Sonoma County Native Named VP Of PG&E's North Coast Region

NORTH BAY, CA — A Sonoma County native was among five new regional vice presidents appointed Thursday by PG&E in a move the utility said was part of its commitment to enhance focus on safety, security, and operational performance.

PG&E committed to appointing a regional leadership team by June 1 as outlined in its Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization and its Updated Regionalization Proposal filed Feb. 26 with the California Public Utilities Commission.

"We have assembled a strong and experienced group of leaders who will live and work in the communities they serve," PG&E Corporation CEO Patti Poppe said. "This will position them to better understand and address the challenges unique to their regions ... I know they’re eager to settle in and get to work, and I’m excited to welcome them to the team."

Ron Richardson, North Coast Regional Vice President

Ron Richardson, who was born in Healdsburg and raised in Cloverdale, was named vice president of PG&E's North Coast Region. Richardson joined PG&E more than 20 years ago as a utility worker and apprentice lineman and steadily progressed through a variety of leadership roles to his current position as senior director of Transmission Substation Maintenance & Construction. In this role, he held responsibility for the timely repair and maintenance of transmission and substation assets; supported efforts to reduce wildfire risk and reduce the footprint of Public Safety Power Shutoffs; and drove delivery of the Transmission Substation Maintenance & Construction workplan.

Previously, Richardson was director of North Coast Field Operations, which included PG&E’s Humboldt, Sonoma and North Bay divisions. Throughout his career with PG&E, Richardson has focused on field operations, overseeing service delivery, safety inspections, maintenance and construction work, and engaging with customers to resolve escalated issues.

Teresa Alvarado, South Bay & Central Coast Regional Vice President

Teresa Alvarado has 20 years of executive experience in the energy and water sectors and has held civic leadership roles focused on environmental justice and equity. She currently chairs the California Water Commission, which provides a public forum for discussing water issues, advises the Director of the Department of Water Resources, and approves rules and regulations.

Previously, she was Chief of Local Impact for the San Francisco Bay Area Planning & Urban Research Association, where she led a team responsible for implementing effective and equitable policy and planning solutions in San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland.

Before that, she was Deputy Administrative Officer for the Santa Clara Valley Water District. Earlier in her career, she served as the founding Executive Director of the Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley, and worked as a Charitable Contributions Program Manager and Government Relations Representative for PG&E.

Aaron Johnson, Bay Area Regional Vice President

Johnson has been with PG&E for 12 years, most recently as Vice President, Wildfire Safety & Public Engagement, with responsibility for improving operational practices and situational awareness to mitigate wildfire risk and leading strategic planning for rebuilding infrastructure damaged by wildfires.

Previously, he was Vice President, Customer Energy Solutions, overseeing customer and clean energy programs, including customer and technology research; program design, launch and process improvement; and assessment and integration of third-party services markets.

Earlier, he was Director, Renewable Energy Procurement, shaping policy and commercial strategy for wholesale procurement to meet ambitious renewable portfolio standard targets, and led solar and wind resource development. Before joining PG&E, he served the California Public Utilities Commission as a consumer advocate, policy advisor, and regulatory analyst.

Joshua Simes, Central Valley Regional Vice President

Simes comes to PG&E from Comcast, where he spent more than two decades in field operations leadership roles. Most recently, he held the position of Vice President, Field Operations, South Valley, California, where he was responsible for all field operational activity for Comcast’s South Valley Region and led a team of more than 300 members serving more than 800,000 video, internet, digital voice, home security and commercial customers.

Simes initially joined Comcast as an installation technician and was subsequently promoted to a series of supervisory and leadership positions, including Field Operations Supervisor, Field Operations Manager, and Director of Field Operations. He has served as a member of the California Comcast Diversity and Inclusion Council and as an executive sponsor for the Young Professional Network.

Joe Wilson, North Valley & Sierra Regional Vice President

Wilson joined PG&E in 2012 and currently serves as Director, Community Rebuild and Resiliency Program. In this role, he has led financial planning, engineering, customer strategy, stakeholder engagement, and construction for the regional rebuilding program in Butte County, which was created in response to the impact of the Camp Fire in late 2018.

Previously, he was the Regional Local Public Affairs Manager based in Sacramento, where he headed emergency response coordination with state and local agencies during wildfires, floods, and storms, and served as Liaison Officer during the North Bay, Carr, Camp Fire.

He joined PG&E as a Senior Government Relations Representative in the Northern Sacramento Valley and Sierra Region after working with public utilities in Plumas County and Indian Valley. He has been active as a volunteer for civic and community organizations focused on employment, education, and economic development.

PG&E conducted a national search and considered both internal and external candidates for the regional vice president positions; those appointed will assume their roles June 1 with the exception of Simes who starts July 6.

The regional vice presidents will report to Marlene Santos, executive vice president and chief customer officer, and will be accountable for delivering high-quality performance and for ensuring the safety, availability and reliability of regional operations, PG&E said.

These leaders will be based in their assigned regions, enabling them to stay closely connected with local customers, business organizations, local counties and cities, and other community groups and be responsive to their concerns, PG&E said.

Each regional vice president will be supported by a local team that according to PG&E will include a regional safety director charged with monitoring and improving safety performance across their assigned regions and partnering with functional leaders to ensure consistency across the company.