Executives on the Move: SolarWinds enters tailspin, PG&E comes back

With 2020 finally under wraps, C-suite executives all over the world are setting goals and seizing opportunities. And many are headed for greener pastures. 

At Boardroom Insiders, our mission is to provide the best executive intelligence, and we begin with showing you who the key players are. To that end, we’re unveiling our 2021 list of the CEOs of the Fortune 500 later this month. The list is full of information and insight into the top executives in the F500, and it’s free to download. We’ll let you know as soon as it’s available.  

In the meantime, here are some of the most interesting changes we’ve noted in the C-suite: 

SolarWinds names new CEO amidst turmoil

SolarWinds is having a rocky start to 2021after hackers reportedly used the company’s software to attack U.S. systems in both the public and private sector last year. Government officials have pointed to Russia as the source of the attack. 

Less than a week before the hack made headlines. SolarWinds announced that it had named Sudhakar Ramakrishna as president and CEO. That promotion took effect Jan. 4. Ramakrishna most recently served as CEO of Pulse Secure, a secure access solutions provider, and he replaces longtime SolarWinds CEO Kevin Thompson. 

Since the breach has been traced back to September 2019, the full ramifications are not yet known. Reports have surfaced that private equity firms unloaded more than $200 million in SolarWinds stock in the week prior to the CEO and the hack. The stock has plummeted more than 30% in the weeks since. 

PG&E comes back from the brink

It’s a new era for PG&E. After enduring lawsuits for years pertaining to its role in deadly California wildfires, the utility corporation exited from bankruptcy last summer.

Now, following a national search, the company has a new leader to light the way. Patti Poppe assumed the CEO position on Jan. 4. Until recently, Poppe served five years at Consumers Energy, another energy provider based in Michigan. Poppe is an industrial engineer by trade and has served 15 years in the energy industry and another 15 years at automaker General Motors. 

Poppe is the first woman to jump from one Fortune 500 company to another at the CEO level. Looking onward, she will be expected to restore profitability to PG&E while helping the company transition to clean energy. 

Sheldon Adelson dead at 87 

Gambling mogul Sheldon Adelson has passed away after a battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. For three decades, Adelson, the founder, chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corp, oversaw a gambling and hospitality empire with resorts in America and Asia. 

His entry into the casino space began in 1989 when Adelson bought the Sands Hotel and Casino, a gamble that paid off handsomely. Upon his death, Adelson had an estimated net worth of $35 billion and was a major Republican and pro-Israel donor. Adelson and his wife, Miriam, made more than $200 million in campaign contributions in 2020, according to OpenSecrets. 

There has been no announcement about who will replace Adelson as the company’s Chairman and CEO.

More executives on the move...

• Aparna Abburi is now President, Medicare Business, Cigna Corporation.
• Ruma Balasubramanian is now Managing Director, Southeast Asia, Google Cloud.
• Peter Bartolotta is now COO and CIO, DoubleCheck Solutions.
• Lisa Barton is now EVP and COO, American Electric Power Company, Inc.
• Christophe Beck is now President and CEO, Ecolab Inc.
• Jennifer Biry is now CFO, WarnerMedia, LLC.
• David Blodgett is now Managing Director, Technology, Engineering and Data, KKR & Co. L.P.
• Robert Casalou is now President and CEO, Michigan and Southeast Regions, Trinity Health.
• Timothy Cawley is now President and CEO, Consolidated Edison, Inc.
• David Constable is now CEO, Fluor Corporation.
• Christine Day is now Co-Founder, The House of LR&C. 
• Susan deCathelineau is now SVP and Chief Customer Success Officer, Hyland Software, Inc.
• Suzy Deering is now Global CMO, Ford Motor Company.
• Roben Dunkin is now Chief Innovation Officer, PGIM, Prudential Financial, Inc.
• Tom Eck is now SVP, Digital Transformation, Fiserv, Inc.
• Brian Evanko is now EVP and CFO, Cigna Corporation.
• Brian Glidden is now VP, Strategic Alliances Worldwide, Coforge Inc.
• Tom Grimes is now Security Product Sales Specialist, Infoblox Inc.
• Jonathan Halkyard is now CFO, MGM Resorts International.
• Eric Hansotia is now President and CEO, AGCO Corporation.
• Chuck Herrin is now EVP and Chief Information Security Officer, Texas Capital Bank, N.A., Texas Capital Bancshares, Inc.
• Tim Hingtgen is now CEO, Community Health Systems Inc.
• Graham Holmes is now Chief Security Officer, PacketFabric, Inc.
• Timothy Horgan is now Business Partner, Talent and Culture, Personal Banking, ANZ Bank New Zealand Limited, ANZ Bank.
• Jamere Jackson is now EVP and CFO, Finance and Store Development, Customer Satisfaction, AutoZone, Inc.
• Daniel Janki is now President and CEO, GE Power Portfolio Businesses and SVP, General Electric, GE Power.
• Brian King is now President, Caribbean and Latin America, Marriott International Inc.
• Vera Kirikova is now Group Executive, Human Resources, Rio Tinto Group.
• Philippe Krakowsky is now CEO, Interpublic Group of Companies Inc.
• Felix Lindemann is now Managing Director and COO, Metro Digital GmbH, Metro AG.
• Julie Loeger is now SVP and Global Chief Growth Officer, eBay Inc.
• Thomas Long is now Co-CEO, Energy Transfer LP.
• Jody Macedonio is now CFO, Chobani, LLC.
• Matthew Manders is now President, Government and Solutions, Cigna Corporation.
• Marshall McCrea is now CO-CEO, Energy Transfer LP.
• Christopher McIsaac is now Managing Director and Head, International Division, Vanguard Group, Inc.
• Michael Miebach is now CEO, Mastercard Incorporated.
• Marc Miller is now President and CEO, Universal Health Services, Inc.
• Richard Muncrief is now President and CEO, Devon Energy Corporation.
• Everett Neville is now EVP, Strategy and Business Development, Cigna Corporation.
• Eric Palmer is now President and COO, Evernorth, Cigna Corporation.
• Gina Papush is now Global Chief Data and Analytics Officer, Evernorth, Cigna Corporation.
• Kenneth Parent is now Senior Advisor, Pilot Company.
• Thomas Peck, Jr. is now EVP, Chief Information and Digital Officer, SYSCO Corporation.
• Michelle Peluso is now Chief Customer Officer (effective January 25, 2021), CVS Health Corporation.
• David Prystash is now CEO, International Automotive Components Group S.A.
• David Rankin is now EVP and CFO, Seaboard Corporation.
• Katrina Redmond is now SVP and CIO, Eaton Corporation.
• Karin Risi is now Managing Director, Planning and Development Group, Vanguard Group, Inc.
• Asheesh Saksena is now Chief Growth Officer, Gap Inc.
• Michael Santomassimo is now Senior EVP and CFO, Wells Fargo & Company.
• Ty Silberhorn is now CEO, Apogee Enterprises, Inc.
• Michael Speetzen is now Interim CEO, Polaris Inc.
• Jakob Stausholm is now CEO, Rio Tinto Group.
• Robert Steer is now President and CEO, Seaboard Corporation.
• Russell Stokes is now President and CEO, GE Aviation Services & SVP, GE Company (General Electric Co.).
• Charlene Thomas is now Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer, United Parcel Service, Inc.
• Kelcy Warren is now Executive Chairman, Energy Transfer LP.
• Timothy Wentworth is now CEO, Evernorth, Cigna Corporation.
• Wayne West is now COO, GM Cruise LLC.
• William Westrate is now CEO-Elect, American Family Insurance Group.
• Scott Wine is now CEO, CNH Industrial N.V.

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