FirstEnergy Corp. on Tuesday announced a long list of changes in its executive suite, starting with President and CEO Chuck Jones peeling off one of his titles.
The Board of Directors for the Akron, Ohio-based power company on Tuesday approved executive Steven Strah’s appointment as president, with Jones remaining in the top spot at CEO and board member, according to a press release.
The change is being made under FirstEnergy’s “succession planning strategy,” though the company played down the likelihood of Jones soon stepping away entirely from the leadership position he has held since 2015.
“We are not announcing Chuck’s retirement at this time,” a spokesperson said by email. “During our 1Q earnings call, Chuck said he hasn’t made any decisions about his retirement and doesn’t plan to leave this year.”
Strah has since March 2018 been FirstEnergy’s chief financial officer and senior vice president, following a stint as senior vice president and president of subsidiary FirstEnergy Utilities. Starting May 24, he will lead a number of business segments, including utilities, corporate services and information technology, finance, product development. The new president will report to Jones, who will remain in charge of all human resources and legal functions.
Succeeding Strah as chief financial officer will be another longtime FirstEnergy executive, Jon Taylor, who last year was named vice president for utility operations. In his new role, Taylor will manage the company’s accounting, treasury, and investor relations operations.
Also on May 24, FirstEnergy will get a new senior vice president and chief legal officer: Robert Reffner, currently senior vice president and general counsel.
The press release notes six other executive updates at FirstEnergy and its subsidiaries.
FirstEnergy Corp. branch GPU Nuclear owns reactor Unit 2 at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant near Harrisburg, Pa., which operated for just a few months before its partial meltdown in March 1979. The company hopes this year to sell the reactor to nuclear services firm EnergySolutions for decommissioning.
