Today, PG&E announced that Patricia Poppe will be serving as the new CEO of the utility, beginning in January. Poppe has 15 years of experience in the utility industry, first at DTE Energy, where she worked along side PG&E Corp. Chairman Tony Earley, and later at CMS Energy, where she held several different leadership positions before becoming CEO in 2016.
“For the past four years, Ms. Poppe has been the chief executive officer of CMS Energy, which is a sizeable gas and electric utility in Michigan,” said IBEW 1245 Business Manager Tom Dalzell. “From what we’ve heard, Poppe has had a positive and collaborative relationship with the Utility Workers Union of America, which is the union that represents the workers at CMS, and we’re hopeful that she will bring that same collaborative spirit to PG&E.”
Poppe will be replacing Bill Smith, who stepped in as interim CEO after Bill Johnson retired from the company earlier this year.
“Bill Smith has done a good job at running PG&E ever since Bill Johnson left, but the absence of permanent leadership has been a challenge,” remarked Local 1245 Senior Assistant Business Manager Bob Dean. “The appointment of Poppe as CEO should usher in a new era of stability for our members at PG&E, and we look forward to a productive relationship with her.”