American Electric Power has made organizational and executive leadership changes to support the company's strategic priorities and executive succession plans, according to Nicholas K. Akins, chair and chief executive officer. Peggy Simmons, currently president and chief operating officer (COO) for Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO), has been named executive vice president – Utilities. AEP's seven utility company presidents and AEP's customer service support organization will report directly to Simmons.

Leigh Anne Strahler, currently vice president of Regulatory and Finance for AEP Texas, will succeed Simmons as president and COO at PSO. Chris Beam, currently president and COO for Appalachian Power, has been named executive vice president – Energy Services, with oversight of AEP's generation, transmission, nuclear, supply chain, procurement, fleet, and safety and health organizations. Aaron Walker, currently vice president of Distribution Region Operations for Appalachian Power, has been named president and COO of Appalachian Power, succeeding Beam.

Simmons and Beam will report to Julie Sloat, AEP president and chief financial officer, in their new roles effective today. Strahler and Walker will report to Simmons. AEP's executive vice president and COO position is being eliminated.

Lisa Barton will remain at AEP with transitional responsibilities, reporting to Akins, until Nov. 1, 2022. Greg Hall, currently executive vice president – Energy Supply, has been named to an expanded role as executive vice president and chief commercial officer, with responsibility for AEP's competitive retail business, competitive wholesale business, distributed energy assets organization, regulated commercial operations and grid solutions organizations.

Hall will continue to report to Akins until Sloat becomes CEO Jan. 1, 2023. Simmons, 45, has been president and COO of PSO since 2018, with responsibility for all aspects of electric service for more than 560,000 customers in Oklahoma.

She previously was managing director of Transmission Asset Strategy for AEP and has held leadership roles in AEP's Transmission organization, at AEP Ohio and as part of AEP's competitive renewable energy business. Simmons joined AEP in 1999. She received a bachelor's degree in economics from The Ohio State University and a master's degree in public policy and administration from Central Michigan University.

She serves as a board member for the Tulsa Area United Way, the Tulsa Regional Chamber of Commerce and the State Chamber of Oklahoma, Tulsa County. She is on the board of trustees for the Tulsa Community Foundation and the board of directors of BOK Financial Corporation. Simmons also serves on the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) Members Committee and the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Economic Advisory Council.

Beam, 53, has been president and COO of Appalachian Power since 2017, responsible for all aspects of electric service for approximately 1 million customers in West Virginia, Virginia and Tennessee. He previously was vice president of Projects, Controls & Construction in AEP's generation organization. Beam joined the company in 1990 at Kammer Plant and held progressive leadership roles in the company's generation organization.

Beam received a bachelor's degree in Technical Management from DeVry University. He is on the board of directors of The Education Alliance, the Clay Center for the Arts & Sciences, the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce and the Virginia Business Council. He also serves on the West Virginia State University'sBoard of Visitors.

Hall, 50, has been executive vice president of Energy Supply since 2021, with oversight of AEP's competitive retail energy businesses. Previously, he was president of AEP Energy Partners, responsible for building AEP's competitive wholesale, retail, onsite solutions and universal-scale renewables businesses. He joined AEP in 1997 and has held progressive leadership roles in AEP's energy marketing organization.

Hall received a bachelor's degree in geography from Brigham Young University and a master's degree in geography from The Ohio State University. He serves on the boards of the American Clean Power Association and Flying Horse Farms. Strahler, 49, has been vice president of Regulatory and Finance for AEP Texas since 2018, responsible for the regulatory and financial activities of AEP Texas. She previously was director of Business Operations Support for Appalachian Power.

Strahler joined AEP in 2006. She has held leadership positions in AEP's Generation Business Planning & Support Services group and AEP's Operations and Performance Transformation group with responsibility for implementing process improvements across the company. Before joining AEP, she worked at Limited Brands and IBM Global Services.

Strahler received a bachelor's degree in economics from Bethany College and a master's in business administration from The Ohio State University. She is chair of the board for the Purple Door, a domestic violence shelter headquartered in Corpus Christi, Texas. Walker, 39, has been vice president of Distribution Operations for Appalachian Power since 2020, with responsibility for construction, engineering, maintenance and operations of Appalachian Power's electric distribution systems. He previously was plant manager of AEP's Rockport Plant.

Walker joined AEP in 2005 and has served in a variety of roles including project and field engineering, project management, generation performance improvement and as a generation energy production superintendent. Walker received a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from The Ohio State University.