Three Black executives will soon be leading utilities in the US, marking a historic moment for the industry. Calvin Butler, the CEO of Exelon, and Lloyd Yates, the CEO of NiSource, will be joined by Chris Womack, who was named the next CEO of Southern Co. in January. When Womack takes up his new position in May, there will be a record-breaking eight Black CEOs among S&P 500 companies.
The trio’s appointment as CEOs of three of the 30 utilities listed on the S&P 500 is also unprecedented, particularly given the sector’s reputation for a lack of diversity. Other S&P 500 sectors have only one Black CEO, if any.
Butler and Womack have known each other for years and both expressed pride in each other’s accomplishments. Yates, who became CEO of NiSource last year, said he thinks the three appointments are a coincidence, and that they are simply “a point in time when there’s been a lot of CEO transition in the industry, and I know the three of us were prepared.”
Black businesspeople have historically been underrepresented in the top ranks of corporate America, with only 16 new Black CEO appointments between 2000 and 2020. However, the pace of change has quickened in recent years, with at least five new Black CEO appointments in the S&P 500 since 2020.
Source: www.forbes.com