On May 22, 2024, Anthony F. "Tony" Earley, Jr. was elected by the Independent Directors to serve as the Lead Independent Director of Southern Company's Board of Directors. Earley has most recently served as the Chair of the Nominating, Governance and Corporate Responsibility Committee and as a member of the Operations, Environmental and Safety Committee. In addition to working with the Chairman to set the agenda for each Board meeting, the Lead Independent Director chairs executive sessions which allow non-management Directors (our independent Directors) to meet without any members of the Company's management present. These sessions are on the agenda of every regular Board
meeting, Earley is the former Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of PG&E Corporation. He has also served on executive committees of the Edison Electric Institute and the Nuclear Energy Institute and served on the Board of the Electric Power Research Institute.