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Marshall Township's Kevin Walker becomes 1st Black man to lead Duquesne Light Co.

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - 6/2/2021

Jun. 2—Kevin Walker of Marshall Township has been named the new president and CEO of Duquesne Light Co., company officials announced.

Walker is a U.S. Army combat veteran with more than three decades of experience leading utility companies and is the first Black man to become head of Duquesne Light Co., Duquesne Light Holdings and DQE.

Walker succeeds Mark Kaplan, who will become a special advisor to the company's management and board of directors.

Duquesne Light employs more than 1,700 people.

"With more than 30 years of utility and leadership experience, Kevin has played an integral role at DLC over the past year in helping to navigate the complexities of the covid pandemic," said Joseph Guyaux, chairman of the board of directors. "We have been impressed with Kevin's business acumen, vision of the energy future and commitment to supporting employees, customers and the communities we serve."

Before joining the DLC as chief operating officer in April 2020, Walker served as senior vice president for customer and operations services and nuclear decommissioning at Southern California Edison. He also has served in chief operations officer-level positions at both Iberdrola and American Electric Power.

Walker earned a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from West Point Academy and a master's of business administration from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

He serves on the board of the American Association of Blacks in Energy and the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh.

Walker served six years as a field artillery officer with a deployment to the Middle East in support of Operation Desert Storm.

"It is my honor and privilege to lead the talented and dedicated employees of (Duquesne Light Co.) and I'm looking forward to working with our business and community partners in Allegheny and Beaver counties," Walker said.

"I've been impressed with the company's ability to provide excellent customer service to the people of the Pittsburgh region, and my goal is to continue to meet our customers' changing energy needs."

Walker lives in Marshall with his spouse John, their 7-year-old twins and two dogs. He is an avid bicyclist and hiker.

Tony LaRussa is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tony at 724-772-6368, tlarussa@triblive.com or via Twitter .

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