Piedmont exec to lead Duke Energy’s natural gas unit

Piedmont Natural Gas executive Frank Yoho will lead Duke Energy’s natural gas operations when the two companies combine next year, Duke said Friday.

Yoho, 56, is Piedmont’s senior vice president and chief commercial officer. At Duke he will report to CEO and chairman Lynn Good and join the senior management team.

Duke announced in October that it would acquire Charlotte-based Piedmont for $4.9 billion in cash. The deal has to be approved by state and federal regulators but is expected to close by late 2016.

Yoho will lead Duke’s natural gas operations in the Carolinas, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. Piedmont will keep its name and operate as a Duke business unit.

"Frank has played a key role in developing Piedmont into one of the nation’s premier natural gas distribution operators and growing its interstate pipeline business,” Good said in a statement. “We look forward to welcoming him to our team once the transaction closes.”

Yoho joined Piedmont in 2002 and is responsible for sales and marketing, transportation services, supply planning, gas supply, wholesale marketing and customer service.

He previously worked for CT Communications and the former Public Service Company of North Carolina. Yoho is board chairman of the Southern Gas Association and serves on the advisory board of UNC Charlotte’s Energy Production and Infrastructure Center, known as EPIC.

This story was originally published December 18, 2015 at 12:37 PM with the headline "Piedmont exec to lead Duke Energy’s natural gas unit."