NRG Energy, Inc. announced that Lawrence Coben, Ph.D., Chair of the NRG Board of Directors, has been appointed Interim President and Chief Executive Officer and that Mauricio Gutierrez, NRG?s President and Chief Executive Officer, has departed the Company and resigned from the Board. The NRG Board has initiated a search to identify a permanent CEO and retained a leading search firm to assist with this process. NRG director Anne Schaumburg has also been appointed Lead Independent Director.

Dr. Coben has served as Chair of the NRG Board of Directors since 2017 and has been a member of the Board since 2003. From 2003 to 2017, he was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of various affiliates of Tremisis Energy. Dr. Coben also served on the Board of Directors of SAESA, a Chilean utility, from 2008 to 2010, the Board of Prisma Energy from 2003 to 2006, and the advisory board of Morgan Stanley Infrastructure II, L.P. from 2014 to 2016.

He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Freshpet, Inc. Dr. Coben is also the Executive Director of the ESCALA Initiative, a leading NGO that provides a Business School and Capacity Training Program to marginalized women entrepreneurs around the world. Dr. Coben received a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Yale University, a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School, and a Master of Arts and Ph.D. in anthropology with a focus in archaeology from the University of Pennsylvania. NRG also announced that, pursuant to a cooperation agreement with Elliott Investment Management L.P. (?Elliott?), four new independent directors will be joining the Company?s Board: Marwan Fawaz, former executive advisor for Google and its parent company, Alphabet, and former CEO of Nest and of Motorola Home; Kevin Howell, former Chief Operating Officer of Dynegy Inc. and former Regional President of NRG Texas; Alex Pourbaix, Executive Chair and prior President and Chief Executive Officer of Cenovus Energy; and Marcie Zlotnik, Co-Founder, Chief Operating Officer and Chair of Texas retail electricity provider, StarTex Power.

These directors were identified as part of NRG?s previously announced Board refreshment process and in collaboration with Elliott. With these appointments, NRG?s Board will consist of 13 directors, 12 of whom are independent. Messrs.

Howell and Pourbaix will join the Board?s CEO Search Committee, which will also include independent NRG directors Lisa Donohue (Chair), Antonio Carrillo and Heather Cox. It is expected that the size of the Board will be reduced to 11 members in the second half of 2024. Ms. Schaumburg has served as a member of NRG?s Board of Directors since 2005.

From 1984 to 2002, she was a Managing Director and senior banker in the Global Energy Group at Credit Suisse First Boston. Ms. Schaumburg also served as Managing Director in the utilities group at Dean Witter Financial Services Group and as a member of the public utilities group at First Boston Corporation. She currently serves as independent Chair of the Board of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners and Chair of the Board?s Compensation Committee of Brookfield Reinsurance Ltd. Ms. Schaumburg is a graduate of City University of New York.

Marwan Fawaz brings decades of experience in the telecommunications technology sector, Smart Home services and technology, Internet of Things and 5G along with experience in general technology strategies. Mr. Fawaz is the former executive advisor for Google and its parent company, Alphabet, where he provided strategic advisory and M&A support in the areas of telecom, broadband, home automation, media and 5G mobile sectors from 2019 to 2022. He held CEO roles at Nest from 2016 to 2018 and Motorola Home from 2012 to 2013.

Under his leadership, Motorola Home was repositioned and acquired for $2.35 billion by Arris and Nest revenues tripled. He served as Executive Vice President, Operations and Chief Technology of Charter Communications from 2006 to 2011 and as Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Adelphia Communications from 2003 to 2006. Earlier in his career, Mr. Fawaz held leadership positions at MediaOne and other cable and broadband companies.

Mr. Fawaz has served on the Board of CSG Systems International, Inc. since 2016. He was a director of Synacor, Inc. from 2012 to 2021 through its acquisition by Centre Lane Partners. Mr. Fawaz holds a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering and a Master of Science degree in telecommunications, both from California State University at Long Beach.

Mr. Howell served as Chief Operating Officer of Dynegy Inc. during its restructuring from 2011 to 2013. In this role he oversaw Plant Operations, Commercial Operations and Environmental, Health and Safety. From 2005 to 2010, Mr. Howell served in various capacities at NRG, including as Regional President, NRG Texas, where he was responsible for managing NRG?s Texas operations, comprising more than 2,600 professional employees focused on safe, reliable and cost-effective energy generation and delivery.

Prior to this, he served as NRG?s Executive Vice President, Commercial Operations, responsible for the optimization of the company?s asset portfolio and fuel requirements. Before joining NRG, Mr. Howell served as President of Dominion Energy Clearinghouse from 2001 to 2005. From 1995 to 2001, Mr. Howell held various positions within the Duke Energy portfolio, including Senior Vice President of Duke Energy Trading and Marketing, Senior Vice President of Duke Energy International and Executive Vice President of Duke Energy Merchants, where he managed a global trading group dealing in refined products, LNG and coal.

Mr. Howell currently serves on the Board of TexGen LLC, which owns a fleet of gas-fired power plants in the ERCOT market, and as a Board member of Energy Harbor Corp., which owns a fleet of nuclear power plants and retail power operations. He has previously served as Chairman of the Board for Atlantic Power Corp., which owns a diversified fleet of power-generation assets. He served on the Atlantic Power Board beginning in January of 2015 and was elected Chairman in June of 2019.

His previous board experience includes Chairman of Illinois Power Generation (a subsidiary of Dynegy Inc.), Sunnova Energy (a retail solar provider), Nanosolar (a thin film solar manufacturer), Entrust Energy (a power and natural gas retailer) and South Texas Nuclear Operating Company.