Izzo gets 2 key posts at PSEG

Izzo gets 2 key posts at PSEG. Check it out:
(Record, The (Hackensack, NJ) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Sep. 26--Ralph Izzo was named Monday as president and chief operating officer and became heir apparent as chief executive officer of Public Service Enterprise Group, the final steps in a rapid rise up the company's corporate ladder.



For three years, Izzo has been president of Public Service Electric and Gas Co., New Jersey's largest utility with more than 2.2 million customers. PSE&G is one of Newark-based PSEG's three major business units.

Izzo, 48, takes over the new positions Oct. 1 and is in line, the company said, to become CEO when E. James Ferland retires in March. Ferland does not have to retire as chairman, and the company did not say whether he would.

Rutherford native Ralph LaRossa, 43, was named to replace Izzo at PSE&G. He has been vice president for electric delivery.

The announcements come less than two weeks after PSEG's proposed $17.8 billion sale to Exelon Corp. collapsed under pressure from the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities.

Had the sale gone through, creating the nation's largest utility, Izzo was to become president of the energy division overseeing utilities in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Illinois. LaRossa was set to take over Izzo's job.

The selection of Izzo, who has held several senior executive positions since joining Public Service in 1992, was not surprising, said Paul Fremont, an analyst who covers PSEG for Jeffries & Co. in New York.

"He's been with the company for a long time, and he's done a fine job on the regulated side," Fremont said, referring to the utility, which is regulated by the BPU.

The challenge will be dealing as well with the unregulated PSEG Power division, which provides the company with more than half its revenues.

Izzo, who holds a Ph.D. in applied physics from Columbia University and an MBA from Rutgers, said he was ready.

Despite some obvious difference between the two sides of the business, "at the end of the day, this isn't selling shoes," Izzo said in a telephone interview.

"The same basic technologies determine your place in the marketplace," he said. Both, he said, are capital-intensive and heavily dependent on union relationships, and rely on operational excellence to build a financially strong house.

Izzo's selection ends what observers saw as a three-man competition with Robert Dougherty, president and chief operating officer of PSEG Energy Holdings, and Thomas O'Flynn, the chief financial officer, to replace Ferland, who turns 65 next year. The company had no comment on whether the elevation of Izzo would have any effect on the other two.

Selecting someone as young as Izzo seems to indicate that the board of directors was planning long-term, and Izzo says that's how he looks at the situation.

"I have every expectation this is a long-term relationship," he said. "That's my plan."

LaRossa had a similar outlook.

"I have 21 years down, and I'm looking for another 21," he said.

In a conference call last week with analysts, Ferland gave no indication that an announcement was imminent. But he did say his successor would be named in plenty of time for a smooth transition and to update the company's long-term strategic business plan.

"The board's choice of Ralph Izzo and Ralph LaRossa to guide PSEG and PSE&G in the ever-changing energy business environment is a tribute to their wealth of knowledge, vast experience, hard work and depth of leadership capabilities," Ferland said in a statement.

"Both are well-liked and well-respected in and out of the company. ... I am confident they will do an excellent job for our shareholders, customers, employees and the communities we serve."

The two Ralphs said a priority is reestablishing New Jersey's reputation as a leader in social and environmental issues. Company activities in those areas were put on hold while the Exelon deal was working its way through the approval process.

PSEG stock has held steady after dropping about $6 a share within hours of the announcement that Exelon had withdrawn from the deal Sept. 14. Shares closed Monday at $61.37, up 42 cents.

RALPH IZZO

-- Occupation: Named Monday as president and chief operating officer, Public Service Enterprise Group, effective Oct. 1; expected to become chief executive in March

-- Age: 48

-- Education: Columbia University, B.S. (1978), M.S. (1979) and Ph.D. (1981) in applied physics; Rutgers University, MBA (2003)

-- Background: Served as president and COO of Public Service Electric and Gas Co. since 2003.

-- Other jobs: Research scientist, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory; Congressional Science Fellow in office of U.S. Sen. Bill Bradley; senior science, energy and technology policy adviser to former Gov. Thomas Kean.

-- Interests: Baseball, Bruce Springsteen.

To see more of The Record, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.NorthJersey.com.

Copyright (c) 2006, The Record, Hackensack, N.J.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
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