Denis O’Brien, president and CEO of PECO and executive vice president of Exelon, will receive Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business 2009 Business Leader of the Year Award at a luncheon on December 3 at The Park Hyatt Philadelphia at The Bellevue.A Drexel alumnus, O’Brien received his MBA in 1987 from the University’s LeBow College of Business, is a member of The Drexel 100 and a University trustee. Exelon is one of the nation’s largest electric utilities. Locally, PECO serves 1.6 million electric and 485,000 natural gas customers. In his current position, O’Brien is responsible for strategic leadership and oversight of all of PECO’s operations. “Few leaders are as accomplished as Denis,” said Dr. George Tsetsekos, dean of LeBow College of Business. “In leading PECO, Denis oversees the power that millions of Pennsylvanians depend on daily. He is deeply dedicated to giving back to the Greater Philadelphia Region. We are proud to be honoring Denis with this prestigious award.”In 2008 O’Brien launched a five-year major PECO environmental initiative to preserve the environment and help customers become more environmentally responsible. Totaling more than $15.3 million of work, the comprehensive program includes the installation of a green roof and a new Crown Lights system at the company’s Center City headquarters; the opening of PECO’s first ‘green building’ in West Chester, recently awarded silver certification for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED); improvements to secure LEED certification for many other company work sites; the increased use of hybrid and biodiesel vehicles; support for community environmental projects; and enhanced tools and programs to help customers use energy more efficiently. O’Brien has more than 25 years of utility experience in engineering, operations, strategic planning and executive management. His previous assignments have included strategic planning on mergers and acquisitions, development of the company’s deregulation strategy and organizational redesigns to improve performance. O’Brien started at PECO in 1979 as a summer intern and joined the staff in 1982. O’Brien is an active member of the Philadelphia community, having served as board member of the Greater Philadelphia YMCA, the Franklin Institute, and WHYY. He joined the Drexel Board of Trustees in 2004. He has also served as director for the American Gas Association, Energy Association of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Business Roundtable, Pennsylvania Economy League, the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, and Select Greater Philadelphia. O’Brien was inducted into The Drexel 100 in 2005. Previous Business Leader of the Year recipients include David L. Cohen, Comcast Corporation Executive Vice President (2008); Hugh C. Long II, Northeast Group Executive For Wholesale Banking, Wachovia Bank (2007); Raj L. Gupta, past chairman, president and CEO of Rohm and Haas Company (2006); Drexel interim president C.R. “Chuck” Pennoni, chairman of the international engineering firm Pennoni Associates Inc. (2005); and Betsy Z. Cohen, founder, CEO and chair of RAIT Investment Trust and The Bancorp Bank (2004).Proceeds from the event will establish a scholarship fund and support academic programs to advance Drexel’s LeBow College of Business. ###News Media Contact: Niki Gianakaris, director, Drexel News Bureau 215-895-6741, 215-778-7752 (cell) or ngianakaris@drexel.edu
