NEWARK, N.J., PRNewswire/ Rick Thigpen, vice president – state governmental affairs for PSEG, has been promoted to senior vice president – corporate citizenship. He will report directly to Ralph Izzo, chairman, president and CEO, PSEG. In this new position, Thigpen will continue to have responsibility for PSEG’s state governmental affairs organization, and will also oversee the federal affairs and corporate citizenship and culture departments. He will remain chairman of the PSEG Foundation.
Thigpen joined PSEG in 2007. Prior to joining PSEG, he was a co-founding partner of 1868 Public Affairs LLC. Previously, he had been a practicing attorney, the District Director for Congressman Donald Payne Sr. and Executive Director of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee. Thigpen was a former assistant to the President of the NAACP State Conference for Public Affairs, a member of the board of the Regional Plan Association, and a national board member of the American Association of Blacks in Energy (AABE). He has a law degree from Columbia University and graduated from Brown University with a degree in political science.
“Rick has had tremendous success communicating complex energy issues to policy makers and elected officials in Trenton, as well as giving counsel to our corporate philanthropy and federal efforts,” said Izzo. “Uniting these three areas under his leadership will result in enhanced strategic coordination. Rick has also been an important voice for PSEG’s diversity and inclusion efforts, and I have valued his counsel and guidance. He will be a strong addition to my leadership team.”
Karen Reif, senior director – continuous improvement, has been elected vice president – renewables and energy solutions, reporting to Dave Daly, president and COO, PSE&G. In this role she will oversee PSE&G’s clean energy strategy.
Reif established the continuous improvement function for PSEG, which is responsible for developing sustainable, repeatable and quantifiable business improvements that are based on industry best practices. She has been with PSEG since 1995 mostly in the information technology department, holding leadership roles in strategy, application implementation, quality assurance, process management and program management. Prior to joining PSEG, Reif was a consultant with Scott, Madden & Associates.
Reif holds a BA degree in Economics and International Studies from Emory University and an MBA (MSIA) degree from Carnegie Mellon University.
Reif replaces Courtney McCormick, who will become vice president – internal auditing services, PSEG. She will report administratively to Dan Cregg, executive vice president and CFO, PSEG, and functionally to Susan Tomasky, a member of the PSEG Board of Directors and chair of the audit committee. McCormick replaces Christine Neely who has been named vice president -procurement, PSEG, reporting to Derek DiRisio, president, PSEG Services Corp. Neely replaces Brian Clark who has been named vice president – construction, PSEG Power, and will report to Ralph LaRossa, president and COO, PSEG Power. Clark replaces Kevin Cellars, who has announced his intention to retire.
“PSEG is fortunate to have talented leaders with strong records of success,” Izzo said. “By taking on new roles, they can bring their different perspectives and experiences to benefit our business.”
All changes take effect July 2, 2018.
Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE: PEG) is a publicly traded diversified energy company with annual revenues of $9.1 billion and approximately 13,000 employees. Headquartered in Newark, N.J., PSEG’s principal operating subsidiaries are: Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G), PSEG Power and PSEG Long Island. PSEG is a Fortune 500 company included in the S&P 500 Index and has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for North America for 10 consecutive years. (www.pseg.com).
