AEP Names Rasmussen to Board of Directors

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Sep 25, 2012, 09:55 ET

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Sept. 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Steve Rasmussen, chief executive officer of Nationwide, has been elected to the American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) Board of Directors.

Rasmussen, 60, has been CEO of Nationwide since 2009. Prior to being elected CEO, he was president and chief operating officer of Property and Casualty operations for Nationwide from 2003 to 2009. He previously served as president and chief operating officer of Allied Insurance and held the same positions with CalFarm Insurance, an affiliated company. Earlier, he served as Allied's executive vice president for Product Management, vice president for Underwriting and regional vice president for the Pacific Coast Region. He joined Allied in 1974.

"Steve's extensive experience in the highly competitive insurance industry, where he continues to grow Nationwide – a mutual company with a broad mix of business lines and a national footprint – while managing risk and regulatory activities, makes him an excellent addition to our board," said Nicholas K. Akins, AEP president and chief executive officer. "His expertise will be valuable to AEP as we expand into more competitive ventures, including the move to competition in Ohio, expanding our transmission investments both within and outside of our traditional footprint and growing our retail energy business."

Rasmussen earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Iowa and holds the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter designation.

American Electric Power is one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, delivering electricity to more than 5 million customers in 11 states. AEP ranks among the nation's largest generators of electricity, owning nearly 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S. AEP also owns the nation's largest electricity transmission system, a nearly 39,000-mile network that includes more 765-kilovolt extra-high voltage transmission lines than all other U.S. transmission systems combined. AEP's transmission system directly or indirectly serves about 10 percent of the electricity demand in the Eastern Interconnection, the interconnected transmission system that covers 38 eastern and central U.S. states and eastern Canada, and approximately 11 percent of the electricity demand in ERCOT, the transmission system that covers much of Texas. AEP's utility units operate as AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power (in Virginia and West Virginia), AEP Appalachian Power (in Tennessee), Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, and Southwestern Electric Power Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana and east Texas). AEP's headquarters are in Columbus, Ohio.