Richard C.
Leger appointed to lead CenterPoint Energy Gas business on a
permanent basis
Bertha
Villatoro elevated to Chief Human Resources Officer
Current CHRO Lynne Harkel-Rumford to
retire
HOUSTON, Dec. 16,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- CenterPoint Energy, Inc.
(NYSE: CNP) today announced several senior leadership changes
which will take effect on January 1,
2025. Those changes include the appointments of Richard
C. Leger as Senior Vice President of CenterPoint's multi-state Gas
business and Bertha Villatoro as
Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer. Leger has
served in the current lead Gas role on an interim basis since
July 2024. He will report to
President & Chief Executive Officer Jason Wells. Villatoro will report to Executive
Vice President and General Counsel Monica
Karuturi.
Lynne Harkel-Rumford, who
currently serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Human
Resources Officer and oversees all HR functions as well as
Community Relations, will retire effective February 3, 2024. She will remain with
CenterPoint as a senior advisor to Jason
Wells until her retirement.
"I want to thank Lynne for her years of unwavering service
during her 25-year CenterPoint career. She made real and lasting
impacts for our employees, customers and communities. In addition
to her contributions to the business, she's been a passionate
community advocate for hunger issues across the Greater Houston region and has worked
tirelessly to support the cause," said Wells. "We will miss
Lynne's guidance and counsel and I extend my very best wishes to
her and her family in her well-deserved retirement."
During her CenterPoint career, Harkel-Rumford has taken on
successively larger leadership roles beyond HR. Before retirement,
her span of control included Community Relations, Communications
& Marketing, Facilities and Corporate Security and
Safety.
"Richard and Bertha are two of our gifted executives who help
drive our culture of innovation, continuous improvement and
accountability," said Wells. "I want to thank Richard for the
determined and thoughtful leadership he's exhibited while leading
the 3,500-person Gas organization on an interim basis and his
willingness to take on ever-increasing responsibilities. I also
want to thank Bertha for being willing to step-up in this expanded
role and take on the full leadership of our HR organization. I look
forward to working with both of them for years to come."
Richard C. Leger
Leger
will lead on a permanent basis all areas of the company's natural
gas business that serves approximately 4.2 million customers across
a six-state footprint. During his 24-year tenure with CenterPoint
and its predecessor companies, Leger has held diverse utility
leadership roles of increasing responsibly across the natural gas
and electric operations, regulatory affairs, and business process
optimization.
He is a board member of the American Gas Association, Southern
Gas Association, United Way of Southwestern Indiana and Golf Gives Back. He
is also former chair of the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance.
Leger also served six years in the Louisiana Army National
Guard. He earned two bachelor's degrees in accounting and
marketing from McNeese State
University.
Bertha
Villatoro
Villatoro has nearly 20 years of business
and human resources leadership experience across the energy sector.
As CenterPoint's CHRO, she will oversee talent development,
compensation and benefits, labor relations, and learning and
organizational development.
During her career, she has served numerous roles with increasing
responsibility at CenterPoint Energy, Kinder Morgan and El Paso Corporation. In her
successively larger leadership roles, she has been responsible for
total rewards, talent management and development, employee
services, human resources IT systems, and HR compliance.
Villatoro received a bachelor's degree in business
administration from Texas A&M
University and a master's degree in business administration
from Rice University. She is a Society
for Human Resource Management-Certified Professional (SHRM-CP), a
Certified Professional in Human Resources (PHR) and a Certified
Compensation Professional (CCP). Bertha is currently a member of
the Board of Directors for Target Hunger in Houston.
About CenterPoint Energy, Inc.
As the only
investor-owned electric and gas utility based in Texas, CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE: CNP) is
an energy delivery company with electric transmission and
distribution, power generation and natural gas distribution
operations that serve more than 7 million metered customers in
Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Ohio, and Texas. As of September
30, 2024, the company owned approximately $43 billion in assets. With approximately 9,000
employees, CenterPoint Energy and its predecessor companies have
been in business for more than 150 years. For more information,
visit CenterPointEnergy.com.
Forward-Looking Statement
This news release includes
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking
statements are based upon assumptions of management which are
believed to be reasonable at the time made and are subject to
significant risks and uncertainties. Actual events and results may
differ materially from those expressed or implied by these
forward-looking statements. Any statements in this news release
regarding future events that are not historical facts are
forward-looking statements. Each forward-looking statement
contained in this news release speaks only as of the date of this
release. Important factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those indicated by the provided
forward-looking information include risks and uncertainties
relating to: (1) CenterPoint Energy's business strategies and
strategic initiatives; (2) financial market conditions; (3) general
economic conditions; (4) the timing and impact of future regulatory
and legislative decisions; and (5) other factors, risks and
uncertainties discussed in CenterPoint Energy's Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 and
CenterPoint's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarters
ended March 31, 2024, June 30, 2024, and September
30, 2024 and other reports CenterPoint Energy or its
subsidiaries may file from time to time with the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
For more information, contact
Communications
Media.Relations@CenterPointEnergy.com
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SOURCE CenterPoint Energy, Inc
