PPL Corporation announced the elimination of its Chief Operating Officer role effective April 4, 2025, at which time current EVP and COO Francis X. Sullivan will retire. Also effective April 4, 2025, Sullivan's responsibilities will be assumed by David J. Bonenberger, who will become Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer-Utilities and Lonnie Bellar, who will become Executive Vice President of Engineering, Construction and Generation, with both executives reporting to PPL President and Chief Executive Officer Vincent Sorgi. Bonenberger and Bellar both currently report to Sullivan.

Bonenberger is responsible for utility operations and customer service across all of PPL's utilities in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Rhode Island and Virginia. Bellar is responsible for enterprise-wide engineering and construction services, energy supply and analysis, and environmental compliance. With the elimination of the enterprise-wide COO role, Bellar will also assume responsibility over PPL's Kentucky generation fleet.

Both Bonenberger and Bellar began their energy careers in the 1980s ? Bonenberger joining PPL Electric Utilities in 1984 and Bellar joining Kentucky Utilities in 1987. Prior to their most recent roles, Bonenberger served as President of Rhode Island Energy, a subsidiary of PPL, and Bellar served as COO for LG&E and KU Energy, also a subsidiary of PPL.

Sullivan has served as PPL's EVP and COO since January 2023. Prior to joining PPL in October 2021, he served as a senior operations advisor and independent consultant for the power sector and spent more than 40 years in a variety of leadership roles with some of the biggest names in the energy industry, including NRG Energy and Public Service Enterprises Group.