Two individuals have been nominated to replace outgoing members of the PJM Board of Managers.

In a letter sent to stakeholders on Thursday, PJM CEO Manu Asthana said the RTO’s Nominating Committee selected Paula Conboy, former chair of the Australian Energy Regulator, and Jeanine Johnson, a vice president at Netgear and CEO of a California-based technology company. Conboy and Johnson are set to replace outgoing board member John Foster and PJM Chair Ake Almgren at the Members Committee’s Annual Meeting in May.

Asthana said the Nominating Committee — comprising five PJM member sector representatives and board members Charles Robinson, Terry Blackwell and Mark Takahashi — worked with executive and board search firm Korn Ferry International since the fall to identify candidates, which included suggestions from stakeholders, in a “nationwide search.” The Nominating Committee’s sector representatives included: Susan Bruce (End Use Customers); Lisa McAlister (Electric Distributors); Alex Stern (Transmission Owners); Betty Watson (Other Suppliers); and Jeff Whitehead (Generation Owners).

“The Nominating Committee is confident that Paula and Jeanine will make significant contributions as PJM board members,” Asthana said in his letter.

Conboy is currently an energy consultant with Sussex Strategy Group in Canada. Until 2019, she served as chair of the Australian Energy Regulator, where she was responsible for strategic direction of the country’s energy policy. She is a graduate of the University of Guelph, in Ontario.

Johnson currently serves as vice president of product security for Netgear and is CEO of SunToWater Technologies, a company that develops atmospheric water generators to produce fresh water. She previously served as head of application security for internet software and services for Apple. Johnson is a graduate of the University of Missouri and Cornell University.

Besides the two new board members, the Nominating Committee also voted to nominate current board members Sarah Rogers and Neil Smith for re-election. Following the election of members at the Annual Meeting, the board will elect a new chairperson.

Almgren, the current chair of the PJM board, has been a part of the RTO since 2003. He took over as chair in 2018, replacing Howard Schneider, who served on the board from its inception in 1997 until his retirement. Foster, the chair of the Risk and Audit Committee, has also been a board member since 2003.

The Organization of PJM States Inc. (OPSI) had asked the RTO to consider board candidates who have state regulatory experience to replace Almgren and Foster. (See OPSI Asks PJM to Consider State Regulators for Board.)