(Tuesday, June 05, 2012) - ORLANDO, FLA.-  Lewis “Lew” Hay, chairman and CEO of Juno Beach, Fla.-based NextEra Energy, today was elected chairman of the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), the national association of shareholder-owned electric companies, international affiliates and industry associates worldwide. The announcement was made during EEI’s annual meeting here. The Institute’s chairmanship rotates on an annual basis.

Also elected today were three vice-chairmen: Michael Yackira, president and CEO of Las Vegas-based NV Energy; William D. “Bill” Johnson, chairman, president and CEO of Raleigh, N.C.-based Progress Energy, Inc.; and Theodore F. “Ted” Craver, Jr. chairman, president and CEO of Rosemead, Calif.-based Edison International.

“We are delighted to have someone of Lew’s caliber leading EEI as chairman,” commented EEI President Thomas R. Kuhn. “Lew is deeply respected by his industry peers, and his managerial acumen, industry knowledge and drive toward innovation make him the perfect choice to take the helm of EEI as chair.”

Kuhn also praised the vice-chairs who will be supporting Hay as part of EEI’s leadership team, calling Yackira, Johnson and Craver a “superbly talented trio of executives whose industry expertise and commitment is recognized universally.”

Lew Hay was elected CEO of NextEra Energy in June 2001 and elected chairman of the board in January 2002. Hay also is chairman of NextEra Energy’s two primary subsidiaries, Florida Power & Light Company and NextEra Energy Resources, LLC. He joined the company as chief financial officer in August 1999, and in March 2000 he was appointed president of NextEra Energy Resources. Hay will step down as CEO on July 1, 2012 and serve as Executive Chairman of NextEra Energy through 2013. 

Hay serves on the board of directors of both Capital One and Harris Corporation, and also is a director and past chairman of the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO).  He is a member of the Business Board of Advisors at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business and is a member of the Business Roundtable and the Florida Council of 100.

Hay received a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Lehigh University in 1977 and a Master of Science degree in industrial administration from Carnegie Mellon University in 1982.

Michael Yackira joined NV Energy (formerly Sierra Pacific Resources) in January 2003.  He was elected CEO effective August 1, 2007.  In February 2007, he was elected president and COO, and also to the board of directors.  Prior to that, Yackira was corporate executive VP and CFO (December 2003 to February 2007) and executive vice president, strategy and policy (January 2003 to December 2003).

Yackira spent more than a decade as an executive with FPL Group, serving in several positions, including president of FPL Energy; vice president, finance and CFO of FPL Group; and senior vice president of market and regulatory services for Florida Power & Light Company.   He is a board member of the Nevada Development Authority, UNLV Foundation Board of Trustees, the Nevada Cancer Institute Board of Directors, and the Council for a Better Nevada. Yackira holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting from Lehman College, City University of New York, and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Bill Johnson became chairman and CEO of Progress Energy in October 2007. He served as president and chief operating officer from January 2005 until October 2007 and has been with Progress Energy (previously CP&L) in a number of roles since 1992. On January 10, 2011, Progress Energy and Duke Energy announced a merger. When the transaction closes, Johnson will serve as a director on the board and as president and CEO of the newly combined company. The new company will be the largest regulated utility holding company in the United States.

Before joining Progress Energy, Johnson was a partner with the Raleigh office of Hunton & Williams, where he specialized in the representation of utilities. He previously served as a law clerk to the Honorable J. Dickson Phillips Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He currently is chairman of the board of directors of NEI and a member of INPO’s boards of directors, as well as those of numerous community and charitable organizations. He graduated from Duke University summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in history, and received a law degree with high honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1982.

Ted Craver is chairman, president and chief executive officer of Edison International, the parent company of Southern California Edison and Edison Mission Group (EMG).  He was elected chairman and chief executive officer in August 2008, and president in April 2008.  Craver was chairman, president and chief executive officer of EMG from January 2005 to April 2008. Before that, he was executive vice president of parent company Edison International, and held the position of chief financial officer and treasurer from January 2000 through December 2004.

Before joining Edison in 1996, Craver served as executive vice president and corporate treasurer of First Interstate Bancorp from 1991 to 1996. Prior joining First Interstate, he spent four years with Bankers Trust Company of New York and seven years with Security Pacific National Bank.

Craver serves on the Board of Directors of Health Net, Inc. He also serves as chairman of the Board of the Electric Drive Transportation Association, and on the Boards of Directors of the Electric Power Research Institute and the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations. He also is on the Board of Trustees of the Autry National Center.  Craver earned an MBA and a bachelor’s degree in economics and international relations from the University of Southern California.

The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) is the association of U.S. shareholder-owned electric companies. Our members serve 95 percent of the ultimate customers in the shareholder-owned segment of the industry, and represent approximately 70 percent of the U.S. electric power industry. We also have more than 65 International electric companies as Affiliate members, and more than 170 industry suppliers and related organizations as Associate members.