Brian Harrell named Vice President and Chief Security Officer at FirstEnergy

FirstEnergy appointed Brian Harrell, a former senior U.S. homeland security official, as Vice President and Chief Security Officer, the utility announced on April 9, 2026. Harrell most recently held the same title at Avangrid, where he oversaw cybersecurity, physical security, intelligence, privacy and resilience across a multistate energy portfolio.

The appointment puts cyber and physical security under one executive, the converged model Harrell ran at Avangrid.

According to the company, his remit takes in enterprisewide cybersecurity, threat intelligence, security architecture and engineering, risk and compliance, corporate and field security, and 24/7 security operations. FirstEnergy says Harrell will report to Toby Thomas, the company's Chief Operating Officer. The company says Harrell is to strengthen defenses, expand detection and response capabilities driven by intelligence, and build security further into business and operational planning. According to FirstEnergy, his work will place emphasis on readiness, training and coordination among field and corporate teams.

The company says Harrell previously held senior roles in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, among them at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. According to the release, at CISA he often testified before Congress about protecting critical infrastructure and countering domestic terrorism. FirstEnergy says that during his time at Avangrid he established 24/7 security operations centers and enhanced intelligence and threat detection capabilities. He also expanded security team capacity at Avangrid and regularly briefed boards and executive leadership on preparedness and security risks, the company says.

The company says Harrell held leadership roles in enterprise security at the North American Electric Reliability Corporation and Duke Energy, working closely with local, state and federal partners on risk mitigation and critical infrastructure protection. The company says Harrell holds a bachelor's degree in criminal justice as well as advanced degrees in education and homeland security. According to the release, his professional certifications include Certified Protection Professional and Certified Information Security Manager.

FirstEnergy made the appointment as U.S. utilities confront cyber and physical security threats that the company describes as increasingly complex. FirstEnergy says its electric distribution companies serve more than 6 million customers across Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey and West Virginia. According to the company, its transmission subsidiaries run more than 24,000 miles of transmission lines linking the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions.