On behalf of the Board, we welcome Hunter and Hank to AEP, stated Julie Sloat, chair, president, and CEO of AEP. As we continue to carry out our strategic initiatives and increase value for our shareholders, Hunter’s operational supervision experience as an investor and public company director and Hank’s utility regulatory knowledge will be very beneficial. We are sure that their viewpoints will be valuable in the boardroom as we carry out our flexible and substantial capital plan, manage expenses, and streamline and de-risk our operations in order to give our clients safe, dependable, and reasonably priced service.
For the benefit of all AEP’s stakeholders, we are eager to collaborate with Julie Sloat and the Board of Directors to maximize the value and performance of the company’s premium regulated electric utility business, said Carl C. Icahn.
The Board will temporarily have 14 directors—13 of whom are independent—after Gary and Linginfelter are appointed. As part of the company’s suggested slate of director nominees, Gary and Linginfelter will be up for election at AEP’s 2024 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. This means that the Board will consist of 12 directors once more. Gary’s appointment is contingent upon receiving specific regulatory approvals; once they are granted, he will be eligible to vote on the Board.
Furthermore, Icahn Capital portfolio manager Andrew J. Teno has been invited by the Board to attend board meetings as a non-voting observer. Teno’s experience as a board member of FirstEnergy, Southwest Gas Corporation, and Cheniere Energy, Inc., among other companies, provides him with a great deal of pertinent industry knowledge.
Customary standstill, vote commitments, and other terms have been agreed to by Icahn Capital and some of its affiliates. The Securities and Exchange Commission will receive the agreement on Form 8-K.
AEP is receiving legal help from Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and financial advice from J.P. Morgan Securities LLC.
Gary oversees and improves the operations of the portfolio companies as a senior managing director of Icahn Enterprises, L.P. (IEP), a diversified holding firm involved in a range of industries. In addition, Gary serves on the boards of CVR Energy, Inc. and Conduent Inc. He graduated from Georgetown University with a Bachelor of Science and the Columbia Graduate School of Business with an executive development credential.
The biggest gas company in the United States, Southern Company Gas, has Linginfelter as its executive vice president in retirement. Among his many duties were budgeting and planning, financial planning, budgeting and control, environmental management, construction, safety, engineering, customer service, and all operations. He was previously on the board of Southern Company’s captive insurance company and is currently a member of the board of directors at Southwest Gas Holdings Inc. He has a wealth of operational and executive experience in addition to a great deal of legislative and regulatory experience. Linginfelter was a member of the American Gas Association Leadership Council for a number of years and formerly chaired the Southern Gas Association. Linginfelter graduated from Georgia Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Management and from Georgia State University with an MBA.
Based in Columbus, Ohio, American Electric Power is aware of the need that communities and our customers have for inexpensive, dependable, and safe power. In order to provide electricity to 5.6 million customers across 11 states, our roughly 17,000 personnel manage and operate more than 40,000 miles of transmission lines, the largest electric transmission system in the country, and more than 225,000 miles of distribution lines. With around 29,000 megawatts of varied producing capacity, including about 6,100 megawatts of renewable energy, AEP is also among the biggest producers of electricity in the country. Over the next five years, AEP plans to invest $43 billion to improve the reliability and cleanliness of the electrical grid. By 2030, carbon dioxide emissions are expected to have decreased by 80% from 2005 levels, and by 2045, net zero emissions are our objective. AEP’s emphasis on sustainability, community involvement, and inclusivity has earned them recognition time and time again. AEP is a family of companies that includes utilities: AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, Appalachian Power (in Virginia and West Virginia), AEP Appalachian Power (in Tennessee), and Southwestern Electric Power Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana, east Texas, and the Texas Panhandle). AEP also owns AEP Energy, a national provider of cutting-edge, cost-effective energy solutions.
