SAN FRANCISCO, California, December 9, 2008 — The Public Policy Institute of California announced today that John E. Bryson, senior advisor to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., and recently retired chairman and chief executive officer of Edison International, has been unanimously elected to its board of directors.
During Brysonʹs nearly 18 years as CEO of Edison International, its subsidiary Southern California Edison became the nationʹs leader in the development, demonstration, and use of clean energy, including customer energy efficiency programs, renewable power sources, and ʺsmart gridʺ technologies. The company also successfully navigated the considerable challenges of the electric power crisis earlier this decade.
Bryson brings deep experience to the PPIC board, having served as chairman of the California State Water Resources Control Board (1976–1979) and as president of the California Public Utilities Commission (1979–1982). Earlier, he was a co‐founder and attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council. Bryson serves or has served on several nonprofit boards, including those of Stanford University, Caltech, The California Endowment, and the W.M. Keck Foundation. He also serves on the boards of The Boeing Company and The Walt Disney Company. Bryson holds a B.A. from Stanford University and a J.D. from Yale Law School.
“John’s leadership experience, deep knowledge of California’s energy industry, and longstanding interest in the environment will be valuable assets to PPIC’s board,” says Mark Baldassare, president and CEO. “We look forward to his contributions as PPIC works to improve public policy at this critical time for the state.”
Current members of PPIC’s board include Thomas C. Sutton, board chair, and retired chairman and chief executive officer, Pacific Life Insurance Company; Mark Baldassare; Ruben Barrales, president and CEO, San Diego Chamber of Commerce; Gary K. Hart, former state senator and Secretary of Education; Walter B. Hewlett, director, Center for Computer Assisted Research in the Humanities; Donna Lucas, president and CEO, Lucas Public Affairs; Leon E. Panetta, director, The Leon and Sylvia Panetta Institute for Public Policy; Ki Suh Park, design and managing partner, Gruen Associates; Constance L. Rice, co‐director, The Advancement Project; Raymond L. Watson, vice chairman of the board emeritus, The Irvine Company; and Carol Whiteside, president emeritus, Great Valley Center.
The Public Policy Institute of California is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to informing and im‐proving public policy in California through independent, objective, nonpartisan research on major econom‐ic, social, and political issues. The institute was established in 1994 with an endowment from William R. Hewlett. PPIC does not take or support positions on any ballot measure or on any local, state, or federal leg‐islation, nor does it endorse, support, or oppose any political parties or candidates for public office.