Chodak, Patton, Vegas named to new positions by AEP
COLUMBUS, Ohio, June 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- American Electric
Power (NYSE: AEP) has made a series of changes in executive positions,
according to Michael G. Morris, AEP's chairman, president and chief
executive officer.
Venita McCellon-Allen, 48, currently president and chief operating
officer of Southwestern Electric Power Co. (SWEPCO) with operations in
Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas, has been named executive vice president --
AEP Utilities West to replace Thomas M. Hagan, 64, who will retire July 1.
McCellon-Allen will report to Robert P. Powers, president -- AEP Utilities,
and have responsibility for AEP's four utility units operating in Oklahoma,
Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas.
Paul Chodak III, 44, currently director -- new plant development
projects for AEP, will replace McCellon-Allen as president and chief
operating officer of SWEPCO. He will report to McCellon-Allen.
Charles R. Patton, 48, currently president and chief operating officer
of AEP Texas, has been named senior vice president -- regulatory and public
policy for AEP, reporting to J. Craig Baker, senior vice president --
regulatory services.
Pablo A. Vegas, 35, currently director -- strategic planning for AEP,
will replace Patton as president and chief operating officer of AEP Texas
and will report to McCellon-Allen.
All changes are effective July 1.
"Tom Hagan has been a valued member of AEP's management team since he
joined the company with the completion of our merger with Central and South
West (CSW) in 2000," Morris said. "We're going to miss his insights on
utility issues, but we wish him the best in his retirement.
"Venita McCellon-Allen provides us with a very capable replacement for
Tom," Morris said. "Venita did an excellent job during her nearly two years
as SWEPCO's president. The series of changes we're making demonstrates the
depth of management talent we have at AEP and the ongoing efforts we are
making to develop that talent as part of our executive succession
planning."
Hagan retires after 28 years of service to AEP and CSW. During his
career, Hagan served as executive vice president -- shared services, senior
vice president -- governmental affairs, and senior vice president --
external affairs. Prior to joining CSW, Hagan served as legislative
director and administrative assistant to U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen. Hagan
is a graduate of the University of Texas in Austin.
McCellon-Allen served as senior vice president -- shared services for
AEP prior to being named president of SWEPCO in 2006. She began her career
with SWEPCO in 1983, holding leadership positions in the areas of customer
relations, distribution operations and communications. She served as an
officer for CSW beginning in 1995, with executive leadership roles in human
resources, customer relations and corporate development. In 2000, she
joined Baylor Health Care System in Dallas as senior vice president for
human resources. She rejoined AEP in 2004 as senior vice president --
shared services. McCellon-Allen earned a bachelor's degree in journalism
from Texas A&M University.
Chodak has been director -- new plant development projects for AEP
since 2007. He joined AEP in 2001 as a project manager and has served as
managing director -- corporate technology development, director --
engineering and environmental services and director -- environmental
programs. Chodak earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from
Worcester Polytechnic Institute before accepting a commission in the U.S.
Navy, where he earned both chief engineer and submarine officer
qualifications. While in the Navy, Chodak earned a master's in civil
engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute. He accepted a Department
of Energy Fellowship to study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
where he earned a doctorate in nuclear engineering. Prior to joining AEP,
Chodak was with Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Patton has been president and chief operating officer for AEP Texas
since 2004. His previous positions with AEP were state president -- Texas,
with a focus on community relations and public policy matters in the state,
particularly as they related to AEP's business in the increasingly
competitive electricity industry; and vice president of governmental
affairs, where he directed state legislative activity for AEP in Texas,
Arkansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma. Patton joined CSW in 1995 as director of
state government affairs for the CSW system. Patton received a bachelor's
degree from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, and a master's degree from
the LBJ School of Public Policy at the University of Texas in Austin.
Vegas was named director -- strategic planning earlier this year,
working to formulate AEP's short- and long-term strategic plans. Since
joining AEP in 2005, Vegas has held leadership positions in information
technology and finance, leading both the corporate information technology
planning and commercial operations information technology planning
organizations. In these roles he focused on continual process improvements
and driving increased value through AEP's technology investments. Prior to
joining AEP, Vegas held positions with IBM, PricewaterhouseCoopers and
Andersen Consulting. He received a bachelor's degree in mechanical
engineering from the University of Michigan.
American Electric Power is one of the largest electric utilities in the
United States, delivering electricity to more than 5 million customers in
11 states. AEP ranks among the nation's largest generators of electricity,
owning nearly 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S. AEP also
owns the nation's largest electricity transmission system, a nearly
39,000-mile network that includes more 765 kilovolt extra-high voltage
transmission lines than all other U.S. transmission systems combined. AEP's
transmission system directly or indirectly serves about 10 percent of the
electricity demand in the Eastern Interconnection, the interconnected
transmission system that covers 38 eastern and central U.S. states and
eastern Canada, and approximately 11 percent of the electricity demand in
ERCOT, the transmission system that covers much of Texas. AEP's utility
units operate as AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power (in Virginia and
West Virginia), AEP Appalachian Power (in Tennessee), Indiana Michigan
Power, Kentucky Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, and Southwestern
Electric Power Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana and east Texas). AEP's
headquarters are in Columbus, Ohio.
SOURCE American Electric Power
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Media Relations, +1-614-716-1620, or Analysts, Bette Jo Rozsa,
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American Electric Power
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