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A few questions with retired CEO and Executive Chairman, Tony Earley   

What years did you serve at CEO of DTE?   

President & COO 1994-1998; Chairman & CEO 1998-2010; Executive Chairman 2010-2011 

 When did you retire from DTE? 

Sept. 9, 2011 became Chairman & CEO PG&E Sept. 13, 2011

Q: After leaving DTE, you came out of retirement – when did you officially retire? 

A: Chairman & CEO PG&E Corp Sept. 2011-Feb. 2017; Executive Chairman Feb. 2017- Dec. 2017 

Q: How have you and Sarah been spending your ‘free’ time since you officially retired?  

A: What free time? I am on six boards, three corporate and three not for profit. The corporate boards are Ford Motor Co., Southern Co. and CLEAResult(EE firm).The not for profit organizations are The Exploratorium ( an SF Science Museum), United Way Worldwide (the parent of all United Ways) and the Detroit Zoological Society where I am Chairman of the Board. I also am co-chair of Cornerstone Schools Capital campaign. Sarah is equally busy. She continues to be Chair of the Board of the Belle Isle Conservancy, an organization she founded and has led for over a decade. She is also a Board member of the national City Parks Alliance and the Michigan Women’s Forward (MI Women’s’ Foundation). 

Q: How has retirement changed for you since the pandemic?  

A: Like all of us, we have mastered Zoom, Microsoft Teams, WebEx and others. While that has been effective but it lacks the personal connections we crave. Personally, it has been very rewarding. Sarah and I have been married for 48 years. We have discovered that is not a coincidence. For many of those 48 years we both had demands of jobs, children and outside interests that kept us apart. Even in the 7 years we spent in SF, Sarah commuted to Detroit monthly for her commitments here. But the amazing thing about the pandemic was that it confirmed that we are still best friends and are so glad we have been able to spend this time together.  

Q:  Are you involved in any charitable organizations or community efforts?  If so, tell us a bit about them:  

A: I want to highlight several of my Detroit community activities of which I am very proud. Before I retired from DTE and left for CA, I had spent more than a decade on the Board of the Detroit Zoo. Not only is it an incredibly iconic attraction, it is a leading research institution on environmental and climate change issues. I love being able to help shape the Zoo’s communication strategy on climate change issues.  

My work on United Way Worldwide also has significant implications for Detroit. I led a Task Force in SF looking at whether UW had any relevance in the 21st century. Quite honestly, there were lots of questions about the answer to this question. Yet during this pandemic, UW has raised over $1 billion for COVID relief based upon their historical commitment to improving the lives of the communities they serve. For example, when Black Educational TV (BET) wanted to donate massive sums of money to cities that had large Black populations. But they didn’t know how to do this effectively. They decided to partner with UW. Because of this Detroit’s COVID relief fund benefitted to the tune of about $12 million.  

Finally, my work with Cornerstone Schools has been a passion for over 25 years. In a city with a HS graduation rate in the low 30%’s, Cornerstone in the past has achieved graduation rates above 90%. As Cornerstone is expanding from its 3000+ student body to 5000+ students at multiple locations the challenge is to maintain the academic standards they achieved at a smaller private school. 

Q: Have you read any good books lately?  Watched any good movies? 

A: I love to read about history because it helps you understand what works and what doesn’t. First on my list is Jon Meacham’s “The Soul Of America” which highlights the importance of leadership characteristics in critical moments in history. The second is “Sailing True North” by Admiral James Stavridis. It highlights the leadership skills of ten admirals over 2500 years of history. The interesting thing about this book is that it covers men and women who had great leadership traits but also had some incredible flaws. It is a great treatise on what works and what does not. 

Q: What are you most looking forward to in the New Year?  

A: Hugging our grandchildren and spending as much time as possible with them and our friends. 

Q: Is there anything else you want to share with the Alumni Network or the DTE team? 

A: I hope all of you realize what your association with DTE Energy means. Over 30 years ago, you were part of a middle of the road, plain vanilla electric company. Solid but not spectacular. Over the last two decades or so DTE has earned a reputation as a leader in our industry. Not only has its market value increased at an incredible rate. You have been on the forefront of all the amazing changes in our industry. The move to consolidate with the gas industry. the move away from coal to natural gas, the development of renewable energy resources, the importance of energy efficiency programs and a willingness to reinvent itself in a way that best fulfilled it’s destiny to “Energize the Progress of Society” and to make “Dreams Real”. 

Editor’s note: You can watch Tony talk about the history of the energy industry on our recorded Town Hall session from Nov 9 at www.dteenergy.com/alumni