Board of Directors
Sandra E. Pierce
Chair of the Board of Directors, ITC Holdings Corp.
Ms. Pierce, previously with Huntington National Bank, was Senior Executive Vice President, Private Client Group & Regional Banking Director and Chair of Michigan. Ms. Pierce joined Huntington in 2016 after its merger with FirstMerit Corporation in 2016. While at FirstMerit, Ms. Pierce served as Vice Chairman of FirstMerit Corporation and Chairman and CEO of FirstMerit Michigan, from 2013 to 2016.
Also, Ms. Pierce currently serves as a board member of Penske Automotive Group, American Axle & Manufacturing, Inc. and Barton Malow Enterprises. Additionally, she serves as chair of the Detroit Economic Club, the chair of Henry Ford Health Foundation, and a board member of Renaissance MAC. Ms. Pierce was appointed by Governor Whitmer to Michigan State University’s Board of Trustees in December 2022.
Linda Apsey
CEO, ITC Holdings Corp.
Linda Apsey is CEO of ITC Holdings Corp. In this role, she is responsible for the strategic vision and financial operations of ITC and its subsidiaries.
Ms. Apsey also has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer, and President of ITC Michigan where she was responsible for the company’s regulatory, marketing and communications, federal, state and local government affairs, and human resource functions.
Ms. Apsey was Manager of Transmission Policy and Business Planning for ITC when the organization was a subsidiary of DTE Energy. Prior to that role, she held a variety of positions at Detroit Edison including Manager, Regulatory Relations, where she was responsible for developing and managing regulatory and communications activities with the Michigan Public Service Commission and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Ms. Apsey received an honorary Doctor of Business degree, and earned a Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Science in public affairs management, from Michigan State University. She has been appointed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer to the Growing Michigan Together Council, is a member of the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), and serves on the boards of ITC Holdings Corp., FortisAlberta, The Detroit Economic Club, The Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce, Business Leaders for Michigan, the Nature Conservancy (Michigan), and the Board of Trustees at The Henry Ford. She is a past member of the Department of Energy’s Electricity Advisory Committee (EAC), the EAC’s Transmission Subcommittee, the Michigan Chamber Board of Directors, the Eli Broad College of Business Alumni Board of Directors at Michigan State University, and the Board of Trustees for Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital. In addition, she is past chair of The Heat and Warmth Fund (THAW) and past President of the Novi Parks Foundation.
Leanne Bell
Former CFO, Synergy Renewables LLC
Ms. Bell is a retired financial and power infrastructure expert with a portfolio of board work spanning the infrastructure space in both the U.S. and Europe. She has overseen the investment of more than $6 billion in global power infrastructure projects and companies. Before committing full time to non-executive board roles, Ms. Bell was CFO of Synergy Renewables LLC, Managing Director of Tiger Infrastructure Partners (formerly Lehman Brothers Global Infrastructure Partners) and Managing Director of GE Energy Financial Services.
She is currently appointed to the boards of Onward Energy Services, Ventient Energy Services Limited and Nassau Financial Group. Ms. Bell received her AB in economics from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts.
Geoff Chatas
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, University of Michigan
Mr. Chatas is the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at the University of Michigan where he serves as the President’s Chief Advisor on financial matters. There, he oversees a portfolio inclusive of U-M’s investment office, finance and accounting, enterprise strategic risk management, staff ombuds, facilities and campus operations, human resources and shared services.
Prior to that, he served as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Georgetown University and Senior Vice President for Business and Finance and Chief Financial Offer at The Ohio State University. In 2015, Gov. John Kasich appointed Mr. Chatas to run Ohio’s Task Force on Affordability and Efficiency in Higher Education, where a select group examined ways for Ohio’s public colleges and universities to lower tuition costs. Prior to his career in higher education, he served as managing director for the Infrastructure Investment Fund at JP Morgan Asset Management and served in various finance roles at Progress Energy, Inc., American Electric Power, Banc One Capital Corporation and Citibank.
Robert A. (Bob) Elliott
President and Owner, The Elliott Accounting Group
Mr. Elliott formed The Elliott Accounting Group in Tucson, Arizona in 1983 and serves as its president and owner. Before beginning his financial services career, Mr. Elliott played professional basketball, including three seasons with the New Jersey Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He finished his playing career with the Detroit Spirits of the Continental Basketball Association in 1983.
While running his accounting firm, Mr. Elliott spent 29 years as a broadcaster for the National College Athletic Association and the NBA. He was a three-time academic and athletic All-American at the University of Arizona, where he earned a bachelor of science in accounting and an MBA.
Debora Frodl
Founder, DF Strategies
Ms. Frodl is founder of DF Strategies, a strategic consultancy firm in Minneapolis. She previously served a 28-year career at General Electric (GE), where she most recently was Global Executive Director, Ecomagination.
Ms. Frodl has an extensive background in renewable and clean energy solutions ranging from serving as GE’s Chief Strategy Officer and Global Alternative Fuels Leader to Global Executive Director where she led Ecomagination, GE’s global business strategy to accelerate technology innovation to drive cleaner energy solutions.
Lt. Gen. Ronnie Hawkins Jr., USAF (Retired)
President, Angelo State University and President and CEO, The Hawkins Group
Lt. Gen. Hawkins Jr. was appointed as President of Angelo State University, which is part of the Texas Tech University System, in 2020. He is also the President and CEO of the Hawkins Group, a consultancy focusing on digital, information technology and cybersecurity challenges for Fortune 500 clients and the U.S. Government.
He founded the Hawkins Group in 2015 after serving more than a 37-year decorated career in the United States Air Force, which included leadership roles in critical infrastructure and key information systems used by the Department of Defense and its coalition partners.
David Hutchens
President and Chief Executive Officer, Fortis Inc.
Mr. Hutchens is President and Chief Executive Officer of Fortis Inc., a leader in the North American regulated electric and gas utility industry and parent company of ITC. He was appointed to this position beginning January 1, 2021.
Mr. Hutchens previously served as Chief Operating Officer of Fortis and President and CEO of Fortis subsidiary UNS Energy. He has a unique combination of operational and regulatory expertise in both the electric and gas sectors of the energy industry.
James P. Laurito
Former Executive Vice President, Business Development, Fortis Inc.
Mr. Laurito retired from Fortis Inc., a leader in the regulated gas and electric utility industry in North America and parent company of ITC, in December 2021, where he served as Executive Vice President, Business Development. He previously served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corporation, the first U.S. subsidiary of Fortis.
Mr. Laurito also served as President and Chief Executive Officer of both New York State Electric and Gas Corporation and Rochester Gas and Electric Corporation, subsidiaries of Iberdrola/ Energy East Corporation.
Jocelyn Perry
Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Fortis Inc.
Ms. Perry currently serves as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer of Fortis Inc., a leader in the regulated gas and electric utility industry in North America and parent company of ITC. She previously spent 13 years at Newfoundland Power, primary distributer of electricity on the island portion of Newfoundland and Labrador, in a variety of capacities, including CFO, COO, and President and CEO.
Prior to that, she served as the Director of Finance at Fortis and served in other financial capacities throughout the private sector. She is a fellow chartered professional accountant and received her chartered accountant designation.
Kevin L. Prust
Former Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President, The Weitz Company, LLC
Mr. Prust has more than 30 years of financial and accounting experience serving a variety of public and private organizations, most recently with The Weitz Company, a large national and international construction firm.
Prior to joining the Weitz Company, Mr. Prust was a managing partner with a national accounting firm, McGladrey & Pullen LLP, which he joined in 1978. He has expertise with strategic leadership, mergers and acquisitions, financing and governance.
A. Douglas Rothwell
Executive-in-Residence, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Mr. Rothwell is an Executive-in-Residence at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill responsible for economic development. He previously served as President and CEO of Business Leaders for Michigan – the state’s business roundtable.
In the public sector he served as Delaware’s Chief of Staff, President of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and chair of Governor Rick Snyder’s transition team. In the business world, Mr. Rothwell managed General Motors’ 400 million-square-foot global real estate portfolio and was the Chief Administrative Officer at Bank of America’s credit card subsidiary.
Brian Walker
Former Operating Partner, Huron Capital
Mr. Walker most recently served as an Operating Partner with Huron Capital, a leading lower middle-market private equity firm. There, he played a critical role in helping generate superior operating and financial performance within Huron’s portfolio companies.
Prior to joining Huron Capital in 2018, Mr. Walker was the President and CEO of Herman Miller, Inc. Under his leadership, Herman Miller redefined itself as the only company in the furnishings space to serve consumers and contract customers across a multi-channel platform. Mr. Walker is the Chair of the Board of Directors Landscape Forms and chairs the Nominating and Governance Committee and serves on the Audit Committee. He is also a member of the Board of Directors for Universal Forest Products, Inc., Gentex Inc., Mater A/S, and Cascade Engineering.