Vistra is led by a team of industry veterans with expertise across all areas of the energy and retail businesses, including a board of directors with a diverse set of experiences providing oversight and governance.
Executive Management
Jim Burke
president and chief executive officer
Sano Blocker
senior vice president of government affairs
Stacey Doré
chief strategy & sustainability officer, executive vice president of public affairs
Tom Farrah
senior vice president and CIO
Scott A. Hudson
president of Vistra Retail
Carrie Kirby
executive vice president and chief administrative officer
Kris Moldovan
executive vice president and chief financial officer
Stephanie Zapata Moore
executive vice president and general counsel
Board of Directors
Scott Helm
chairman of the board
Hilary E. Ackermann
chair of the sustainability and risk committee
Paul M. Barbas
chair of the nominating and governance committee
Lisa Crutchfield
chair of the social responsibility and compensation committee
John W. (Bill) Pitesa
chair of the nuclear oversight committee
John R. “J. R.” Sult
chair of the audit committee
Executive Management
Jim Burke is Vistra’s president, chief executive officer, and a member of its board of directors. Burke has been with Vistra and its predecessor companies since 2004, serving in various leadership positions.
Burke most recently served as president and chief financial officer from December 2020 to July 2022. As CFO, he had broad responsibility for the company’s accounting, risk, internal audit, treasury, tax, planning, M&A, and investor activities, along with overseeing the critical technology services function.
Burke previously served as the company’s chief operating officer from 2016 until December 2020, with overall responsibility for running the day-to-day operations of the company, including fossil generation and mining, and the Vistra Zero portfolio, which includes zero-carbon nuclear generation, renewable, as well as one of the largest energy storage assets in the world in Monterrey, CA. He was also responsible for the retail business and other functions including, safety, supply chain, and asset closure. In addition, he was responsible for the development of renewable energy and battery storage projects on both new and redeveloped sites.
He previously served as chairman and CEO of TXU Energy, the leading competitive retailer in Texas and a subsidiary of Vistra and its predecessor company, Energy Future Holdings. Burke led TXU Energy from August 2005 to October 2016 after joining in late 2004 as senior vice president of TXU Energy’s residential markets.
Burke has worked in the retail electric market since 2001 in both the residential and commercial segments. Prior to joining TXU Energy, Burke was president and chief operating officer of Gexa Energy, a Houston-based retailer that was subsequently acquired by FPL in 2005. Before Gexa Energy, Burke was vice president of residential marketing, then senior vice president of consumer operations with Reliant Energy.
Prior to his experience in competitive electricity markets, Burke worked at The Coca-Cola Company for six years, both domestically in the juice division of The Minute Maid Company and internationally in the expansion of the juice business through Coca-Cola Bottlers in Latin America, South Africa, and Hong Kong. Before Coca-Cola, he was a management consultant for Deloitte & Touche Consulting.
Outside of his responsibilities at Vistra, Burke serves as a board member of the Nuclear Energy Institute, and as an advisory board member for the Tulane University Energy Institute. He is also a member of the board for the United Way Foundation of Metropolitan Dallas and the Ursuline Academy of Dallas.
Burke is a graduate of Tulane University, earning a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s in business administration in finance and general management. He is a licensed certified public accountant and has also earned the designation as a chartered financial analyst. In addition, Burke has completed the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Nuclear Reactor Technology course.
Sano Blocker, senior vice president of government affairs: Blocker is responsible for public advocacy, policy and political affairs activities at Vistra. As senior vice president of government affairs, she oversees Vistra’s legislative policy initiatives and political strategy, and administration of the employees’ political action committees.
Previously, Blocker served a similar function as the senior vice president of state and local political affairs for Vistra’s predecessor, Energy Future Holdings. Before joining EFH in 2008, Blocker was executive director for EDS global government affairs, where she was responsible for political relations across the nation’s 50 states, leading a team of regional directors and political consultants.
Blocker serves as vice chair of the Association of Electric Companies of Texas and sits on the executive board of the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association. She is a member of the State Legislative Leaders Foundation Advisory Board and is a former board member of the NCSL Foundation of State Legislatures. Blocker also serves on the board of the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth.
Blocker completed the “Leadership in the Global Enterprise” course through the Thunderbird School of Management as well as the executive management program at Southern Methodist University. She graduated from Texas Tech University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and Spanish.
Stacey Doré, chief strategy & sustainability officer and executive vice president of public affairs. In this role, Doré is responsible for corporate strategy, sustainability, regulatory and government affairs, communications, and community engagement.
Prior to joining Vistra, Doré most recently served as president and chief executive officer of Hunt Utility Services and Sharyland Utilities, an electric utility within the Electric Reliability Council of Texas market, from 2019-2021. There she set the strategic direction of the company and led a seasoned team of professionals in developing, operating, and constructing the company’s electric transmission assets safely and reliably. Prior to that role, she was senior vice president and general counsel for publicly traded InfraREIT, Inc., an electric transmission and distribution company structured as a real estate investment trust, from 2016-2019.
Doré originally joined Vistra’s predecessor companies in 2008 as part of the legal team where she served in several leadership roles, including executive vice president and general counsel. She began her career as an attorney at Vinson & Elkins, LLP in 1997.
Outside of her responsibilities at Vistra, Doré is a member of the board of directors for Williams (NYSE: WMB), a leading energy infrastructure company with operations across the natural gas value chain, where she serves on both the audit committee and the governance and sustainability committee. She is also actively involved in her community. She serves as a board member and on the audit committee of Texas Women’s Foundation and is an active member of the United Way Women of Tocqueville. Doré also serves on the board of the North Texas Chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors. She is also a member of the Dallas Assembly and the International Women’s Forum and a graduate of the Dallas Regional Chamber’s Leadership Dallas. Doré received her juris doctor from Harvard Law School and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from University of Southwestern Louisiana.
Tom Farrah, senior vice president and chief information officer: Farrah serves as head of Vistra’s Technology Services and is responsible for ensuring the reliability, security, and continued development of the company’s technology platforms, as well as delivering new solutions to support the business.
Prior to joining Vistra in 2020, Farrah served as senior vice president of business transformation for Keurig Dr Pepper, where he led a major transformation of the company’s route to market, and as senior vice president and CIO for Dr Pepper Snapple Group, where he led the enterprise technology function. Prior to DPS, Farrah held senior level IT positions at General Motors, Pfizer, and Electronic Data Systems.
In addition to his responsibilities at Vistra, Farrah serves on the board of Smiles Charity and is a past advisory board member at Southern Methodist University.
Farrah is a graduate of the University of Windsor, Canada, earning a bachelor’s degree in computer science and mathematics.
Scott A. Hudson, president of Vistra Retail: Hudson serves as head of Vistra’s retail business, including president of TXU Energy, a market-leading competitive retail electricity provider, powering the lives of more Texans than any other retailer. Serving nearly 5 million residential, commercial, and industrial retail customers with electricity and gas, Vistra is the largest competitive residential electricity provider in the country and offers the most innovative products and services in the retail energy industry.
Hudson joined TXU Energy in 2011 and served as the company’s chief operating officer with responsibility for sales, marketing, product development, operations, and business technology organizations. Prior to joining TXU Energy, Hudson held senior leadership positions with MBNA America, ChoicePoint, and LexisNexis. He began his career as a commercial lawyer working in the energy industry for Troutman Sanders LLP, a highly respected international law firm.
Outside his responsibilities at Vistra, Hudson serves on the board of directors for the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, the Dallas Regional Chamber, and the Dallas Children’s Theatre.
Hudson has a law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and earned his bachelor’s degree from Yale University.
Carrie Kirby, executive vice president and chief administrative officer: Kirby serves as executive vice president and chief administrative officer of Vistra, overseeing the functions of human resources, community affairs, supply chain, corporate security and facilities management.
Prior to her current role, Kirby was the executive vice president of human resources for Vistra’s predecessor, Energy Future Holdings Corp., leading the human resources functions across EFH corporate and its subsidiaries, Luminant and TXU Energy. She was previously vice president of human resources at TXU Energy, where she was originally recruited in 2006 as a human resources director to support the power generation business in its construction and expansion efforts.
Prior to joining TXU Energy, Kirby was director of human resources at Delinea Corporation, a software services company targeting the energy industry. Before that, she was director of human resources for Netrake, a startup voice-over IP hardware development company. She began her career in the executive search business as a consultant for Ray & Berndtson, supporting the technology practice.
In addition to her service at Vistra, Kirby sits on the board of the Women’s Business Council Southwest and is a member of the United Way’s Women of Tocqueville.
Kirby holds both a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a master’s of business administration from Texas Christian University.
Kris Moldovan, executive vice president and chief financial officer: As chief financial officer of Vistra, Moldovan is responsible for the company’s accounting, risk, internal audit, treasury, tax, planning, investor activities, and other various functions.
Moldovan has been with Vistra and its predecessor companies since 2006 and, from 2017-2022, served as senior vice president and treasurer, where he was responsible for all treasury-related activities, including financing activities and assuring the availability of liquidity and cash resources, among other responsibilities. From 2010 to 2017, he was the company’s assistant treasurer.
Moldovan originally joined the company as senior counsel, where much of his work focused on finance and mergers and acquisitions. Before joining Vistra, he was an attorney for Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP in Dallas and for Wildman, Harrold, Allen & Dixon in Chicago, where he gained extensive experience in M&A, finance, and general corporate advisory.
Moldovan holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the University of Illinois, a juris doctor from Duke University School of Law, and a graduate finance certificate from Southern Methodist University Cox School of Business.
Stephanie Zapata Moore, executive vice president and general counsel: As executive vice president and general counsel of Vistra, Moore advises the company’s leadership team on legal, regulatory and corporate governance matters, in addition to overseeing the corporate secretary’s office and leading the company’s legal and compliance team.
Prior to her current role, Moore served as vice president and general counsel of Luminant, a competitive power generation subsidiary of Vistra and its predecessor Energy Future Holdings. Moore’s primary responsibilities included coordination and delivery of all legal services for Luminant, including commercial matters, litigation, environmental advocacy, and regulatory compliance and counseling. In addition, she worked closely with other senior leaders to develop and implement the company’s strategy for addressing numerous environmental, permitting and other regulatory matters, including comments on proposed rulemakings, advocacy before relevant regulatory agencies, and representing the company’s position in litigation and administrative proceedings. She also oversaw contract administration and Luminant’s compliance program.
Prior to joining Luminant in 2005, Moore was an associate at Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP in the corporate and securities practice group, where she focused on mergers and acquisitions and private securities offerings. She also spent a year in the trial practice group at Gardere, where she represented clients in commercial litigation matters.
In addition to her responsibilities at Vistra , Moore serves as a member of the board of directors of AVANCE-Dallas, Inc. and Girls Inc. of Metropolitan Dallas, is an active member of Attorneys Serving the Community and is a past chair of the Corporate Counsel Section of the Dallas Bar Association. She co-chaired the EFH 2015 United Way Tocqueville membership campaign and is a 2013 graduate of the General Counsel Forum’s Institute for Leadership in the Law.
Moore received her undergraduate degree in English from Duke University and her law degree from William & Mary School of Law.
Steve Muscato, Board of Directors
Scott Helm, chairman of the board, has served on the board as Chairman since 2017. Helm is a private investor based out of Baltimore, Maryland. Previously, Helm was a founding partner of Energy Capital Partners, a private equity firm focused on investing in North American energy infrastructure. Prior to joining Energy Capital Partners, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Orion Power Holdings, Inc., a publicly traded company that owned and operated power plants.
Helm began his career at Goldman, Sachs & Co., first working in the company’s fixed income division, then moving to the investment banking division. Helm also serves on the board of the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company. He received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Washington University in St. Louis.
Hilary E. Ackermann, chair of the sustainability and risk committee, has served on the board since 2018. Ackermann previously served on the board of Dynegy Inc. and joined the board in conjunction with the company’s acquisition of Dynegy. Previously, Ackermann was Chief Risk Officer with Goldman Sachs Bank USA from 2008 to 2011. Ackermann began her career at Goldman Sachs in 1985 and served as Managing Director, Credit Department of Goldman, Sachs & Co., as VP, Credit Department, and as an Associate in the Credit Department prior to her role as Chief Risk Officer.
Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Ackermann served as Assistant Department Head of the Credit Department of Swiss Bank Corporation (now known as UBS). Ackermann served on the private board of directors and audit committee of Credit Suisse Holdings (USA), Inc. from January 2017 through December 2022, and served as chair of the risk committee, of Credit Suisse Holdings (USA), Inc. She currently serves on the private board and the audit committee, and serves as chair of the risk and compliance committee, of each of Hartford Series Fund, Inc., Hartford HLS Series Fund II, Inc., The Hartford Mutual Funds, Inc. and The Hartford Mutual Funds II, Inc. She previously served on the public board of directors of Apollo Investment Corporation. Ackermann received a bachelor’s degree in Russian from Georgetown University.
Arcilia Acosta has served on the Board since 2020. Acosta has served as chief executive officer of CARCON Industries and Construction, a company specializing in commercial, institutional, and transportation construction, since 2000. Acosta is also the Founder and chief executive officer of Southwestern Testing Laboratories, a position she has held since 2003. She served as a director of LegacyTexas Financial Group, N.A. (“LegacyTexas”), a publicly traded bank holding company with an asset size of over $10 billion, from 2015 to 2019, when LegacyTexas merged with a private company.
From July 2018 through February 2020, Acosta served as a director of ONE Gas Incorporated, one of the largest natural gas utilities in the U.S. In 2017, Acosta joined the public board of Magnolia Oil & Gas, an independent oil producer with assets located in South Texas. In 2021, Acosta joined the public board of Veritex Holdings, Inc., the holding company for Veritex Community Bank. Her prior board service includes 10 years as a director of Energy Future Holdings Corp. Acosta currently serves on the board of the Communities Foundation of Texas and is Chairman of the Dallas Citizens Council for 2023 to 2026. In March 2020, Texas Governor Abbott appointed Acosta to the Strike Force to Open Texas for COVID-19. In April 2021, Governor Abbott appointed Acosta to the Texas Tech University System—Board of Regents. In November 2022, Governor Abbot appointed her as one of three co-chairs of the 2023 Texas Inaugural Committee. Acosta received a bachelor’s degree in political science from Texas Tech University and is a graduate of the Harvard University Business School Corporate Governance Program.
Gavin Baiera has served on the board since 2016. Baiera is a senior managing director, partner, and portfolio manager at Centerbridge Partners, L.P, which is a multi-strategy private investment firm focused on private equity, credit, and real estate, and the chief executive officer of Overland Advantage, a business development company focused on direct lending. He previously served as a managing director at Angelo, Gordon & Co., where he was the global head of the firm’s corporate credit activities and portfolio manager for its distressed funds.
Baiera was also a member of the firm’s executive committee. Prior to joining Angelo, Gordon in 2008, Baiera was the co-head of the strategic finance group at Morgan Stanley, which was responsible for all origination, underwriting, and distribution of restructuring transactions. Prior to that, Baiera worked at General Electric Capital Corporation, concentrating on underwriting and investing in restructuring transactions. Baiera has served on numerous boards of directors including, most recently, MACH Gen, Orbitz Worldwide, and Travelport Worldwide. He received a bachelor’s degree in economics and finance from Fairfield University and a master of business administration from the University of Southern California.
Paul M. Barbas, has served on the board since 2018. Barbas previously served on the board of Dynegy Inc. and joined the Board in conjunction with the Company’s acquisition of Dynegy. Barbas previously served as president and chief executive of DPL Inc. and its principal subsidiary, The Dayton Power and Light Company (DP&L), and he also served on the boards of DPL Inc. and DP&L.
He also previously served as executive vice president and chief operating officer of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation, a diversified utility company engaged in natural gas distribution, transmission, and marketing, propane gas distribution and wholesale marketing, and other related services, and he was executive vice president of Allegheny Power. Barbas also served on the public boards of Pepco Holdings, Inc. and El Paso Electric, Inc. Barbas also serves as a volunteer at the Scorton Creek Game Farm, helping to maintain trails and conservation land overseen by the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. Barbas received a bachelor’s degree in economics from College of the Holy Cross and a Master of Business Administration in finance and marketing from the University of Massachusetts.
Jim Burke is Vistra’s president, chief executive officer, and a member of its board of directors. Burke has been with Vistra and its predecessor companies since 2004, serving in various leadership positions.
Burke most recently served as president and chief financial officer from December 2020 to July 2022. As CFO, he had broad responsibility for the company’s accounting, risk, internal audit, treasury, tax, planning, M&A, and investor activities, along with overseeing the critical technology services function.
Burke previously served as the company’s chief operating officer from 2016 until December 2020, with overall responsibility for running the day-to-day operations of the company, including fossil generation and mining, and the Vistra Zero portfolio, which includes zero-carbon nuclear generation, renewable, as well as one of the largest energy storage assets in the world in Monterrey, CA. He was also responsible for the retail business and other functions including, safety, supply chain, and asset closure. In addition, he was responsible for the development of renewable energy and battery storage projects on both new and redeveloped sites.
He previously served as chairman and CEO of TXU Energy, the leading competitive retailer in Texas and a subsidiary of Vistra and its predecessor company, Energy Future Holdings. Burke led TXU Energy from August 2005 to October 2016 after joining in late 2004 as senior vice president of TXU Energy’s residential markets.
Burke has worked in the retail electric market since 2001 in both the residential and commercial segments. Prior to joining TXU Energy, Burke was president and chief operating officer of Gexa Energy, a Houston-based retailer that was subsequently acquired by FPL in 2005. Before Gexa Energy, Burke was vice president of residential marketing, then senior vice president of consumer operations with Reliant Energy.
Prior to his experience in competitive electricity markets, Burke worked at The Coca-Cola Company for six years, both domestically in the juice division of The Minute Maid Company and internationally in the expansion of the juice business through Coca-Cola Bottlers in Latin America, South Africa, and Hong Kong. Before Coca-Cola, he was a management consultant for Deloitte & Touche Consulting.
Outside of his responsibilities at Vistra, Burke serves as a board member of the Nuclear Energy Institute, and as an advisory board member for the Tulane University Energy Institute. He is also a member of the board for the United Way Foundation of Metropolitan Dallas and the Ursuline Academy of Dallas.
Burke is a graduate of Tulane University, earning a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s in business administration in finance and general management. He is a licensed certified public accountant and has also earned the designation as a chartered financial analyst. In addition, Burke has completed the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Nuclear Reactor Technology course.
Lisa Crutchfield, chair of the social responsibility and compensation committee, has served on the board since 2020. Crutchfield is managing principal of Hudson Strategic Advisers, LLC, an economic analysis and strategic advisory firm to the energy, utility and government sectors since 2012. Prior to launching this consulting practice, she served as Executive Vice President and Chief Regulatory, Risk and Compliance Officer for the U.K.-based National Grid plc, a global energy provider, from 2008 to 2012.
Crutchfield also served on the board of National Grid USA as an executive director. She has served in executive roles as Senior Vice President of Regulatory and External Affairs at PECO, an Exelon Company, Vice President and General Manager at TIAA-CREF, and Vice President of Energy Policy and Strategy at Duke Energy Corporation. Crutchfield was appointed to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission as Vice Chairman in 1993 and served until 1997, earning the designation as an expert in liberalizing the electric and gas markets. She began her career as a commercial and investment banker.
Crutchfield currently serves on the boards of two other publicly traded companies, Fulton Financial Corporation since 2014 and Fortis Inc. since 2022, and previously served on the public board of Unitil Corporation. Crutchfield earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from Yale University and a master of business administration with distinction in finance from Harvard Business School. Crutchfield is also a Leadership Fellow of the National Association of Corporate Directors.
Julie Lagacy, chair of the nominating and governance committee, has served on the board since 2023. Lagacy was chief sustainability and strategy officer at Caterpillar Inc., a manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives, from November 2021 through January 2023. Lagacy began her career with Caterpillar in 1988 and served as product and commercial manager from 1999 until 2004, human resources manager from 2004 until 2006, senior business resource manager (Global Mining) from 2006 until 2012, and chief financial officer (Global Mining) from 2012 until 2013.
From 2013 until 2014, Lagacy served as vice president (Financial Services Division) and served as vice president of global information services and chief information officer from 2014 until 2020. Before being named Caterpillar’s chief strategy officer, she served as vice president of enterprise strategy from 2020 to October 2021. Lagacy currently serves on the public board of Nutrien Ltd. and previously served on the public board of RPM International Inc., provider of specialty coatings, sealants, building materials and related services, from 2017 to 2023. Lagacy also serves on the board of the Illinois Cancer Care Charitable Foundation. She earned dual bachelor’s degrees in Management and Economics from Illinois State University, an M.B.A. degree from Bradley University, a certificate in cybersecurity oversight from Carnegie Mellon University’s Software Engineering Institute, and is a Certified Management Accountant.
John W. (Bill) Pitesa, chair of the nuclear oversight committee, joined the board in 2024. Pitesa served on the board of directors of Energy Harbor as chair of the nuclear committee from 2020 until the company’s acquisition by Vistra in 2024. Pitesa has spent his entire career in the nuclear industry. He retired in 2018 after working at the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) as chief nuclear officer.
Previously, Pitesa served as chief nuclear officer for Duke Energy where he first joined in 1980 and served in numerous management positions, including serving two years as a loaned employee to the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO). During that time, he also supported the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) by serving on nuclear plant review teams. Pitesa holds a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Auburn University. He is a registered professional engineer in North Carolina and a graduate of Harvard’s Advanced Management Program.
John R. “J. R.” Sult, chair of the audit committee, has served on the board since 2018. Sult previously served on the board of Dynegy Inc. and joined the board in conjunction with the company’s acquisition of Dynegy. Previously, he was executive vice president and chief financial officer of Marathon Oil Corporation and was executive vice president and chief financial officer of El Paso Corporation prior to that.
Prior to joining El Paso, Sult served as vice president and controller of Halliburton Energy Services. Prior to joining Halliburton, Sult was an audit partner with Arthur Andersen LLP. Sult currently serves on the board and is chair of the nominating and corporate governance committee of Sitio Royalties, Corp., a public company, joining the board following the company’s merger with Brigham Minerals, Inc., a public company, where he previously served on the board.
In addition, Sult previously served as a director of Jagged Peak Energy, Inc., a public company, as well as the general partner of El Paso Pipeline Partners, L.P., a public company. Sult serves as a member of the Advisory Board of the Boys and Girls Country of Houston, Inc., a non-profit entity, previously serving as a member of the executive committee of the board of directors and chairman of the strategic planning committee. Sult received a bachelor’s degree with special attainments in commerce from Washington & Lee University and is a licensed certified public accountant in the state of Texas.