Nicholas Akins
Chairman, President & CEO, American Electric Power
Nicholas Akins is Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of American Electric Power. He is AEP’s 11th Chairman, 10th President and sixth CEO in the company’s more than 100-year history. Under his leadership, AEP is investing in modernization and security of the electric grid, resource diversification, and technology and innovation to enable the transition to a clean energy future while preserving universal access to the grid. Akins led a culture transformation to engage employees in customer-focused innovation, enhance diversity and inclusiveness, and to build workforce agility for a digital future. Through strategic partnerships and collaboration with customers, Akins has positioned AEP to redefine the future of energy and embrace the transformation sweeping the industry. A native of Louisiana, Akins received his bachelor’s degree in 1982 in electric engineering from Louisiana Tech University in Ruston and a master’s degree in electrical engineering in 1986 from Louisiana Tech.
Akins is a former Chairman of the Board of Directors of both the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), as well as the former chair of the U.S. Business Roundtable (BRT) Energy and Environment Committee, of which he remains a member. Currently, he serves as Chairman of the Boards of The Ohio Business Roundtable, Nuclear Electric Insurance Limited (NEIL), and Global Sustainable Electricity Partnership (GSEP). Additionally, he is a member of the boards of EEI, Institute of Nuclear Power Operators (INPO), The Columbus Partnership, Columbus Downtown Development Corporation, Fifth Third Bancorp, OhioHealth and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2020, he was appointed to a two-year term on the National Petroleum Council.
