 | John M. Palms, Ph.D.Independent Director |
Profile
Dr. John M. Palms has been a director of Exelon since October 20, 2000.
Dr. Palms has had a distinguished career in academia and business and is a leading expert on nuclear power operations. He is Distinguished President Emeritus and Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of the University of South Carolina. He served as the President of the University of South Carolina (1991-June 2002), overseeing major budgets and approving significant financial and other transactions.
Dr. Palms was also Distinguished University Professor at the University of South Carolina (2002-2007). He is the former President of Georgia State University and the former Vice President for Academic Affairs and the Charles Howard Chandler Professor of Radiological and Environmental Physics at Emory University. He was recognized for his nuclear energy and operations expertise by serving for five years as a member of the National Nuclear Accreditation Board and the Advisory Council for the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations and its National Academy of Nuclear Training. He also served on the Three Mile Island Public Health Fund Committee to design a Public Acceptable Environmental Monitoring Program.
In 2003, he became the non-executive chairman of the board of directors of Assurant Inc., a provider of specialty insurance and related services with risk management expertise, strong distribution partnerships and complex administrative skills, where he has been a director since 1990. On the Assurant board of directors, Dr. Palms serves on the nominating and corporate governance and audit committees. Since 2002, he has been on the board of directors of Computer Task Group, Inc., a provider of information technology solutions and services, where he serves on the executive, nominating and corporate governance, and compensation committees and formerly served on the audit committee. Additionally, he has served since 2006 as a director of The Geo Group, a world leader in the privatized development and management of correction and retention facilities. Dr. Palms is the Chairman of the board of trustees of the Institute for Defense Analyses, a non-profit, Federally-funded research and development organization that advises the U.S. Secretary of Defense and the U.S. Congress.
Dr. Palms makes a contribution to the Exelon board through his extensive knowledge of nuclear power and his experience on the boards and board committees of other public companies. His knowledge and experience with nuclear power makes Dr. Palms a valuable member of the generation and risk oversight committees. His service as chair of the audit committee and a member of the risk oversight committee reinforces the role of the audit committee in overseeing risk matters and ensures full communication between the two committees, given the close relationship between audit and risk issues. Dr. Palms’ experience in the management of large business, academic and other organizations enables him to offer useful perspectives to Exelon’s corporate governance committee.