Former FERC Commissioner Cheryl LaFleur joins ISO-NE Board of Directors; Barney Rush, Vickie VanZandt re-elected

ISO New England today announced the election of the 2019 Board of Directors slate. The slate includes two incumbents, Barney Rush and Vickie VanZandt, and new Director Cheryl LaFleur. LaFleur was most recently a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) commissioner, and will join the Board on October 1, 2019. She replaces retiring Board member Raymond Hill.

LaFleur (pictured) served as a FERC commissioner for more than nine years, stepping down from her role there on August 30, 2019. During her time at FERC, which included serving as Chairman and Acting Chairman, her priorities included reliability and grid security, supporting the development and evolution of robust competitive markets, promoting regional transmission planning, and supporting a clean and diverse power supply.

“I am excited to join the board of ISO-NE, and look forward to engaging with my board colleagues and all stakeholders to understand and address the energy challenges and opportunities it faces,” said LaFleur. “New England is my home and where I have spent most of my career, and I welcome the opportunity to be part of an organization that serves electricity consumers across the region.”

“We are pleased that Cheryl has come home and joined the ISO New England Board,” said ISO Board Chair Philip Shapiro. “She not only will bring insights from her long tenure at FERC, but also from her experience at National Grid.”  

“Cheryl is a welcome addition to the ISO New England Board,” said Gordon van Welie, president and CEO of ISO New England. “The sum of her career experience will be put to good use as the region’s grid continues its transition to a future with cleaner, more distributed resources.”

Prior to her tenure at FERC, LaFleur served as Executive Vice President and Acting CEO at National Grid USA. Before that, she held other executive positions at National Grid USA, and its predecessor, New England Electric System, included chief operating officer, president of the New England distribution companies, and general counsel. She holds a juris doctorate from Harvard Law School and a bachelor of arts degree from Princeton University.

Rush has been a Board member since 2013. He serves as Chairman of the Board of Azure Power Global, a NYSE-listed company, and Senior Representative for Fieldstone, a regional investment bank focused on raising capital for infrastructure in emerging markets. Previously, he was an Operating Partner at Denham Capital Management, CEO of H2Gen Innovations, Inc., and Group Chief Executive Officer, Europe, for Mirant Corporation. He is the mayor of the Town of Chevy Chase, Maryland.

VanZandt joined the ISO New England Board in 2011. She manages VanZandt Electric Transmission Consulting, Inc., based in Washington State, and is also the Western Electricity Coordinating Council’s Program Manager for the Western Interconnection Synchrophasor Program. In 2009, she retired from Bonneville Power Administration after 35 years of service, retiring as Senior Vice President of Transmission Services. She is a senior member of the IEEE.

Hill is leaving the ISO Board after serving since 2010. During his tenure, he served as chair of the ISO New England’s Board Markets Committee. He is a senior lecturer at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. Before joining the Emory faculty, Hill was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Mirant Corporation and its predecessor company, Southern Energy International. Previously, he was a Managing Director at Lehman Brothers, where he was responsible for the investment banking practice in Asia outside of Japan.

“Both Gordon and I want to thank Ray for his outstanding years of service,” said Shapiro. “New England’s wholesale market structure has evolved to become one of the most sophisticated in the industry during Ray’s leadership of our Markets Committee, and we will miss his valuable insights and guidance.”

ISO New England’s new Board members are selected through a nominating process involving representatives from the ISO’s Board of Directors, the New England Power Pool (NEPOOL), and the New England Conference of Public Utilities Commissioners.

ISO New England Board members are subject to the company’s code of conduct, which includes a non-affiliation provision designed to maintain the independence of the company from participants in New England’s wholesale markets and their affiliates.

Learn more about ISO New England’s governance structure.