Ralph Izzo is an American businessman and former nuclear physicist. He was the Chairman, President, and CEO of

Public Service Enterprise Group The Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) is a publicly traded diversified energy company headquartered in Newark, New Jersey and was established in 1985 with a legacy dating back to 1903. The company's largest subsidiary is Public Service Elec ...

, a Fortune 500 energy company headquartered in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. He is also the Chairman of the

Nuclear Energy Institute The Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) is a nuclear industry trade association in the United States, based in Washington, D.C. Synopsis According to its website, the NEI "develops policy on key legislative and regulatory issues affecting the in ...

, a nuclear industry trade association based in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Biography

Growing up during the

1973 Oil Embargo The 1973 oil crisis or first oil crisis began in October 1973 when the members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), led by Saudi Arabia, proclaimed an oil embargo. The embargo was targeted at nations that had supp ...

made Izzo interested in fusion energy research because fusion energy was viewed to be the path to steer away from petroleum and fossil based fuels. He then chose to attend

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

that a small fusion reactor with a potential for commercialization. He subsequently received his Bachelor of Science (1978) and Master of Science in mechanical engineering (1979) and his doctorate in applied physics (1981), all from

Columbia University School of Engineering The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science (popularly known as SEAS or Columbia Engineering; previously known as Columbia School of Mines) is the engineering and applied science school of Columbia University. It was founded as th ...

. At Columbia, he was a pitcher for the school's varsity baseball team. After receiving his PhD, Izzo began his career by joining the

Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory for plasma physics and nuclear fusion science. Its primary mission is research into and development of fusion as an energy source. It is known ...

as a research scientist and worked there from 1981 to 1986. He then worked for Senator Bill Bradley as an American Physical Society Congressional Science Fellow to help shape public policy to secure funding for fusion labs. He also worked for Senator

Thomas Kean Thomas Howard Kean ( ; born April 21, 1935) is an American businessman, academic administrator and politician. A member of the Republican Party, Kean served as the 48th governor of New Jersey from 1982 to 1990. Following his tenure as governor, ...

for four years as a senior science policy advisor and was involved in the construction of the

Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Station Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Station is a thermal nuclear power plant located in Lower Alloways Creek Township, in Salem County, New Jersey, United States, on the same site on Artificial Island as the two-unit Salem Nuclear Power Plant. The ...

. In 1992, he joined the

(PSEG) as vice president before being promoted to president and chief operating officer of Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G), an operating subsidiary of PSEG. He received an MBA from

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

, with a concentration in finance, in 2002. He was named president and chief operating officer of the company and was named to the company's board of directors in 2006. In 2007, Izzo was appointed Chairman, and CEO of PSEG. In June 2010, he was elected chair of

's board of governors. In 2011, he was the class day speaker for

Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science (popularly known as SEAS or Columbia Engineering; previously known as Columbia School of Mines) is the engineering and applied science school of Columbia University. It was founded as th ...

. He has a been a member of the Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee of the

United States Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the United Stat ...

. From 2013 to 2016, he was a director of

Williams Companies The Williams Companies, Inc., is an American energy company based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Its core business is natural gas processing and transportation, with additional petroleum and electricity generation assets. A Fortune 500 company, its commo ...

. He was also a director, and former chair of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, a director of Nuclear Electric Insurance Limited,

Edison Electric Institute The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) is an association that represents all U.S. investor-owned electric companies. Its members provide electricity for 220 million Americans, operate in 50 states and the District of Columbia, and directly employ ...

, and

New Jersey Performing Arts Center The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), in downtown Newark, New Jersey, United States, is one of the largest performing arts centers in the United States. Home to the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (NJSO), more than nine million visitors ( ...

. In August 2020, he was named a director of BNY Mellon.

Awards and honors

In 2010, Izzo was honored by the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame with its "Trustee Award." In 2012, he was honored by the National Italian American Foundation and received the NIAF Special Achievement Award in Science and Technology.

Personal life

Izzo is married to Karen Izzo, a retired biologist, and lives in

Cranbury, New Jersey Cranbury is a township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. Located within the Raritan Valley region, Cranbury is roughly equidistant between New York City and Philadelphia in the heart of the state. As of the 2010 United States Ce ...

with his wife, and two kids.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Izzo, Ralph Living people American chief executives of Fortune 500 companies Public Service Enterprise Group Columbia Lions baseball players Rutgers University alumni American nuclear physicists American nuclear engineers United States Department of Energy National Laboratories personnel Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory people People from Cranbury, New Jersey BNY Mellon American people of Italian descent Year of birth missing (living people)