Xcel Energy CEO Ben Fowke, the Edison Electric Institute’s incoming chairman, outlined his goals for the group during last week’s CEO roundtable discussion that typically concludes EEI’s annual Leadership Summit.

“COVID recovery is probably one you didn’t pick at first,” Exelon CEO Chris Crane, Fowke’s predecessor, said as he moderated the virtual conversation Thursday.

“It’s a major issue,” Fowke replied. “I didn’t come in with that goal, but I didn’t come in with the goal of dealing with racial injustice, either. What I was really thinking about was the clean-energy transition and the innovation I feel needs to take place.”

Fowke’s goals changed on May 25 when George Floyd was killed in police custody and in full public view, igniting a summer of nationwide protests about racial equality. Floyd died in Minneapolis, where Xcel is headquartered.

“The killing of George Floyd happened right in our backyard. It impacted me very personally, as I’m sure it did many of our members,” he said. “It was pretty hard not to be impacted by it. It gave me an opportunity to reflect and realize there’s more I can do as a CEO, and there’s more the industry can do.

“That’s not to say that we haven’t done some good work, but let’s do more in our community. Let’s do a better job of hiring and retaining and promoting people of color,” Fowke continued. “I’ve said it many times: My company is only as healthy as our community, and we need to be there for our communities. There are things we can double down on. It’s been a long-term problem and there are no quick fixes for this. But as with anything we’ve tackled as an industry, we can make a big difference.”

DTE Energy Executive Chairman Gerry Anderson agreed with Fowke, saying “his emphasis on this at this time is exactly right.”

“Because of the impact of COVID and the attention brought to racial injustice, it’s an opportunity for all of us to share what we’re learning and to dig deeper and do more,” Anderson said, contrasting the coronavirus’s disparate effect on low-wage earners with the 2008 Great Recession’s impact on white-collar workers and industries.

“This is playing out much more heavily with small business and low-wage earners,” he said. “We are all going to have a challenge in front of us to reach into those low-wage and underserved communities, because this crisis has really hit those [sectors] hard.”

Anderson described DTE’s “re-entry” program, in which the company goes into Parnall Correctional Facility in Jackson, Mich., to train inmates as tree-trimmers. DTE has also developed education programs in inner cities to help develop a viable workforce.

“Some of the most moving moments I’ve experienced as a leader at DTE is going inside those prisons and hearing directly from people thanking you for giving them a second chance. It took just one day of that to lock me in,” Anderson said.

“What DTE is doing is really about giving people a second chance,” Fowke said. “I think there are a lot of things we do that unintentionally create barriers. That’s the hard look our entire industry and industries in general need to do.”

Anderson, who co-chairs EEI’s environmental committee, was joined on the panel by Ameren CEO Warner Baxter and Edison International CEO Pedro Pizarro. All three will serve as vice chairs to Fowke.