The board of directors of Southern Company elected President and CEO Allen Franklin as its chairman. Franklin replaces retiring Chairman A.W. “Bill” Dahlberg as the board’s new leader. Prior to the board electing him to the CEO position last month, Franklin had served as president and COO of Southern since 1999. From 1994 to 1999, he was president and CEO of Georgia Power, Southern’s largest subsidiary.

CMS Energy announced John M. McLaughlin Jr. has been named to the new position of vice president of corporate planning. McLaughlin, 50, will be responsible for managing CMS Energy’s financial and strategic planning, financial forecasting and business intelligence activities. In 1998 McLaughlin became CMS Energy’s vice president of development for The Americas, Southern Hemisphere, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Before that he had been vice president of Latin American development for CMS Energy’s independent power unit, CMS Generation Co., since 1993.

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