IPL Adds to Senior Leadership, Announces Mills Retirement
Brandi Davis-Handy and Fred Mills
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndianapolis Power & Light Co., a subsidiary of the AES Corp,. has added Brandi Davis-Handy (pictured) as chief public relations officer, US Utilities. She will lead the communications and community efforts for AES in Indiana and Ohio. Davis-Handy has two decades of journalism, corporate communications and marketing experience. She has held leadership roles in the private, public and nonprofit sectors, including positions at Project Lead The Way, OneAmerica, and the 500 Festival. She previously led communications for IPL and the AES US Strategic Business Unit for five years. Davis-Handy graduated from Hampton University, was recognized as a Center for Leadership Development Minority Achiever and was named a Breakthrough Woman in Leadership Development by the National Coalition of 100 Black Women in 2018.
Fred Mills (pictured), external affairs director, is retiring after nearly two decades at IPL. He has served as a key leader in government and stakeholder roles, where he interfaced with federal, state and local elected officials. Mills also represented IPL on the Indiana Energy Association’s Government Relations Committee and numerous other boards. Most recently, he served as the company’s lead on the Indiana General Assembly’s 21st Century Energy Task Force where he helped shape the context for future energy policy discussions throughout Indiana.
Aaron Cooper has been appointed to the newly-created role of chief commercial officer, US Utilities, covering commercial activities for AES in Indiana and Ohio. He has more than 30 years of utility experience with Dayton Power & Light and AES. For more than a decade, Cooper served as director of fuel supply. He graduated from Miami University in Ohio.
Tom Raga will lead AES US Utilities’ government affairs teams across Indiana and Ohio. He has extensive public policy experience including service in local elected office and as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives. Since joining Dayton Power & Light in 2010, Raga has held management roles overseeing federal and state government relations, transmission resource planning, communications, strategic accounts, safety, environmental services, and corporate social responsibility. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he has spearheaded customer care efforts in both Indiana and Ohio to ensure customers had access to extended payment plans and other support.
Also, Courtney Arango has been named IPL’s government affairs director. She mostly served as external affairs manager and spokeswoman. Arango previously served as communications director in Governor Eric Holcomb’s office and directed communications for the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. Arango has also served in communications roles for the Indiana Senate Majority Caucus and the State Lottery Commission of Indiana.