Peggy Fowler

Last updated
Peggy Fowler
Peggy Fowler.jpg
Fowler in 2008
Born
Peggy Y. Fowler

(1951-07-14) July 14, 1951 (age 73)
Nampa, Idaho, United States
Education George Fox University
University of Michigan
University of Idaho
OccupationBusiness executive
SpouseRobert G. Fowler

Peggy Y. Fowler (born July 14, 1951) is an American businessperson in the state of Oregon. She was the chief executive officer (CEO) of Portland General Electric (PGE), and as of 2007 was the 11th highest-paid CEO in Oregon. A native of Idaho, she worked for PGE, a private electric utility, from 1974 to 2009.

Contents

Early life

Peggy Fowler was born in Nampa, Idaho, on July 14, 1951. [1] The daughter of a Quaker minister, J. Russell Stands and Frances Martin Stands, she grew up in Oregon, first in Portland. [1] Fowler was the youngest of five children in the family, with the next oldest nine years older than she was. [1] [2] Growing up in a religious household, she did not watch TV at home until around age 10, and did not attend a movie until reaching college. [1] From the age of two until five she wore an eye patch over her right eye and is legally blind in one eye. [1] While in fifth grade the family moved from Portland to Hillsboro, Oregon, a suburb to the west. [1] In school she excelled in math and played the flute, while hoping to become a scientist. [1]

After high school Fowler attended George Fox College, a Quaker school in Newberg, Oregon. [3] At college she majored in chemistry and mathematics. [1] She graduated in 1973 with a degree in those subjects, and completed graduate work from the University of Michigan and the University of Idaho. [3] [4] She was married a first time at age 21, with a divorce resulting within a few years. [1]

Career

After college she began working for the Oregon Graduate Institute School of Science and Engineering, hoping to earn a Ph.D. at the school. [1] In 1974, Fowler began working for Portland General Electric as a chemist, and began working her way up the management ladder, first as general manager of the company’s environmental and analytic services department. [1] She was hired during the 1980s as the manager of PGE’s customer service department, located in Gresham, Oregon. [1] She was the first female manager of that division that includes the line repair crews, meter reading, and billing. [1]

Enron purchased PGE in 1997 and operated the company as a wholly owned subsidiary. [1] In 1998, Fowler became a director with the company and worked as the chief operating officer, keeping that title until 2000. [5] She was president of Enron’s Portland General Holdings corporation from 1999 to 2003 when it filed for bankruptcy. [6] She was then named chairperson of the board for PGE in 2001, remaining in that position until early 2004. [6] Fowler served as president of the company from 1998 to April 2000. [5] In April 2000, Fowler was promoted to the position of chief executive officer at the company. [1]

Fowler was named by the Portland Business Journal in 2005 as Oregon’s most admired CEO. [7] In April 2006, PGE became its own company again when its stock began trading on the New York Stock Exchange. [8] Fowler and seven other employees of the utility rang the opening bell at the stock exchange on April 10, 2006. [9] In 2007, Fowler was paid by PGE a total of almost $2.3 million in compensation, making her the 11th highest paid CEO in Oregon, and the highest paid female CEO in the state. [10] Fowler retired from the company in March 2009 [11] and joined the board of directors where she stayed until May 2012. [12] She joined the board of directors at Umpqua Holdings Corp. in 2009 and became chair of the board in 2012. [13]

Other

Peggy Fowler is married and has two stepchildren. [1] She lives with her husband Robert in Tigard, Oregon. [1] [2] She is a board member of the Oregon Business Council, Oregon Independent College Foundation, and several regional healthcare organizations. [5] She won the Utility Women’s Leadership Conference’s Leadership Award in 2000. [2] In June 2007, she was appointed to the board of the Portland branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, [14] [15] and awarded the Portland First Citizen Award. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enron</span> American energy company

Enron Corporation was an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. It was founded by Kenneth Lay in 1985 as a merger between Lay's Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth, both relatively small regional companies at the time of the merger. Before its bankruptcy on December 2, 2001, Enron employed approximately 20,600 staff and was a major electricity, natural gas, communications, and pulp and paper company, with claimed revenues of nearly $101 billion during 2000. Fortune named Enron "America's Most Innovative Company" for six consecutive years.

The 2000–2001 California electricity crisis, also known as the Western U.S. energy crisis of 2000 and 2001, was a period of time during which the U.S. state of California had a shortage of electricity supply caused by market manipulations and capped retail electricity prices. The state suffered from multiple large-scale blackouts, one of the state's largest energy companies collapsed, and the economic fall-out greatly harmed Governor Gray Davis's standing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portland General Electric</span> Public utility based in Portland, Oregon

Portland General Electric (PGE) is a Fortune 1000, investor-owned energy company based in Portland, Oregon, that generates, transmits and distributes electricity, serving almost two-thirds of Oregon’s commercial and industrial activity. PGE is regulated by the Oregon Public Utility Commission. Founded in 1888 as the Willamette Falls Electric Company, the company has been an independent company for most of its existence, though was briefly owned by the Houston-based Enron Corporation from 1997 until 2006, when Enron divested itself of PGE during its bankruptcy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeffrey Skilling</span> American businessman and felon (born 1953)

Jeffrey Keith Skilling is an American businessman who in 2006 was convicted of federal felony charges relating to the Enron scandal. Skilling, who was CEO of Enron during the company's collapse, was eventually sentenced to 24 years in prison, of which he served 12 after multiple appeals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trojan Nuclear Power Plant</span> Nuclear power plant in Oregon, US

Trojan Nuclear Power Plant was a pressurized water reactor nuclear power plant in the northwest United States, located southeast of Rainier, Oregon, and so far, the only commercial nuclear power plant to be built in Oregon. There was much public opposition to the plant from the design stage. The three main opposition groups were the Trojan Decommissioning Alliance, Forelaws on the Board, and Mothers for Peace. There were largely non-violent protests from 1977, and subsequent arrests of participants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bull Run Hydroelectric Project</span> Dam in Oregon

The Bull Run Hydroelectric Project was a Portland General Electric (PGE) development in the Sandy River basin in the U.S. state of Oregon. Originally built between 1908 and 1912 near the town of Bull Run, it supplied hydroelectric power for the Portland area for nearly a century, until it was removed in 2007 and 2008. The project used a system of canals, tunnels, wood box flumes and diversion dams to feed a remote storage reservoir and powerhouse. The entire project was removed because of rising environmental costs. Marmot Dam on the Sandy River was demolished in 2007, and the Little Sandy Dam on the Little Sandy River was taken down in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PacifiCorp</span> Electric power company serving the Western United States

PacifiCorp is an electric power company based in the Lloyd Center Tower in Portland, Oregon with operations in the western United States.

Electric Lightwave, was originally formed in 1988, by John Warta, John Rivenburgh, Earl Kamsky and Richard Furnival. The company was formed to compete with US West and GTE in the Pacific Northwest. Portland General Electric was an initial investor, then Citizens Utilities became the largest investor in 1990. ELI became the first company to compete locally in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah, and one of the first in California and Arizona.

In business and finance, ringfencing or ring-fencing occurs when a portion of a company's assets or profits are financially separated without necessarily being operated as a separate entity. This might be for:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Umpqua Holdings Corporation</span> American bank

Umpqua Holdings Corporation, d.b.a. Umpqua Bank, is a financial holding company based in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. Headquarters are in the Umpqua Bank Plaza, formerly the headquarters of Benj. Franklin Savings and Loan. The firm has two principal operating subsidiaries: Umpqua Bank and Umpqua Investments.

NW Natural, formerly Northwest Natural Gas Company, is an American publicly traded utility headquartered in Portland, Oregon, United States. Primarily a natural gas distributor, the company services residential, commercial, and industrial customers in Western Oregon and Southwest Washington in the Pacific Northwest. NW Natural also owns water utilities. Founded in 1859, the company has approximately 800,000 customers and revenues of over one billion in US dollars annually.

<i>Portland Monthly</i> Magazine published in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

Portland Monthly is a monthly news and general interest magazine which covers food, politics, business, design, events and culture in Portland, Oregon. The magazine was co-founded in 2003 by siblings Nicole and Scott Vogel. Nicole had previously worked for Cendant Corporation and Time Warner, and Scott had been a journalist at The New York Times. Though the magazine had some trouble with funding in its first year, it grew to a stable circulation of 56,000 and by 2006 was the seventh-largest city magazine in the United States. The circulation as of 2024 is 41,890.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Umpqua Bank Plaza</span> Skyscraper in Portland Oregon

Umpqua Bank Plaza is a 19-story office building in Downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. Faced with red brick, the structure is 263 feet (80 m) tall and has 265,000 square feet (24,600 m2) of space. Opened in 1975 at a cost of $16 million, the building was designed by Wolff, Zimmer, Gunsul, Frasca. Originally named the Benjamin Franklin Plaza after tenant Benj. Franklin Savings and Loan, the building was later renamed after current tenant Umpqua Holdings Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boardman Coal Plant</span> Coal-fired power plant located in Boardman, Oregon

The Boardman Coal Plant was a coal-fired power plant located in Boardman, Oregon. The facility had a nameplate capacity of 550 megawatts (MWs) and is owned by Portland General Electric. In 2010, the plant was the only remaining coal powered plant in Oregon and received much attention from regional media due to its being the largest single source of greenhouse gas emissions in the state with environmental groups such as the Sierra Club calling for its closing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portland Railway, Light and Power Company</span> Defunct transport and utility company of Portland, Oregon

The Portland Railway, Light and Power Company (PRL&P) was a railway company and electric power utility in Portland, Oregon, United States, from 1906 until 1924.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avista</span> American energy company

Avista Corporation is an American energy company which generates and transmits electricity and distributes natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers. Approximately 1,550 employees provide electricity, natural gas, and other energy services to 359,000 electric and 320,000 natural gas customers in three western states. The service territory covers 30,000 square miles (78,000 km2) in eastern Washington, northern Idaho, and parts of southern and eastern Oregon, with a population of 1.5 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portland General Electric Company Station "L" Group</span> Historic building complex in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

The Portland General Electric Company Station "L" Group in southeast Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon was a cluster of six industrial buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Built between 1910 and 1929 by Portland General Electric (PGE), it was added to the register in 1985. In 1986, PGE gave Station L and 18.5 acres (7.5 ha) of land to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI). The Station L turbine is a central feature of OMSI's Turbine Hall. The complex was listed on the National Register in 1985, and was delisted in 2020.

James Eugene Rogers Jr. was an American businessman and author. He was president and CEO of Duke Energy, the largest electrical utility in the U.S., from April, 2006 until July 1, 2013. He stayed on as Chairman of the Board until retiring the following December. His book, Lighting the World, which explores the issues involved in bringing electricity to over 1.2 billion people on earth who lack it, was published August 25, 2015, by St. Martin's Press. The book asserts that access to electricity should be recognized as a basic human right.

Energy Trust of Oregon is an independent nonprofit organization based in Portland, Oregon, United States, offering services and cash incentives to customers of Portland General Electric, Pacific Power, NW Natural, Cascade Natural Gas, and Avista in Oregon. It also serves customers of NW Natural in Washington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Trade Center (Portland, Oregon)</span> High-rise building in Oregon, U.S

The World Trade Center is a three-building office complex in Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon. The main building, One World Trade Center, is a 17-story office tower that is the fifth-largest office tower in Portland with 474,867 sq ft (44,116.6 m2). Completed in 1977, One World Trade Center is 230 feet (70 m) tall and is topped by a heliport. The complex is operated by the World Trade Center Properties and is the headquarters for Portland General Electric. There is also a 220-seat theater, known as the World Trade Center Auditorium.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Zipkin, Amy. The Boss: Powered by Math. The New York Times , July 16, 2006.
  2. 1 2 3 Dworkin, Andy. Oregon Leaders. The Oregonian , January 29, 2001.
  3. 1 2 Board of Directors: Peggy Y. Fowler. Portland General Electric. Retrieved on December 3, 2007.
  4. ↑ Bruin Notes: Most Admired CEO. George Fox Journal Online, Spring 2006. Retrieved on December 3, 2007.
  5. 1 2 3 Portland General Electric Co.: Peggy Y. Fowler. BusinessWeek . Retrieved on December 3, 2007.
  6. 1 2 Peggy Y Fowler. [ dead link ] Forbes.com. Retrieved December 3, 2007.
  7. 1 2 Fowler named First Citizen. Portland Business Journal , March 12, 2007.
  8. ↑ Powers, John. Profile: "We're on our own." Electric Light & Power, September 2006 - October 2006.
  9. ↑ Peggy Fowler rings opening bell of NYSE. Portland Business Journal , April 10, 2006.
  10. ↑ Top 50 highest-paid CEOs in Oregon. Oregon Business Magazine, October 2007. Retrieved on December 3, 2007.
  11. ↑ Siemers, Erik (February 20, 2009). "Peggy Fowler calls it quits after 35 years at PGE". Portland Business Journal. Retrieved 2009-03-10.
  12. ↑ Culverwell, Wendy (January 19, 2012). "Peggy Fowler leaving PGE board is end of an era". Portland Business Journal. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
  13. ↑ Kish, Matthew (January 30, 2012). "Umpqua Bank names Peggy Fowler board chair". Portland Business Journal. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
  14. ↑ Portland General Electric president and CEO joins Portland Branch Board of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. Retrieved on December 3, 2007.
  15. ↑ Fowler lands Federal Reserve post. Portland Business Journal , June 12, 2007.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.