Our leadership and management structure also is in transition. Leadership takes many forms. One of them is the ability to deal effectively with change by having vision, setting a clear direction, aligning human and financial resources, and motivating people to move forward. We believe that AEP is fortunate to have a leadership team that is prepared to deal with today’s enormous changes.

Our conduct is guided by our Principles of Business Conduct, which require us to operate with integrity, fairness, respect and care. We seek to foster an environment in which employees know their concerns are addressed respectfully, confidentially and in a timely manner. Our 24/7 confidential ethics hotline is an important employee tool for providing that assurance. We also communicate with employees regularly about ethics and compliance via e-mails, videos, the company’s intranet and a dedicated ethics and compliance blog for employees. Read more about the culture of ethics and compliance in the Work Force section. Read an interview with AEP's Chief Compliance Officer.

We have a deep commitment to succession planning and during the past five years, several senior executives were given different assignments to expose them to all aspects of the company’s operations. This process resulted in four internal executives being considered by the board of directors as potential candidates to succeed Mike Morris as president and CEO of AEP.

In late December 2010, after reviewing internal and external candidates, the board appointed Nick Akins, who previously led our Generation business, as president of AEP. In October 2011, the board elected Nick to be AEP's next CEO, effective November 12, 2011.

The board’s Committee on Directors & Corporate Governance has oversight over this report and provides input and guidance to management on selected issues. The board holds management accountable for sustainability and financial performance, as described in a board statement that we publish every year. The board receives semiannual updates to the board on our progress, although discussion occurs throughout the year.

Our efforts to make AEP a leader in corporate governance were recognized in 2010 when AEP was named one of the 20 “Most Responsible Corporations” in the United States by GovernanceMetrics International. The ranking was based on board accountability, internal controls, shareholder rights, remuneration, and other corporate governance codes and principles. AEP was specifically cited for its extensive reporting on environmental and social performance.