Exelon, one of the nation’s largest utility companies, is giving finance a bigger seat at the strategy table. Jeanne Jones, the finance chief since 2022 and an almost 20-year veteran of the company, will take on the newly created role of EVP of finance and strategy on Oct. 5.
She will be at the center of corporate strategy as electricity demand surges and utilities face mounting pressure to invest without driving up customer bills. Jones will continue to report to Exelon President and CEO Calvin Butler.
Robert Kleczynski will succeed Jones as CFO and become her direct report. Kleczynski currently serves as SVP, controller and head of tax. According to the company, Jones’s leadership has been instrumental in helping Exelon deliver strong financial performance while maintaining its focus on delivering safe, reliable, and affordable service for its customers.
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The corporate strategy playbook is increasingly landing on the CFO’s desk. While finance chiefs have long led capital allocation and investor communication, they’re increasingly expected to help determine where the company places its biggest long-term bets alongside the CEO.
Andy West, a senior partner at McKinsey and global co-leader of the firm’s Strategy and Corporate Finance practice, notes that this evolution is particularly relevant in the utility industry, where electricity demand is growing, grids need modernization, and companies face mounting pressure to invest while keeping customer bills affordable.
At Exelon, Jones will continue to oversee the company’s financial activities while helping lead integrated strategy efforts focused on trends affecting Exelon, its operating companies, and the broader energy industry. The company has to determine where and how aggressively to invest in its networks as demand rises, while balancing the costs ultimately borne by customers against the need to build infrastructure for the future.
Exelon serves 11 million customers through six regulated transmission and distribution utilities. Since spinning off its power generation business, Constellation Energy, in 2022, Exelon has focused solely on regulated utility operations.
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Jones’s experience gives her a perspective that crosses different parts of the energy value chain. Now she’ll be asked to apply that experience to questions that increasingly blur the line between finance and strategy: how much to invest, where to invest it, and how to do so while keeping costs under control.
Exelon reported second-quarter earnings on July 30, with revenues totaling $5.97 billion, beating estimates. The top line increased 10% from the year-ago figure of $5.43 billion.
Jones told a reporter last year that her best career advice is to stay open to new experiences and not get overwhelmed by distant goals. Don’t let the pressure of a specific end goal cloud your enjoyment of the ride. She said, “Keep going for the next thing that’s going to develop you.”
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