William J. Fehrman
Chair, President and Chief Executive Officer
Executive
2 yr
4 reports
American Electric Power Company, Inc. ·AEP
Transmission, nuclear, and regulated utilities run as separate presidents
Energy · Fortune #218 · Divisional structure · 16K employees · Columbus, OH
4
CEO span
↓ tighter than peers (avg 8)
4
Avg span
moderate
2
Max depth
2 levels
1 yr
Avg tenure
0%
Internal hires
↓ below industry avg
Consolidated financials FY2025 · period end 2025-12-31 · 10-K
Revenue
$21.7B
Operating income
$5.3B
Net income
$1.5B
Total assets
$114.5B
Shares out
541M
Sourced from American Electric Power Company, Inc. DEF 14A · filed 2026-03-18 ↗ View on SEC
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American Electric Power Company, Inc. organizational chart
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American Electric Power separates transmission and nuclear development as standalone presidential roles reporting directly to the CEO. This page details AEP’s divisional executive structure, leadership tenure, compensation, recent changes, and peer comparisons for regulated utilities.
What to model
Use the chart to test org decisions, not just view reporting lines
Start with the public baseline, then use the scenario views and source-backed changes to ask what happens when leadership, span, or team ownership shifts.
Latest signal Trevor I. Mihalik joined as Chief Financial Officer
Appointed CFO effective January 2025.
Source · See change logScenario views in the chart
- Add Chief Operating Officer Introduce a COO to consolidate operational oversight across regulated utilities and reduce CEO span.
- Merge Nuclear into Generation Ops Move Nuclear Development under a broader generation operations leader to streamline capital planning.
Atlas work this supports
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The people
Who's running this
5 executives identified as Named Executive Officers in the most recent SEC proxy. Bar length scales with tenure.
Trevor I. Mihalik
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Finance
1 yr
0 reports
Douglas A. Cannon
President – AEP Transmission
Transmission
1 yr
0 reports
Robert B. Berntsen
Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary
Legal
1 yr
0 reports
Alicia R. Knapp
President – Nuclear Development
Generation
1 yr
0 reports
The pay
Executive compensation
From the most recent DEF 14A Summary Compensation Table. 1 named executive officers disclosed. Bar length scales with total compensation.
William J. Fehrman $36.6M
- Base salary
- $1.51M
- Bonus
- $1.15M
- Stock awards
- $29.34M
- Non-equity incentive
- $4.29M
- Pension change
- $36K
- Other
- $280K
- Fiscal year
- FY2025
- Source
- SEC DEF 14A ↗
The businesses
How American Electric Power Company, Inc. divides the work
3 divisions report into the group CEO. Tile size scales with estimated headcount.
AEP Transmission
3K employees
President – AEP Transmission (Douglas A. Cannon)
Develops, owns, and operates regulated electric transmission assets across multiple jurisdictions.
Nuclear Development
500 employees
President – Nuclear Development (Alicia R. Knapp)
Leads nuclear strategy, licensing, and development including advanced and SMR initiatives.
Finance
800 employees
Chief Financial Officer (Trevor I. Mihalik)
Oversees capital allocation, financing, investor relations, and financial reporting.
The thesis
Why this org is unusual
American Electric Power’s most distinctive structural feature is its use of separate presidents for major regulated platforms—most notably transmission and nuclear development—reporting directly to the CEO.
Rather than consolidating these activities under a single COO, AEP treats them as standalone operating businesses.
The org chart shows a divisional model aligned to regulatory and asset classes. AEP Transmission operates as its own profit-focused platform with FERC-regulated returns, while Nuclear Development is separated to manage long-horizon risk, licensing, and capital allocation distinct from the vertically integrated utilities.
This structure reflects AEP’s capital-intensive strategy, where transmission and nuclear investments require different regulatory skill sets, timelines, and stakeholder engagement than distribution utilities or corporate functions.
- No COO role
- Separate president for transmission
- Nuclear development isolated from core utilities
The comparison
How American Electric Power Company, Inc. stacks up
Compared with peers such as Duke Energy and Southern Company, AEP places greater structural emphasis on transmission as an independent platform. Many utilities embed transmission under a COO or combined operations leader, whereas AEP elevates it to a presidential role. Unlike Exelon, which is transmission- and …
C-suite size
Reporting depth
American Electric Power Company, Inc.
2 levels
4 levels
5 levels
4 levels
5 levels
Avg C-suite tenure
American Electric Power Company, Inc.
1 yr
5 yr
6 yr
4 yr
5 yr
Has COO / Has CAIO
American Electric Power Company, Inc. — no COO — no CAIO
Current signals
What changed recently
AEP refreshed much of its top team in 2025, including a new CFO and new presidents for transmission and nuclear development.
- Date not confirmed new
- Date not confirmed newDouglas A. Cannon President – AEP Transmission
Joined AEP and appointed President of Transmission in June 2025.
Source - Date not confirmed departed
Leadership Timeline
Year-over-year executive structure based on SEC proxy and annual filings.
FY2025
DEF 14A filed 2026-03-18
- CEO
- William J. Fehrman
- CEO span
- 4
- C-suite
- 5
- Avg tenure
- 1 yr
Significant leadership refresh with multiple external hires.
Named executive officers (5)
- William J. Fehrman - CEO since 2024
- Trevor I. Mihalik - CFO since 2025
- Douglas A. Cannon - President – Transmission since 2025
- Robert B. Berntsen - General Counsel since 2025
- Alicia R. Knapp - President – Nuclear Development since 2025
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the CEO of American Electric Power?
William J. Fehrman has served as Chair, President and CEO since August 2024.
What type of organizational structure does American Electric Power use?
AEP uses a divisional structure aligned to regulated utility platforms such as transmission and nuclear development.
How many direct reports does American Electric Power's CEO have?
The CEO has four direct executive reports.
How has American Electric Power's leadership changed recently?
In 2025, AEP appointed a new CFO and added new presidents for transmission and nuclear development.
Does American Electric Power have a COO?
No. AEP does not have a COO; instead, major operating platforms report directly to the CEO.
Sources
- Company Proxy Statement, Mar 2026
- DEF 14A Filing, Mar 2026
- SEC EDGAR: American Electric Power Company, Inc. DEF 14A Proxy Statement
- SEC EDGAR: American Electric Power Company, Inc. 10-K Annual Report
Reference
Cite this page
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Creately. (2026). American Electric Power Company, Inc. organizational structure. Creately. Retrieved , from https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/american-electric-power/MLA 9th
"American Electric Power Company, Inc. Organizational Structure." Creately, April 1, 2026, https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/american-electric-power/. Accessed .Chicago 17
Creately. "American Electric Power Company, Inc. Organizational Structure." Last modified April 1, 2026. https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/american-electric-power/.Original SEC source View on SEC ↗
American Electric Power Company, Inc.. DEF 14A. Filed 2026-03-18. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/4904/000000490426000022/aep-20260318.htmPermanent URL: https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/american-electric-power/ · last updated 2026-04-01