ALLETE among Minnesota companies honored for gender parity in boardroom, among executive officers

ALLETE Inc. (NYSE:ALE) has again been included among a group of Minnesota companies recognized for gender diversity in their top leadership ranks.

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ALLETE was named an Honor Roll Company with Special Distinction in the 2022 Minnesota Census of Women in Corporate Leadership. From left are Kristin Renskers, IBEW Local 31; Jennifer Kuklenski, public policy advisor; Ana Vang, senior public policy advisor; Carrie Ryan, enterprise project manager; Jennifer Cady, director of regulatory affairs; Bethany Owen, ALLETE chair, president and CEO; Nicole Johnson, ALLETE Clean Energy president and ALLETE vice president; and Maggie Thickens, ALLETE vice president, chief legal officer and corporate secretary. (Photo: Business Wire)

ALLETE has been named as an Honor Roll company with Special Distinction in the 2022 Minnesota Census of Women in Corporate Leadership, produced by St. Catherine University’s School of Business. The annual research study examines the representation of women on boards of directors and as executive officers in the state’s largest publicly held companies. It is the fourth consecutive year ALLETE has received the honor.

ALLETE is among only six of 78 companies that achieved gender parity on their board of directors, among their executive officer positions, or both, in 2022, according to the report. Five of 10 directors serving on the ALLETE board are women and three of the six ALLETE executive officers are women.

The six Special Distinction companies are among the 23 companies named to the Honor Roll for having representation of women on the board of directors at 29% or better, and representation of women in executive officer roles as 23% or better.

Bethany Owen, ALLETE chair, president and CEO, said the company is honored to be recognized with the Special Distinction status. She noted that women have served in senior leadership positions and on ALLETE’s board of directors for decades.

“I’m proud of our company’s strong track record of diversity in all forms, be it gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, as well as experience,” Owen said. “But this isn’t about numbers or percentages—it’s about creating and strengthening an equitable and inclusive culture where individuals are valued for their whole selves. And that, in turn, enables people, organizations and businesses, and our communities to thrive in truly sustainable ways. We know we have more work to do, but we also know we are stronger when more voices are included in the decision-making process at all levels.”

ALLETE and other Honor Roll companies were recognized April 18 at an event at the Saint Paul RiverCentre hosted by Twin Cities Business. Jennifer Cady, director of regulatory affairs at Minnesota Power, accepted the award on behalf of ALLETE.

In addition to the recognition in the St. Catherine University census, Moody’s Investors Service has identified ALLETE as having the most gender diverse board among 45 utility companies it examined for a report on board gender diversity at publicly traded North American utilities.

ALLETE, Inc. is an energy company headquartered in Duluth, Minnesota. In addition to its electric utilities, Minnesota Power and Superior Water, Light and Power of Wisconsin, ALLETE owns ALLETE Clean Energy, based in Duluth; BNI Energy in Bismarck, North Dakota; and New Energy Equity, headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland; and has an 8% equity interest in the American Transmission Co. More information about ALLETE is available at www.allete.com. ALE-CORP

The statements contained in this release and statements that ALLETE may make orally in connection with this release that are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and investors are directed to the risks discussed in documents filed by ALLETE with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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