Consumers Energy CEO to present at Distinguished Speaker Series

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Patti Poppe, president and chief executive officer of CMS Energy and its principal subsidiary, Consumers Energy, will be featured as a speaker in Western Michigan University's Distinguished Speaker Series.

Poppe will speak at 8 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 12, in Room 2000 of Schneider Hall. Her presentation, titled "Our Promise: The Triple Bottom Line," will be followed by a question-and-answer period. Registrations are requested to attend. The event is free and open to the public and being hosted by the Haworth College of Business. Register online or contact WMU's Cyntia Dawson at @email or (269) 387-5069. Free parking is available in Schneider Hall Lot 72R.

patti poppe

As CEO of CMS Energy and Consumers Energy Corporation, Poppe has focused on connecting the company more closely with its customers and adapting lean operating system principles throughout the utility. Previously, she held a variety of automotive management positions and served as power plant director at Detroit Michigan based DTE Energy before returning to her hometown of Jackson to join Consumers Energy in 2011.

In 2016, Poppe was elected to her current position, leading Michigan’s largest utility and the nation’s fourth largest combination utility. Consumers Energy provides electricity and natural gas to 6.7 million of Michigan’s 10 million Lower Peninsula residents.

After earning her bachelor's and master’s degrees in industrial engineering from Purdue University, Poppe also earned a master's degree in management from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

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