Industry & Services >> CEO Interviews >> November 17, 2003
WILLIAM F. HECHT is Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of
PPL Corporation, a worldwide energy company with headquarters in
Allentown, Pennsylvania. PPL Corporation controls or owns about 11,500
megawatts of generating capacity in the United States, sells energy in
key US markets and delivers electricity to customers in Pennsylvania,
the United Kingdom and Latin America. Mr. Hecht, who holds Bachelor's
and Master's degrees in Engineering from Lehigh University, has served
as President of the FORTUNE 500' company since 1991 and in the
additional role of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer since 1993. A
registered professional engineer in Pennsylvania, he also is a graduate
of the Cornell University Executive Development Program. Under Mr.
Hecht's leadership, PPL Corporation provides services to customers
through these business lines: PPL Electric Utilities (domestic energy
delivery); PPL Global (development and international operations); PPL
EnergyPlus (sales to other utilities, resellers and end-use customers);
and PPL Generation (power plant operations in key U.S. markets). The
company also provides energy services to business customers through a
growing group of mechanical contracting companies, located from New
England to Ohio. Mr. Hecht is a member of the Board of Directors of the
Nuclear Energy Institute, the National Association of Manufacturers and
the Edison Electric Institute, where he serves on the executive
committee. He is past Chairman and current Board member of the Utility
Business Education Coalition. He also is Chairman of the Pennsylvania
Business Roundtable and serves on the Board of Directors of the TEAM
Pennsylvania Foundation, a group established by former Pennsylvania Gov.
Tom Ridge to promote economic development. In the community, Mr. Hecht
joined PPL in 1964 and worked in a number of engineering and management
positions before advancing to Vice President-System Power in 1983. He
also served as Vice President-Marketing and Economic Development, Vice
President-Power Production and Engineering and Senior Vice President-
System Power and Engineering. In 1990, he was named Executive Vice
President-Operations and was elected to the company's Board of
Directors. Profile
JOHN R. BIGGAR is Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
of PPL Corporation. He also serves as a member of the company's
Corporate Leadership Council, which helps set the strategic direction
for PPL. He was appointed to PPL's Board of Directors in October 2001.
Mr. Biggar began his PPL career in 1969 as an Attorney in the company's
legal department. Beginning in 1975, he served in several positions in
the financial department, including Manager of Finance and Assistant
Treasurer. He was named Vice President-Finance in 1984, a position he
held for 14 years. He also served as Treasurer of the company in 1995
and 1996. He became Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in
1998. In January 2001, he was named Executive Vice President. Mr. Biggar
is a member of the bar in Pennsylvania and New York. Mr. Biggar earned a
Juris Doctor degree from the College of Law at Syracuse University and a
Bachelor's degree in Political Science from Lycoming College in
Pennsylvania. Profile
what the company looks like today and some of its history?
Mr. Hecht: PPL Corporation is an energy company headquartered
