PUF's Highest Honor
Mark Crisson is formerly the CEO of APPA CEO. Cheryl LaFleur is formerly FERC Chair. Rich Meyer is General Counsel for NRECA. Deborah Sliz is the CEO of Morgan Meguire LLC. Jolene Thompson is EVP for American Municipal Power.
Owen Young was in his day — the nineteen teens, twenties, and thirties particularly — famous throughout the world. As general counsel of General Electric — the company Thomas Edison started — he was a recognized expert in utility regulation and then became GE's chief executive. At that time, GE was dominant in very many aspects of the rapidly growing electric industry.
During World War I, Navy Secretary Franklin Roosevelt was concerned the U.S. was missing out on the opportunity presented by the new innovation of radio and asked Young for help. Before long, Young founded and became the chief executive of RCA as well. Young later founded NBC too, which led the way on the innovation of television. During the twenties, additional to his day jobs, he headed the U.S. delegation that substantially reduced Germany's war reparations to the Allied nations though alas after the resentments of Hitler and the Nazis had taken root.
Many assumed Owen Young would be the Democratic Party's nominee for the presidential election of 1932. Young deferred instead to his friend Franklin Roosevelt.