Executive Team

Pablo Vegas joined ERCOT in October 2022 as President and CEO. He has a long history of service in both the electric and gas industries. Prior to ERCOT, Mr. Vegas was Executive Vice President of NiSource, and Group President of NiSource Utilities, where he oversaw NiSource’s electric and gas business segments and championed outstanding service to NiSource customers. He served as a versatile executive at NiSource for six years, holding numerous roles, including Chief Operating Officer, Executive Vice President and President of Columbia Gas Group, and Chief Customer Officer. Mr. Vegas had profit and loss accountability for NiSource’s six gas and electric utility companies as well as responsibility for strategy, planning, operations, construction, engineering, regulatory, environmental services, and federal government affairs for NiSource.

Prior to joining NiSource, Mr. Vegas held a variety of senior executive positions with American Electric Power (AEP), including President and Chief Operating Officer of AEP Ohio, President and Chief Operating Officer of AEP Texas, and Vice President and Chief Information Officer of AEP.

Before his career in the regulated utility industry, Mr. Vegas served in senior leadership positions with IBM, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Andersen Consulting.

While with NiSource, he was also chairman on the board of directors for One Columbus and a board of trustees member for the American Gas Foundation.  Mr. Vegas currently serves on the board of directors at Northwest Bancshares, Inc.

Mr. Vegas attended the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School, completed the AEP Strategic Leadership program at the Ohio State University, and graduated cum laude from the University of Michigan with a BS degree in mechanical engineering.

Jeyant Tamby serves as ERCOT’s Chief Administrative Officer and Chief of Staff. He is currently responsible for the strategic vision, planning, and leadership of the Finance, Human Resources, Enterprise Architecture, Market Rules and Stakeholder Support, Project Management, Strategic Planning, Enterprise Risk Management, Portfolio Management, and Business Continuity functions. Dr. Tamby has more than 25 years of experience in the electric power industry, including about 15 years in leadership roles.

His previous experience within ERCOT includes serving as Chief of Staff and as Interim Chief Operating Officer. He played a key role in the development of ERCOT energy and market systems, as well as risk management and strategic planning. His experience with the electric industry in the United States and Canada, as well as Kosovo, Afghanistan, and sub-Saharan Africa, has provided Dr. Tamby with broad leadership and technical experience, including system operations, market design and implementation, enterprise architecture, and international development and corporate management. Dr. Tamby has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Anna University in India, and master’s and doctorate degrees in electrical engineering from Queen’s University in Canada.

Chad V. Seely is Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary for ERCOT and has been serving as General Counsel since January 1, 2016.

Mr. Seely oversees state and federal policy and manages the overall litigation strategy of ERCOT. In addition, Mr. Seely is responsible for the leadership of the Compliance, Cyber Security, Physical Security, Facilities and Information Governance departments. The Chief Audit Executive who manages the Internal Audit department administratively reports to Mr. Seely. Mr. Seely also oversees the ERCOT Reliability Monitor function which assesses ERCOT and ERCOT Market Participant compliance with Texas electric reliability laws under the direction of the Public Utility Commission of Texas. Mr. Seely has been with ERCOT since May 2005. 

Prior to joining ERCOT, Mr. Seely was an attorney at the Texas Department of Insurance, working on enforcement matters against insurance agents and companies before the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) and the Commissioner of Insurance.

Mr. Seely grew up in Irving, Texas, and received Bachelor of Arts degrees in Political Science and French from Texas Tech University in 1999. He graduated from South Texas College of Law in 2002 and earned awards in South Texas’ esteemed advocacy program.

He has lived in Austin since 2002 and is happily married with two daughters.

Robert Black joined ERCOT as Vice President of Public Affairs in November 2022 with more than three decades of political and government experience. Mr. Black leads the organization’s external communications, government affairs, and customer support and oversees communications with Texans, state agencies, and lawmakers. Prior to joining ERCOT, he served as Vice President of External Affairs for AEP Texas. Mr. Black also served as the Director of Governmental Affairs for the AEP companies in Texas.

Before joining AEP, Mr. Black served as Texas Governor Rick Perry’s Press Secretary and Communications Director from 2003-2008, and also worked as a Senior Communications Advisor for Greg Abbott during his 2002 and 2014 campaigns, respectively.

Mr. Black began his career in 1990 as a legislative assistant for Representative Tom Craddick in the Texas House of Representatives and later worked for two Texas State Senators.  Additionally, he spent time in Washington, DC working in the Majority Leaders office and the Committee on Ways and Means.

Mr. Black holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Betty Day was named Vice President of Security & Compliance and Chief Compliance Officer in 2019 after serving in various executive roles since 2011. Her current responsibilities include Security (Cyber and Physical), Compliance, and Facilities. Ms. Day joined ERCOT in 2000 and has more than 30 years of experience in the electric power industry. Prior to joining ERCOT, she was with Central Maine Power as part of a core team to implement market deregulation in Maine. Previously, she spent nine years with East Kentucky Power Cooperative in the areas of load forecasting, load research, and market research. She earned bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and physics from Berea College in Kentucky and attended graduate school at the University of Kentucky.

Kristi Hobbs is ERCOT’s Vice President of Corporate Strategy and PUC Relations.

In her role, Mrs. Hobbs oversees ERCOT relations with the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT), enterprise risk management, strategic analysis, project and portfolio management, as well as ERCOT, Inc. business continuity planning. She is also responsible for ERCOT Market Rule development and facilitating the ERCOT stakeholder process. She has over 20 years of experience in the electric industry.

Mrs. Hobbs joined ERCOT in 2002 after serving for two years as a Senior Retail Market Analyst for the PUCT, where she worked with the Commission to implement policy in the Texas electric industry’s transition to competition. During her tenure at ERCOT, she has served in various roles focused on developing relationships both internal and external to the organization. She was named Director of Enterprise Risk Management and Strategic Analysis in December 2013, where she focused on providing the leadership and management necessary to identify, evaluate, mitigate, and monitor the company’s operational and strategic risk, leading ERCOT’s strategic and business planning processes, and providing guidance for the ERCOT governance process, especially as it relates to Market Rules. 

Mrs. Hobbs graduated from Texas A&M University in 1998 with a BS in agribusiness and earned an MSc in agricultural economics from Texas A&M University in 2000.

Kenan Ögelman is ERCOT’s Vice President of Commercial Operations, overseeing Market Operations, Settlement and Retail Operations, and Market Design and Development.

Prior to joining ERCOT in October 2015, Mr. Ögelman served as the Director of Energy Market Policy for CPS Energy. In that role, he was responsible for managing CPS Energy’s activities at ERCOT and the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) and developing strategic policy. Previously, Mr. Ögelman worked as a Senior Economist for the Texas Office of Public Utility Counsel, which represents residential electric consumers in Texas, from 1997 to 2007.

Mr. Ögelman served as Chairman of the ERCOT Technical Advisory Committee from 2011 to 2013. From 2013 until 2018, Mr. Ögelman served on the Gulf Coast Power Association’s (GCPA) Board of Directors, including presiding as Vice President in 2014 and President in 2015.

He graduated from Boston University in 1987 with a BA in international relations. Subsequently, he received an MA in economics from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1991 and an MA in Middle Eastern studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 1995.

Jayapal Parakkuth has over 25 years of experience in successfully visualizing, designing, and implementing software solutions to various aspects of power system grid control. Prior to joining ERCOT, he served as Principal Key Expert for Grid Control at Siemens Digital Grid, specializing in delivering high-risk, complex projects working with both the product and delivery organization at Siemens. During his time at Siemens, he served as the Lead Architect for delivering mission-critical solutions to ISO/RTOs, like PJM and CAISO. He also previously served as the Vice President for Grid Control at Omnetric Group, which was formed as a joint venture between Siemens and Accenture to drive IT/OT convergence in the power industry.

Mr. Parakkuth has a master’s degree in power systems and power electronics from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, and an MBA in information systems and finance from the University of Minnesota. He earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the Victoria Jubilee Technical Institute, Bombay.

As Vice President of System Planning and Weatherization, Woody Rickerson oversees transmission planning, generator interconnection activities, training, and electric grid operations for the ERCOT region.

Mr. Rickerson is responsible for guiding new, in-depth generation inspections and coordinating enforcement actions with the Public Utility Commission. He also leads advancements in generation and transmission planning to help meet long-term forecasting needs and ensures that the latest grid and technology changes are incorporated into models used by ERCOT for analysis.

Mr. Rickerson brings a considerable amount of electric industry experience to his position, including more than 19 years at ERCOT in various roles. A licensed professional engineer, Mr. Rickerson has worked for utilities in Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico. He has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from New Mexico State University and a master’s degree in engineering management from the University of Colorado.

Mara Spak is Vice President of Human Resources at ERCOT. In her role, Ms. Spak oversees all people functions at ERCOT and develops and oversees strategic human resource planning to provide the company with the best talent while also positioning ERCOT as a premier employer.

Ms. Spak has more than 15 years of extensive experience in human resources at diverse corporate entities. She joined ERCOT in 2015 as Director of Total Rewards and Systems and was responsible for the company’s compensation, benefits, human resources systems, and corporate payroll. In 2019, Ms. Spak was promoted to Senior Director of Human Resources at ERCOT and was responsible for all Human Resource functions and programs. Prior to joining ERCOT, she worked in hi-tech and healthcare industries.

Ms. Spak graduated from Southwestern University with a BA in psychology.

Sean Taylor was named Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in October 2019 after serving as ERCOT’s Controller since joining the company in February 2013. Mr. Taylor has more than 20 years of finance experience in various roles.

Before joining ERCOT, Mr. Taylor spent seven years in the finance department at the Lower Colorado River Authority. Prior to working at LCRA, Mr. Taylor was a consultant performing mergers and acquisition advisory services at PricewaterhouseCoopers in New York City.

Mr. Taylor has a BBA from the University of Michigan. He is a licensed CPA in Texas and New York and a Chartered Financial Analyst Charterholder. Mr. Taylor is a veteran of the U.S. Army, where he served as a forward observer.

Dan Woodfin is ERCOT’s Vice President of System Operations. In this role, Mr. Woodfin leads Real-Time Operations, Operations Planning, Forecasting and Ancillary Services, Outage Coordination, and other engineering activities that support the reliable operation of the power system and promote efficient power markets.

Mr. Woodfin has over 30 years of experience in the electric power industry, including leadership positions in both system planning and system operations for ERCOT.  Prior to joining ERCOT in 2003, he led various generation and transmission planning activities at Central and Southwest Services, Reliant Energy, and West Texas Utilities. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the North American Transmission Forum and has served on various committees of NERC. He earned both a BS in electrical engineering and an MBA from Texas A&M University.