internal
Scott J. Lauber
President and Chief Executive Officer
Executive
4 yr
5 reports
WEC Energy Group, Inc. ·WEC
Regulated utility holding company with COO overseeing multi-state operations
Energy · Fortune #451 · Holding structure · 7K employees · Milwaukee, Wisconsin
5
CEO span
↓ tighter than peers (avg 10)
2.6
Avg span
moderate
2
Max depth
2 levels
4.2 yr
Avg tenure
60%
Internal hires
↑ above industry avg
Consolidated financials FY2025 · period end 2025-12-31 · 10-K
Revenue
$9.8B
Operating income
$2.2B
Net income
$640M
Total assets
$51.5B
Shares out
326M
Sourced from WEC Energy Group, Inc. DEF 14A · filed 2026-03-26 ↗ View on SEC
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WEC Energy Group, Inc. organizational chart
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WEC Energy Group operates a lean, regulated-utility holding structure with operations centralized under a powerful COO. This page maps the executive team, reporting lines, recent leadership changes, and compares WEC’s structure with peer 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 Michael W. Hooper moved into Executive Vice President and COO
Appointed COO effective May 11, 2025.
Source · See change logScenario views in the chart
- Add Chief AI & Analytics Officer Creates a new enterprise role to oversee grid analytics, forecasting and AI-driven operations.
- COO Departure: Rebalance Operations Explores redistributing operational oversight directly to subsidiary presidents.
Atlas work this supports
- Connect Workday or UKG Get these analytics for YOUR org — tenure, span of control, headcount, automatically from your HRIS.
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The people
Who's running this
6 executives identified as Named Executive Officers in the most recent SEC proxy. Bar length scales with tenure.
Michael W. Hooper
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Operations
2 yr
0 reports
internal
Xia Liu
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Finance
5 yr
0 reports
internal
Margaret C. Kelsey
Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary
Legal
6 yr
0 reports
internal
Robert M. Garvin
Executive Vice President – External Affairs
External Affairs
7 yr
0 reports
Open Role
Chief Audit Officer
Audit
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.
Scott J. Lauber $12.2M
- Base salary
- $1.21M
- Stock awards
- $5.41M
- Option awards
- $990K
- Non-equity incentive
- $3.54M
- Pension change
- $486K
- Other
- $565K
- Fiscal year
- FY2025
- Source
- SEC DEF 14A ↗
The businesses
How WEC Energy Group, Inc. divides the work
3 divisions report into the group CEO. Tile size scales with estimated headcount.
Utility Operations
5K employees
Chief Operating Officer (Michael W. Hooper)
Oversees electric and gas utility operations across Wisconsin, Illinois and other Midwest states.
Finance
400 employees
Chief Financial Officer (Xia Liu)
Manages capital planning, treasury, investor relations and financial reporting.
Legal & Governance
200 employees
General Counsel (Margaret C. Kelsey)
Handles legal, regulatory, compliance and corporate governance matters.
The thesis
Why this org is unusual
The most distinctive feature of WEC Energy Group’s structure is its classic regulated utility holding-company model, with operational authority centralized under a COO while earnings are generated almost entirely by regulated subsidiaries.
The CEO has a relatively tight span of control, with core enterprise functions—finance, legal, operations, external affairs and audit—reporting directly.
Unlike many diversified utilities, WEC maintains limited non-regulated exposure, which reduces the need for divisional CEOs. The COO role is therefore pivotal, coordinating Wisconsin, Illinois and other-state utility operations, transmission investments and infrastructure execution across subsidiaries.
- COO centralizes multi-state utility operations
- Lean enterprise C-suite for a Fortune 500 utility holding company
The comparison
How WEC Energy Group, Inc. stacks up
Compared with peer regulated utilities such as Xcel Energy, Ameren and DTE Energy, WEC Energy Group’s structure is slightly leaner at the enterprise level. Peers often layer multiple segment presidents between the CEO and operating utilities, while WEC concentrates authority in the COO. This results in fewer C-suite …
C-suite size
Reporting depth
Avg C-suite tenure
Has COO / Has CAIO
WEC Energy Group, Inc. ✓ COO — no CAIO
Ameren ✓ COO — no CAIO
Current signals
What changed recently
The most significant recent change was Michael Hooper’s promotion to COO, consolidating operational oversight.
- promoted
- Date not confirmed departedGale E. Klappa Non-Executive Chairman
Retired from the board in May 2026 after reaching retirement age.
Source
Leadership Timeline
Year-over-year executive structure based on SEC proxy and annual filings.
FY2025
DEF 14A filed 2026-03-26
- CEO
- Scott J. Lauber
- CEO span
- 5
- C-suite
- 5
- Avg tenure
- 4.2 yr
COO role formalized to centralize operations.
Named executive officers (5)
- Scott J. Lauber - President and CEO since 2022
- Xia Liu - EVP and CFO since 2020
- Michael W. Hooper - EVP and COO since 2025
- Margaret C. Kelsey - EVP, General Counsel since 2019
- Robert M. Garvin - EVP – External Affairs since 2018
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the CEO of WEC Energy Group?
Scott J. Lauber has served as President and CEO since February 2022.
What type of organizational structure does WEC Energy Group use?
WEC Energy Group operates as a regulated utility holding company with centralized enterprise functions.
How many direct reports does WEC Energy Group's CEO have?
The CEO has five direct reports, including the COO, CFO and General Counsel.
How has WEC Energy Group's leadership changed recently?
In 2025, Michael Hooper was promoted to COO, and in 2026 long-time chairman Gale Klappa retired.
Does WEC Energy Group have a COO?
Yes. Michael W. Hooper has served as Executive Vice President and COO since May 2025.
Sources
- Company Proxy Statement, Mar 2026
- DEF 14A Filing, Mar 2026
- SEC EDGAR: WEC Energy Group, Inc. DEF 14A Proxy Statement
- SEC EDGAR: WEC Energy Group, Inc. 10-K Annual Report
Reference
Cite this page
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APA 7th
Creately. (2026). WEC Energy Group, Inc. organizational structure. Creately. Retrieved , from https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/wec-energy-group/MLA 9th
"WEC Energy Group, Inc. Organizational Structure." Creately, April 1, 2026, https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/wec-energy-group/. Accessed .Chicago 17
Creately. "WEC Energy Group, Inc. Organizational Structure." Last modified April 1, 2026. https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/wec-energy-group/.Original SEC source View on SEC ↗
WEC Energy Group, Inc.. DEF 14A. Filed 2026-03-26. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/783325/000078332526000035/wec-20260324.htmPermanent URL: https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/wec-energy-group/ · last updated 2026-04-01