Karen Alderman Harbert to succeed retiring CEO Dave McCurdy

Harbert
The American Gas Association has tapped the head of the U.S Chamber of Commerce's energy policy division as its next CEO.

Karen Alderman Harbert will succeed Dave McCurdy as CEO of the $36 million-revenue AGA on April 1, the association announced Tuesday. Harbert currently is president and CEO of the Chamber's Global Energy Institute. She previously was former assistant secretary for policy and international affairs at the U.S. Department of Energy during the latter half of President George W. Bush's administration.

"I know Karen is the right leader for AGA as it enters into its second century representing the industry," Jim Torgerson, chairman of AGA's board of directors, said in a statement. "Her understanding and expertise in the energy sector as well as her reputation as a leader are two of the key factors that the AGA Search Committee took into account in her appointment."

McCurdy announced last year that he would retire from AGA after leading the group since 2011. The CEO previously led the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and now-defunct Electronic Industries Alliance. He also spent 14 years in U.S. House of Representatives as a Democrat representing Oklahoma. His last day at AGA will be Feb. 28.

McCurdy earned more than $2.2 million as AGA's CEO in 2017, according to tax records. Harbert earned more than $1.1 million at the Chamber during the same time period.

Recruitment firm Korn Ferry assisted in the search.

Read more in the Feb. 15 issue of CEO Update.