CenterPoint Energy looks in-house for next general counsel

NYSE-listed CenterPoint Energy has promoted Jason Ryan to the position of senior vice president and general counsel, effective yesterday. He was previously senior vice president of regulatory services and government affairs at the Houston, Texas-based company.

Ryan’s predecessor Dana O’Brien left CenterPoint Energy – also yesterday – to join the Brink’s Company as senior vice president and general counsel, effective April 15. O’Brien had joined CenterPoint Energy from CEVA Logistics, where she served as chief legal officer and chief compliance officer and was a member of the executive board.

‘We are excited to welcome Dana to the Brink’s leadership team,’ says Brink’s president and CEO Doug Pertz in a statement. ‘In addition to her many years of in-house counsel experience, she has a background in logistics and substantial expertise in handling legal matters on a global scale, including regulatory compliance and mergers and acquisitions.’

CenterPoint Energy serves more than 7 million metered customers in Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas through electric transmission and distribution, power generation and natural gas distribution operations.

In his new role, Ryan reports to CenterPoint Energy’s president and CEO Scott Prochazka and oversees a variety of functions at the company, including corporate governance, regulatory services, government affairs, securities and commercial law, litigation and claims, environmental, internal audit, and ethics, compliance & privacy.

Ryan joined the company in 2009, having previously represented it as outside regulatory counsel. In private practice, he was a managing partner at law firm RyanGlover and an attorney at Baker Botts.

‘Throughout his career at CenterPoint Energy, Jason has built a track record as an accomplished leader with proven expertise across a wide range of areas and disciplines,’ Prochazka says in a statement.