SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- As part of its commitment to achieving a best-in-class ethics and compliance program, PG&E Corporation today announced the appointment of Julie M. Kane to the newly created position of Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer.

With her election by the Board of Directors, Kane will serve as a Senior Vice President directly reporting to PG&E Corporation Chairman, CEO and President Tony Earley with additional reporting responsibility to the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors.

Kane’s appointment is the result of a global search for the newly created position of a Senior Vice President to serve as Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer at PG&E. The creation of this position is part of PG&E’s commitment to strengthen its ethics and compliance program and performance.

“Julie Kane has deep experience in ethics, compliance and corporate citizenship programs across several industries. She will put that experience to good use as we continue our journey to develop an ethics and compliance program that is second to none. By hiring someone of Julie’s caliber, we want all of our customers and their families to know that PG&E is absolutely committed to doing the right thing and acting in a transparent and ethical manner that upholds both the letter and spirit of the law and the company's own Code of Conduct at all times,” Earley said.

In her new position, Ms. Kane will be responsible for:

• Building a best-in-class ethics and compliance program and overseeing its implementation;
• Overseeing company-wide programs for compliance reporting and related investigatory processes, and improving processes for prevention, detection, and investigation of any potential non-compliant activities;
• Strengthening ethics and compliance-related training;
• Reinforcing PG&E’s ethics and compliance culture, as well as the company’s compliance management system; and
• Identifying areas of ethics and compliance risk, and developing preventive and corrective action plans.

Kane joins PG&E, effective May 18, 2015, from her current role as Vice President, General Counsel & Compliance Officer, North America & Corporate Functions, for Avon Products Inc. Prior to her role with Avon, she held a number of senior roles with Novartis Corporation and its affiliates over a 25-year period, culminating in her role as Vice President, Ethics and Compliance for Novartis Corporation. Kane’s other Novartis roles included Vice President, Ethics and Compliance and Corporate Citizenship for Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, and Vice President, Health, Safety and Environment and Chief Environmental Counsel for Novartis Corporation.

She holds an undergraduate degree in political science from Williams College, Williamstown, Mass., and a law degree from the University of San Francisco School of Law. Kane is a member of the California state bar.

In 2014, PG&E self-reported apparent violations dating back to 2010 related to CPUC rules governing ex parte communications. The company took immediate and definitive action to address these issues as part of its commitment to achieve the highest level of ethics and compliance.

As part of that effort, PG&E created the new position of Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer as a Senior Vice President reporting directly to the PG&E Chairman and CEO Tony Earley and the Board’s Audit Committee. Ms. Kane will fill this position.

For a full list of the actions that PG&E has taken to enhance its compliance and ethics program, click here.

About PG&E Corporation

PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG) is a Fortune 200 energy-based holding company, headquartered in San Francisco. It is the parent company of Pacific Gas and Electric Company, California’s largest investor-owned utility. PG&E serves nearly 16 million Californians across a 70,000 square-mile service area in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit http://www.pgecorp.com/ and www.pge.com.

Source: PG&E Corporation