Today the company announced two key leadership appointments that underscore our commitment to elevating performance, increasing agility and embedding continuous improvement across the organization.

Rich Sweeney has been named Vice President, Operational Excellence, and Don Alvine is joining FirstEnergy as Chief Procurement Officer.

Rich Sweeney, Vice President, Operational Excellence

In this newly created role, Rich will lead strategic initiatives to enhance system reliability, accelerate outage response and drive operational improvements. He will oversee cross-functional teams in field operations, asset management, environmental stewardship and system planning – strengthening operational discipline and delivering measurable results.

“Rich brings more than two decades of leadership experience across operations, supply chain and regional utility management,” said Toby Thomas, Chief Operating Officer. “His unique blend of expertise and vision makes him exceptionally well-suited to shape this new function, ensuring we are strategically positioned to meet both immediate and long-term business goals.”

Rich will report to Toby. Reporting to Rich will be:

• Anna Fluharty, Director, Utilities Performance
• Dave Frederick, Director, Environmental
• Chrissy Todd, Director, Asset and Record Control

Don Alvine, Chief Procurement Officer

Don will be responsible for overseeing the Supply Chain function, aligning procurement practices with company objectives and driving improvements in sourcing and supply chain efficiency. He will also manage Real Estate and Administrative Services functions, ensuring facility operations support both immediate and future needs of the organization.

Don will report to Jon Taylor, Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer & Strategy. Supply Chain leaders Justin Bahil, Paul Barkoukis, Joe Loboda and Santo Pinzone will report to Don, along with:

• Jen Geyer, Director, Administrative Services
• Josh Sponaugle, Manager, Real Estate

“Don joins FirstEnergy with more than 30 years of experience in sourcing, supply chain and finance, making him a strategic fit for this position,” said Jon. “His focus on achieving measurable results and meaningful transformation will enhance our procurement function and improve efficiency across the company.”

Both appointments are effective on Sept. 29. Don will initially work remotely – working on-site starting Oct. 1.

Rich Sweeney’s Background

Rich joined FirstEnergy in 1999. He has held a variety of roles of increasing responsibility, including director of Operations Services at Toledo Edison, regional president of Ohio Edison/Penn Power and, most recently, Vice President of Supply Chain.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts and a master’s degree in German, as well as an MBA in Finance from Kent State University.

Don Alvine’s Background
Don most recently served as Executive Vice President and Chief Procurement Officer at Interior Logic Group where he led Sourcing, Real Estate, Fleet and Construction. He previously held senior roles at Refinitiv, NCR Corporation and LSL and Agere Systems.

Don holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Upsala College.