America.
He came to PPL from Mission Energy Co., where he served as regional vice president with responsibilities for the development and operation of all the generating facilities in North America. He also worked with Fluor Engineers and Constructors as a project manager for U.S. and international projects. He earned a degree in mechanical engineering from South Dakota State University, a degree in business management from the University of California at Los Angeles and a master's degree in engineering from California Polytechnical Institute.
"The addition of Roger's extensive experience in acquisitions and development to the PPL Corporation executive team, and having Paul's proven talent in our marketing organization will allow us to continue to build on the strong foundation of teamwork that has characterized our deregulated operations during our transition to a worldwide energy company," said Hecht. "In addition, Michael Bray, president of PPL Electric Utilities, is providing strong leadership in the continual improvement of our award-winning regulated Pennsylvania utility operation."
With the departure of Petersen, Brad Spencer, currently chief operating officer at PPL Montana, will head that operation and report directly to Miller, president of PPL Generation.
The appointments announced Tuesday are effective Oct. 1.
PPL Corp., headquartered in Allentown, Pa., generates electricity at power plants in Pennsylvania, Maine and Montana; markets wholesale or retail energy in 42 U.S. states and Canada; and delivers electricity to nearly 6 million customers in Pennsylvania, in the United Kingdom and in Latin America.
NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19981015/PHTH025
PRN Photo Desk, 888-776-6555 or 212-782-2840
SOURCE: PPL Corporation
Contact: Dan McCarthy of PPL, +1-610-774-5758 or fax, +1-610-774-5281
Website: http://www.pplweb.com/
Quick links.