ISO New England elects 2026 board of directors slate

ISO New England, the independent operator of the region’s high-voltage power system and competitive wholesale electricity markets, today announced the election of its 2026 board of directors slate.

The slate includes new member Kathryn Guarini, a technology and business leader with more than 25 years of experience at the intersection of enterprise technology, operational resilience, and governance. She will join the board on Oct. 1, 2026, following the retirement of current Director Brook Colangelo.

Directors Craig Ivey and Mark Vannoy have been elected to their second and third terms, respectively.

“The members of the ISO New England Board of Directors have deep experience across a wide range of fields,” said board Chair Cheryl LaFleur. “Kathryn’s background in enterprise technology will be very helpful as we maintain significant investment in digital systems and cybersecurity. We are also fortunate to continue to benefit from the long-standing experience Craig and Mark have in utility operations and regulation. As New England’s energy system continues to evolve, this slate of directors further strengthens the board’s ability to provide effective oversight.”

Guarini elected

Guarini most recently served as chief information officer of IBM, where she led a global organization of more than 12,000 professionals responsible for mission-critical infrastructure and enterprise platforms and managed a $2.5 billion annual IT budget.

During her tenure at IBM, Guarini led large-scale technology modernization initiatives, including migration to hybrid cloud environments and deployment of AI-enabled automation across core business processes.

She also strengthened cybersecurity, enterprise risk governance, and incident-response programs designed to support continuous operations, and guided technology continuity through IBM’s separation and spin off of Kyndryl, one of the largest infrastructure carve-outs in corporate history.

Guarini serves on the board of directors of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., where she is a member of the Audit Committee, and on the board of the New York Hall of Science. She holds a doctor of philosophy degree in applied physics from Stanford University and a bachelor of science degree in applied physics from Yale University.

Ivey, Vannoy re-elected

Ivey serves on the board’s Audit and Finance, Compensation and Human Resources, and Markets committees. He is the retired president of Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc., where he served for nine years and was responsible for all aspects of the electric system serving more than 9 million customers.

Earlier in his career, he spent 25 years at Dominion Energy, rising through the ranks to become senior vice president of transmission and distribution. Ivey has a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from North Carolina State University. He also serves on the board of Ameren Corporation.

Vannoy chairs the board’s Information Technology and Cyber Security committee, while also serving on the Nominating and Governance and System Planning and Reliability committees.

He joined the ISO New England Board of Directors in 2020 and is entering his final three-year term.

He is president of Maine Water and previously served as chair of the Maine Public Utilities Commission, where he oversaw electric, gas, and water utility regulation.

Vannoy is a retired US Navy officer and a graduate of the United States Naval Academy. He holds a master’s degree from Cornell University.

About the board

The ISO New England Board of Directors provides oversight of the company’s operations and strategy. ISO New England elects its board members through a nominating process that includes representatives from the ISO New England Board of Directors, the New England Power Pool, and the New England Conference of Public Utilities Commissioners. Candidates also receive endorsement from the NEPOOL Participants Committee. The ISO’s president and CEO serves as a 10th, nonvoting director.

Board members are subject to the ISO’s code of conduct, which includes a non-affiliation provision designed to maintain independence from companies participating in New England’s wholesale electricity markets. Board members serve three-year terms and are limited to three terms.