FirstEnergy Names McClendon VP, Chief HR Officer

AKRON, Ohio – FirstEnergy Corp. announced Oct. 29 that Karen McClendon has been named senior vice president and chief human resources officer, effective Nov. 11.

McClendon will spearhead efforts to integrate and advance the company’s human capital strategy. She will oversee key human resources functions, including talent management, benefits and compensation, labor and employee relations, and the commitment to building an inclusive workforce and a workplace reflective of the communities served by FirstEnergy. McClendon will report to Brian Tierney, FirstEnergy president and CEO.

“Karen is a resourceful and decisive leader who brings to FirstEnergy deep experience building and fostering a culture where employees feel empowered to reach their full potential,” says Tierney. “I am confident she will help us advance our strategic initiatives, including our culture transformation, and drive a continuous improvement mindset that will accelerate our progress toward becoming a premier electric company.”

McClendon most recently served as the CHRO at Paychex, a provider of integrated human capital management solutions for payroll, benefits, human resources and insurance services. Under her leadership, Paychex enhanced the employee experience using competitive compensation and benefits structures to recruit and retain top talent and transformed the human resources function by leveraging technology for data-driven human resource planning and decision-making.

Prior to Paychex, McClendon spent 19 years as a vice president of human resources for various divisions of Comcast Corp. She has also held senior human resources leadership positions with Aramark Corp., Exelon Corp., Zone Telecom and Sesame Workshop.

McClendon earned a B.S. in business administration from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va., and an MBA from Temple University in Philadelphia. She has served on the boards of The Career Wardrobe, ACHIEVEability and the Southern New Jersey Chamber of Commerce. She has also been recognized three times with the Apex Employee Training Award and was named a woman of distinction by the Philadelphia Business Journal.

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