Leigh Anne Strahler

Leigh Anne Strahler is president and chief operating officer of Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO) and is responsible for all aspects of electric service for its more than 550,000 customers, including distribution operations, safety, customer service, communications, external affairs and regulatory functions.

Most recently, she was vice president of Regulatory and Finance for AEP Texas and was responsible for direction of the company’s regulatory and financial activities. Strahler was previously director of Business Operations Support for Appalachian Power. In that role, she was responsible for review, reporting and analysis of operating company financial results, and coordination of short- and long-term financial plans, including helping prioritize operations and maintenance and capital expenditures consistent with AEP strategy. In addition, she was responsible for sustaining a “lean” culture of continuous improvement in the operating company.

She joined AEP in 2006 as a senior cost control analyst in Generation Engineering Projects & Field Services at AEP Headquarters in Columbus, Ohio, and later held positions in Generation’s Business Planning & Support Services and AEP’s Operations and Performance Transformation group, which was responsible for rolling out the “lean” process improvement program across AEP. She moved to Appalachian Power in 2015 to become director of Business Operations Support. Prior to joining AEP, she held various positions at Limited Brands and IBM Global Services.

She received a bachelor’s degree in economics from Bethany College in West Virginia and an MBA from Ohio State University. She is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP). She completed the G100 Women’s Leadership Acceleration Program and the AEP/Ohio State Strategic Leadership program. She is a graduate of Leadership Columbus and past president of the Junior League of Columbus. She is the chair of the board for the Purple Door, a domestic violence shelter headquartered in Corpus Christi, TX.