WEC Energy Group announces new leadership appointments

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Apr 02, 2020, 07:00 ET

MILWAUKEE, April 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Taking the next steps in the company's long-term succession planning process, the board of directors of WEC Energy Group (NYSE: WEC) today announced the following appointments.

Effective June 1:

Scott Lauber, currently senior executive vice president and chief financial officer, will be promoted to the position of chief operating officer. He will report to Kevin Fletcher, president and chief executive officer. Lauber will continue to serve as a member of the Office of the Chair.

In his new role, Lauber will have senior oversight responsibility for power generation, WEC infrastructure and fuels, information technology, supply chain, supplier diversity, and major projects. He also will be named president of Michigan Gas Utilities and Minnesota Energy Resources.
Xia Liu has been appointed executive vice president and chief financial officer of WEC Energy Group. Liu will be joining the company from CenterPoint Energy where she has performed in that same capacity.

Liu began her industry career at Southern Company as a financial analyst in 1998. In recent years, she served as chief financial officer of two Southern Company subsidiaries, Gulf Power and Georgia Power, and senior vice president, finance and treasurer for Southern Company.

Liu also will serve as a member of the Office of the Chair.
Rick Kuester will be retiring from his senior officer position at a date to be determined later this year. After his retirement, Kuester will continue in a consulting role, advising on the company's capital investment plan and enterprise risk mitigation.

"As we focus today on health, safety, and providing essential service to our customers through this pandemic, we also continue to plan for the next chapter of the company's growth and development," said Gale Klappa, executive chairman. "The appointments we're announcing today will bring additional depth and experience to an already strong team – a team that has delivered industry leading results over many years. Our future is bright."

WEC Energy Group (NYSE: WEC), based in Milwaukee, is one of the nation's premier energy companies, serving 4.5 million customers in Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota.

The company's principal utilities are We Energies, Wisconsin Public Service, Peoples Gas, North Shore Gas, Michigan Gas Utilities, Minnesota Energy Resources and Upper Michigan Energy Resources. The company's other major subsidiary, We Power, designs, builds and owns electric generating plants.

WEC Energy Group (wecenergygroup.com) is a Fortune 500 company and a component of the S&P 500. The company has approximately 45,000 stockholders of record, 7,500 employees and $35 billion of assets.

SOURCE WEC Energy Group