American Electric Power today announced several changes to expand the skills and experience of the company’s leadership team, according to Nicholas K. Akins, AEP chairman, president and chief executive officer. The changes are effective July 31.

“Leadership development and succession planning are critically important for the ongoing success of our culture and company. These changes provide opportunities to expand the experience of this talented team and will bring new insights and creativity to strategic parts of the business. This is critical as we continue our transformation to clean energy resources and investing in smarter, more efficient infrastructure to enhance service for our customers,” Akins said.

As an element of the company’s succession planning efforts, Mark McCullough, executive vice president – Energy Delivery, is retiring.

“I want to thank Mark for his 40 years of service and leadership at AEP. He has spent his entire career working to enhance the culture and effectiveness of AEP’s generation and energy delivery organizations. His many contributions include developing very strong leadership teams to continue those efforts, and we wish him all the best,” Akins said.

Toby Thomas, currently president and chief operating officer for Indiana Michigan Power, will move to a new position as senior vice president – Energy Delivery. Thomas will oversee distribution engineering and standards, and transmission engineering, standards, construction, operations, maintenance and compliance. He will report to Lisa Barton, executive vice president and chief operating officer.

Raja Sundararajan, president and chief operating officer for AEP Ohio, has been named to a new position of senior vice president – Regulatory and Customer Solutions with responsibility for AEP’s regulatory and customer service strategies. Sundararajan will report to Charles Patton, executive vice president – External Affairs.

Janelle Coleman, vice president – Corporate Philanthropy and Community Engagement, has been named to a new role of vice president – Community Engagement, Diversity & Inclusion. She will lead AEP’s diversity and inclusion program in addition to overseeing AEP’s philanthropic community outreach and continuing to serve as president of the AEP Foundation.

Marc Reitter, vice president – Regulatory & Finance for AEP Ohio, has been named president and chief operating officer for AEP Ohio, succeeding Sundararajan. Lisa Kelso, director – Regulatory Services for AEP Ohio, will become vice president – Regulatory & Finance, replacing Reitter.

Steve Baker, vice president – Distribution Region Operations for Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO), has been named president and chief operating officer for Indiana Michigan Power, replacing Thomas. Jennifer Leber, director – Reliability & Grid Modernization for PSO, will succeed Baker as vice president – Distribution Region Operations for PSO.  

Thomas, 49, has been president and chief operating officer of Indiana Michigan Power since 2017. Previously, he was vice president – Competitive Generation, responsible for the management of AEP's competitive generation fleet. He also served as vice president – AEP Ohio, Joint Venture, and Wind Generation. Thomas joined AEP in 2001. He has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Rose Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Sundararajan, 46, has been president and chief operating officer for AEP Ohio since January 2019. He previously was vice president – Regulatory Services and has held a variety of leadership roles since joining AEP in 2002 including vice president – Transmission Asset Strategy and Policy; managing director – Transmission Business Strategy; and managing director – Market Risk. Sundararajan has a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India; a master's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Maryland; and a master's degree in business administration (MBA) from the University of Michigan. He completed the Executive MBA program at the University of Virginia.

Coleman, 49, joined AEP in November 2020 from the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium where she served as executive vice president of External Affairs. Prior to her role at the Columbus Zoo, she worked for L Brands, Inc. for more than 12 years where she held multiple roles of increasing responsibility including vice president of Community Relations, chief diversity officer and president of the L Brands Foundation.

Reitter, 43, was named to his current position in May 2016. Since joining AEP in 2002, he has held leadership positions in AEP’s Finance organization, AEP’s Strategic Initiatives group, and in Utility Group Business Services, assisting in business development opportunities. Reitter has a bachelor’s degree in finance from Arizona State University and an MBA from The Ohio State University.

Kelso, 40, was named to her current position in March 2021. Since joining AEP in 2008, she has been director – Business Operations Support for AEP Ohio, held management positions in AEP’s Transmission Asset Strategy and Business Planning organizations and worked in AEP’s Audit Services department. Prior to joining AEP, Kelso worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and the Ohio Senate. Kelso has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Ohio University and a master’s degree in accounting from The Ohio State University. She is a certified public accountant.

Baker, 54, has served in his current role since 2010 and has held a variety of leadership roles at both PSO and AEP Texas since joining AEP in 1990. He has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Texas Tech University, and has completed the Executive Program-Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia, the AEP Leadership Development Program at The Ohio State University, and the Texas A&M Management Development Program. 

Leber, 48, was named to her current position in 2020, leading PSO’s forestry and reliability engineering efforts. She also served as storm coordinator and had responsibility for business continuity planning at PSO. Leber has held a variety of leadership roles since joining PSO as a distribution design engineer in 1998. She has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Arkansas and completed the AEP Leadership Development program at The Ohio State University.

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