Leadership Team

Brian X. Tierney

Board Chair, President and Chief Executive Officer 

Brian X. Tierney is Chair of the Board of Directors and President and CEO of FirstEnergy.

Previously, Tierney was a Senior Managing Director and Global Head of Operations and Asset Management for Blackstone Infrastructure Partners.

Prior to joining Blackstone in 2021, Tierney spent more than 23 years at American Electric Power, one of the largest electrical utilities in the United States. He held various senior leadership positions at AEP, most recently serving as Executive Vice President of Strategy. From 2009-2020 Tierney served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. As CFO, he directed the company’s finance and accounting activities, and also had responsibility for strategy, procurement, supply chain and fleet operations. Tierney gained operations experience as Executive Vice President – AEP Utilities East, AEP’s largest regulated utility region, responsible for the distribution, customer service, and financial performance of AEP’s utility operating companies in the states of Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. Earlier in his career, he worked for a subsidiary of Enron Corp.

Before entering the energy industry, Tierney served as a United States Peace Corps Volunteer in the Republic of the Philippines and worked in the consumer products industry.

Tierney earned a Bachelor of Arts in history from Boston College and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago with concentrations in finance and accounting.

He currently serves on the Boards of the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), the Greater Cleveland Partnership and Ohio Business Roundtable, and he previously served on the Boards of Trustees of The Jeffrey Company and Energy Insurance Mutual. Tierney also was a member of the following Columbus, Ohio, based nonprofit organizations: Columbus Chamber, Columbus School for Girls, LifeCare Alliance and Mount Carmel College of Nursing.

John Combs

Senior Vice President, Shared Services

John Combs is Senior Vice President of Shared Services for FirstEnergy.

Combs joined the company in April 2024 and is responsible for overseeing FirstEnergy’s IT organization, including Cyber Security, Corporate Security and Information Technology, and the Innovation & Digital Factory. He also has responsibility for Supply Chain, the Transformation Office and Flight Operations.

Combs most recently served as Senior Vice President, Managing Director and General Manager and Chief Technology Officer of Enterprise Technology Services, at JPMorgan Chase & Co. He brings more than 25 years of experience in building, transforming and leading teams, products, technology platforms and services while ensuring regulatory and compliance needs are met and balanced with operational reliability, security and sustainability.

Before joining JPMorgan Chase & Co., Combs spent 16 years at Wolters Kluwer, a global leader in professional information, software solutions and services for the healthcare, tax and accounting, financial and corporate compliance, legal and regulatory, and corporate performance and ESG sectors. He started as Senior Director, Architecture Services, then held increasingly responsible leadership roles before being named Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer in May 2016.

Earlier in his career, Combs held IT positions with Telecommunication Systems, Legg Mason, Sony Electronics and United Parcel Service.

Combs earned a Master of Business Administration from Rochester Institute of Technology and achieved a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt from Virginia Polytechnic Institute.

Karen McClendon

Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer

Karen McClendon is Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) for FirstEnergy.

McClendon joined the company in November 2024 and is responsible for integrating and advancing the company’s human capital strategy, ensuring alignment with FirstEnergy’s strategic vision to be a premier electric company. She oversees key human resources functions, including talent management, benefits and compensation and labor and employee relations, and she is committed to building an inclusive workforce that is reflective of the communities served by the company.

McClendon comes to FirstEnergy from Paychex, a leading provider of integrated human capital management solutions for payroll, benefits, human resources and insurance services. As the company’s CHRO, she led the effort to enhance the employee experience using competitive compensation and benefits structures to recruit and retain top talent and transformed the human resources function by leveraging technology for data-driven human resource planning and decision-making.

Prior to her time at Paychex, McClendon spent 19 years as Vice President of Human Resources for various divisions of Comcast Corp. She also has held senior human resources leadership positions with Aramark, Exelon Corporation, Zone Telecom and Sesame Workshop.

Hyun Park     

Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer

Hyun Park is Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer for FirstEnergy.

Park joined FirstEnergy in 2021 and is responsible for the company’s legal, internal audit, and ethics and compliance functions.

Previously, Park served as Partner and General Counsel for LimNexus LLP, where he advised clients on a wide variety of complex matters, including crisis management, litigation and corporate transactions. Prior to joining LimNexus in October 2019, he was Of Counsel at Latham & Watkins LLP.

From 2006 to 2017, Park served as Senior Vice President and General Counsel for PG&E Corporation and its businesses, including its principal subsidiary, Pacific Gas and Electric Company. Prior to joining PG&E Corporation, Park held various executive leadership roles, including Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Allegheny Energy, Inc. and Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Sithe Energies, Inc. He began his career at Latham & Watkins where he became an equity partner.

Park earned his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School. In addition, he holds a graduate degree in economics from the University of Oxford and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Columbia University.

Wade Smith

President, FirstEnergy Utilities  

Wade Smith is President, FirstEnergy Utilities.

Smith joined the company in December 2023 and is responsible for overseeing FirstEnergy’s Distribution, Integrated and Stand-Alone Transmission business segments. He also has responsibility for External Affairs.

Smith has more than three decades of experience leading utilities. Most recently, he served as Chief Operating Officer of Puget Sound Energy, where he was responsible for all of PSE’s operational areas, serving approximately 1.2 million electric customers and 900,000 natural gas customers.

In 2021, Smith joined Pacific Gas & Electric as Senior Vice President of Electric Operations, leading electric transmission and distribution operations and maintenance, generation and project management and construction

Prior to PG&E, Smith spent nearly 32 years at American Electric Power. In 2010, he was named President and Chief Operating Officer of AEP Texas. Then, in 2015, he became Senior Vice President of Grid Development for AEP Transmission, responsible for planning, engineering, project and construction management, and real-time operations.

Smith earned a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Texas Tech University and a Master of Business Administration from Abilene Christian University. He also completed the Executive Program at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.

K. Jon Taylor 

Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer 

Jon Taylor is Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for FirstEnergy. 

Taylor joined FirstEnergy in 2009 and is responsible for accounting, treasury, investor relations, risk and strategy. He progressed through various senior-level financial positions, including Assistant Controller at both FirstEnergy Utilities and FirstEnergy Solutions. In October 2012, Taylor was promoted to Vice President and Assistant Controller for FirstEnergy Corp, and he was named Vice President, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer in 2013. 

In March 2018, Taylor was named President of Ohio Operations, then he was promoted to Vice President, FirstEnergy Utilities in April 2019, where he oversaw distribution operations for the Company’s five state service territory. He was elected Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in May 2020 and named to his current position effective August 2021. 

Before joining FirstEnergy, Taylor was with PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP.  

Taylor earned both a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Accounting from The University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Taylor is the former Board Chair of the Development Finance Authority of Summit County – an Ohio Port Authority. 

Toby L. Thomas

Chief Operating Officer

Toby Thomas is Chief Operating Officer for FirstEnergy.

Thomas joined the company in November 2023 and is responsible for a broad range of transmission and distribution business functions. His responsibilities include planning and protection, transmission, distribution and substation engineering and standards, project and construction management, real-time system operations, support operations and customer care operations.

Prior to joining FirstEnergy, Thomas served as Senior Vice President, Energy Delivery, for American Electric Power. Promoted to this role in 2021, he was responsible for leading transmission, distribution and telecommunications operations, project management, construction, engineering and standards.

Thomas started at AEP in 2001 as a Project Engineer in Industrial Marketing and Origination, progressing through various roles of increasing responsibility in asset optimization and generation. He was named President and Chief Operating Officer of Indiana Michigan Power in 2017 to oversee business performance, operations and a wide range of customer, policy and regulatory relationships.

He began his career with Cummins Engine Company in Columbus, Indiana, serving in engineering and technical specialist roles.

Thomas earned a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.

Antonio Fernández

Vice President and Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer

Antonio Fernández is Vice President and Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer for FirstEnergy.

Fernández leads a dedicated team of compliance professionals with a focus on strengthening FirstEnergy’s ethics and compliance function. He reports to the Audit Committee of the Board and administratively to the Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer.

Fernández joined FirstEnergy in April 2021 after five years as Chief Compliance, NERC & Privacy Officer of Public Service Enterprise Group. In this role, he led PSEG’s ethics, compliance and privacy programs, advised senior management and the Board of Directors on the company’s compliance program and provided advice on ethics, compliance, privacy and cybersecurity matters.

Before joining PSEG in 2016, Fernández was Global Ombuds Leader and Executive Counsel for GE Power. During his five years at GE, he held various roles of increasing responsibility in GE’s compliance program, including serving as Chief Compliance Officer for GE’s nuclear business and as GE’s Corporate Ombuds Leader.

Earlier in his career, Fernández was a senior attorney for Florida Power & Light from 2007 to 2011 and nuclear counsel for Pacific Gas and Electric Company from 2005 to 2007. He began his career at the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission Office of the General Counsel in its Honors Program.

Fernández earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Dayton, a Juris Doctor (Order of Barristers) from St. Mary’s University School of Law and a Master of Laws in international and comparative law from Georgetown University Law Center.