A Diverse, Engaged Board of Directors
Our Board of Directors possesses relevant expertise and skills and represent a diverse mix of professional experience, backgrounds and perspectives appropriate to oversee our company’s businesses, operations and long-term strategy.
CenterPoint Energy’s Board of Directors serves as the company’s ultimate decision-making body. The Board oversees executive management, long-term business strategy and performance, succession planning, enterprise risk management and ESG responsibilities, among other things. Through oversight, review and counsel, the Board establishes and supports the company’s business, organizational and strategic objectives. In 2022, the Board met six times.
Our Board is chaired by Earl M. Cummings. Our Chief Executive Officer, David J. Lesar, serves as a member of our Board but does not serve as a member of any of its standing committees. Except for Lesar, all members of the Board are independent according to the standards established by the New York Stock Exchange.
Our Board of Directors believes that having a diverse mix of directors with complementary qualifications, skills and expertise is essential to effectively discharging its oversight responsibility while advancing the company’s long-term business strategy. Accordingly, the Board is focused on striking an appropriate balance between retaining directors with a deep knowledge of the company and adding new directors with a fresh perspective.
CenterPoint Energy Board of Directors
As of October 3, 2023
Earl M. Cummings
Independent Chair of the Board
Wendy Montoya Cloonan
Christopher H. Franklin
David J. Lesar
Raquelle W. Lewis
Thaddeus J. Malik
Martin H. Nesbitt
Theodore F. Pound
Ricky A. Raven
Phillip R. Smith
Barry T. Smitherman
Board Diversity
5/11
Diverse
Diverse Member
Race or Ethnicity
Women
Board Tenure
9/11
Tenure
≤5 years
0 – 5 Years
6 – 10 Years
Board Diversity
Board Tenure
Board Diversity and Tenure as of October 3, 2023
Our Board of Directors collectively represents a variety of backgrounds, key skills and competencies that support oversight and execution of our strategy.
The chart below summarizes certain information for each of our directors, including their key skills and qualifications, as of April 21, 2023. To learn more about the company’s Board of Directors, including individual biographies, visit the Leadership section of CenterPointEnergy.com.
Executive Succession Planning and Leadership Development
The Compensation Committee, along with the full Board, oversee management succession planning and talent development with continued focus on designing a succession planning program to support the execution of the company’s long-term growth strategy. As part of its succession planning strategy, the Board and the Compensation Committee regularly discuss with the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Human Resources Officer, the company’s existing leadership, the development of internal talent, and the company’s process for identifying potential candidates as successors to current leadership. During 2022, the Board discussed succession planning at each of its regularly scheduled Board meetings.
We also believe in the importance of continuing to build a strong pipeline of capable leadership and strive to do so through our leadership development programs conducted by CNP University, our corporate university.