FirstEnergy’s (NYSE:FE) board of directors on Monday announced the appointment of a new CEO who is currently a senior executive at the investment company Blackstone (NYSE:BX).
Brian Tierney, 55, will join the Ohio-based company as president and CEO on June 1, succeeding board Chair John Somerhalder II, who has held the top management spot since September in addition to his board responsibilities.
Tierney has spent 28 years in the utility industry, 23 of them with American Electric Power, serving as executive vice president and CFO from 2009 to 2020. He was executive vice president of strategy in 2021 when he joined Blackstone as senior managing director and global head of infrastructure operations.
“Brian Tierney is a proven leader with deep experience in the energy industry, a unique blend of operational, financial and strategic skills, and a sterling record of driving growth and transformation within our sector,” Somerhalder said in a statement. “Over the last several years, we have taken decisive actions to reposition FirstEnergy for the future. The board’s search committee set out to identify a leader who could continue the important work underway to drive the company forward while bringing critical outside expertise and perspectives.
“We could not have selected a better suited candidate than Brian. We look forward to working closely with him to build on FirstEnergy’s momentum and enhance value for our shareholders and other stakeholders.”
Tierney is the company’s third CEO since the company fired Charles Jones in October 2020 after an internal investigation determined that he and two other top executives had violated the company’s code of conduct in a bribery scheme involving former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and the passage of legislation bailing out the company’s nuclear power plants in the state. (See FirstEnergy Fires Jones over Bribe Probe.)
The company appointed CFO Steven Strah as CEO the same day it fired Jones. Strah abruptly retired in September 2022 following the board’s announcement that it had completed a review of its top management team in accordance with the settlement of shareholder federal lawsuits. (See FirstEnergy CEO Abruptly Retires, Without Severance.)
Tierney’s appointment comes a little over two weeks after a federal jury in Cincinnati found Householder and a former Ohio Republican Party chairman guilty of racketeering conspiracy. (See Householder Convicted in FirstEnergy Bribery Case.) Both are planning to appeal as the Justice Department continues its investigation.