Duke Energy appointed Sharene Pierce as chief diversity and inclusion officer, effective December 1, 2022. Sharene Pierce: Currently vice president, customer experience and services operational transformation, Pierce will be responsible for developing and executing strategies that continue to advance the company's culture of diversity and inclusion and enhance its ability to execute the industry's largest clean energy transition. She succeeds Cameron McDonald, who is moving into a new leadership role at Duke Energy.

Pierce joined the company in 2000 and has held a series of engineering and operations leadership roles during her career. In her current position, she is the operational transformation lead for the Customer Experience, Solutions and Services organization, focused on delivering customer value, employee engagement and diversity and inclusion initiatives within the department. Her previous roles included vice president of engineering for the distribution grid in the western Carolinas.

A native of North Carolina, Pierce earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from North Carolina State University.