Amid multiple crises, a California utility overhauls its leadership team
PG&E faces billions of dollars in liability related to wildfires that ravaged California last year. As it hits the reset button, some scoff at its bid to restore public confidence.
For California energy company PG&E, significant structural change must also be cosmetic.
The utility has replaced its CEO, pledging to appoint 10 new board members in the near future.
In doing so, it hopes it can convince stakeholders and critics that it won’t be the same energy provider that apparently started wildfires last year, leading to multiple deaths and billions in property damage.
That strategy is hardly novel: When a company hits rock bottom, a leadership change can demonstrate new practices and priorities. Wells Fargo has tried it a couple of times in recent years.
It is rare, however, for a company to remake its board at the same time.
California energy company PG&E Corp on Wednesday named William Johnson as Chief Executive Officer and president, and said it would appoint 10 new directors to its board as it navigates through bankruptcy.
Johnson has been the CEO of the Tennessee Valley Authority since 2013.
Mollifying stakeholders
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Tags: PG&E
