Baltimore Gas and Electric announced Feb. 12 that Calvin G. Butler will take lead of the Central Maryland-based company as chief executive officer this year.
With current CEO and President Kenneth W. DeFontes Jr.’s retirement becoming official on Feb. 28 after 42 years, Butler will move up from his current position as BGE’s senior vice president of regulatory and external affairs.
“I was pleased that the leadership of Exelon tapped me to be the next CEO,” Butler told the AFRO, Feb. 12.
Stephen J. Woerner, who currently serves as senior vice president and chief operating officer, will become president while keeping his COO title.
DeFontes said in a statement released by BGE that he is happy with the changes.
“I’ve had the distinct pleasure of working with some of the best professionals in the business, and I’m confident that we have the right leadership team in place to ensure BGE’s success,” he said. “I’m excited for the future of BGE and what comes next for me personally.”
Word of Butler’s new position only came to him Friday, but the next CEO of BGE is already thinking of ways to strengthen positive aspects of BGE.
“We have a very strong safety record and we have a very strong reliability record that we’re going to continue to build on, so I hope that our customers have seen a company that has strengthened its commitment to keeping the lights on and working safely,” he said. “That’s first and foremost.”
Butler said that in the past year the company has put $3.5 million dollars back into the communities where their employees work and live in efforts to strengthen community relations. He plans on increasing reliability, safety and community interaction.
“We want to also continue to drive up our customer satisfaction scores. When customers think of BGE I want them to have a positive impression of us every step of the way. I don’t care if they are residential, elderly, single mom, or large business- I want that connection,” he said. “I want all customers to feel like they’re represented within the employee ranks of BGE. When I talk about our diversity and inclusion at BGE, I want our employees to be a microcosm of the communities we serve.”
Prior to managing BGE’s legislative business and playing middleman for the company’s corporate relationships and communications, Butler, an attorney, was senior vice president of corporate affairs for Exelon.
He also managed compensation and benefits for roughly 19,000 Exelon employees while strategizing on how to increase performance and push development as the company’s senior vice president of human resources.
Butler was key in the merging of BGE’s former parent company, Constellation Energy, with Exelon Corps in March 2012.
In a 2011 interview with the AFRO Butler detailed how he got his start in the energy business through internships and connections made in the environmental law field.
After graduating from law school, the St. Louis native went to work as in-house legal counsel for the Central Illinois Light Company. A 27-year-old Butler was soon aiding in the deregulation of the Illinois energy business, making it possible for residents to take their energy needs to the utility company of their choosing.
His hand in the deregulation put him on the path to managing governmental affairs on a large scale. His work with printing company R.R. Donnelly allowed him to hone his skills in the field.
Butler’s title as CEO will become official March 1.
