Gale Klappa, the chairman of the board for Milwaukee-based WEC Energy Group, a Fortune 500 company and the parent company of We Energies, will retire from the company’s board following its annual meeting in May, following 22 years as chairman and more than 22 years as a board member.

The company’s board plans to name WEC Energy Group president and CEO Scott Lauber to the additional role of chairman at the company’s annual meeting, subject to his election by stockholders in the annual director election.

Klappa, 75, will not stand for reelection to the board and will retire, consistent with WEC Energy Group’s guidelines, the company said in an announcement Thursday.

Klappa was the longest serving CEO in the history of the company, known as Wisconsin Energy Corp. until 2015 when it acquired Integrys Energy Group and changed its name to WEC Energy Group.

He joined Wisconsin Energy as president in April of 2003 and was elected to the company’s board in December of 2003.

From May 2004 he served as chairman and CEO of the company until retiring as CEO in May of 2016. He then served as non-executive chairman of WEC Energy Group until October of 2017 when he resumed the role of chairman and CEO after his successor, Allen Leverett, suffered a stroke.

In February 2019, Klappa again stepped aside as CEO, moving to the executive chairman role with Kevin Fletcher taking over as CEO. Initially, Klappa agreed to stay in the executive chairman role for three years, but in October 2020, his agreement was extended through May 2024.

Fletcher stepped away from the president and CEO role in early 2022 and retired later that year. Lauber succeeded Fletcher as president and CEO.

Klappa returned to the non-executive chairman role in May of 2024.

The WEC Energy Group board has voted to bestow on Klappa the honorary title of chairman emeritus, effective after the company’s annual meeting in May, “in recognition of his exemplary leadership and decades of dedicated service to both the board and the company,” the company said in its news release. This is the first time this honor has been bestowed on anyone in the company’s more than 125 year history.

“On behalf of the board, the company, and the communities that have benefited from Gale’s tremendous leadership, we extend our deepest gratitude,” said Thomas Lane, independent lead director for the WEC Energy Group board. “Gale’s accomplishments over the years have been extraordinary, and his vision has helped position WEC Energy Group and its customers for long-term success. True to form, Gale isn’t slowing down — we look forward to his continued involvement in economic development initiatives that will strengthen both our company and the region we serve.”

Klappa was named by BizTimes Media as a member of the Wisconsin 275, recognizing the state’s most influential business leaders in 2022 and 2024 and in 2025 was named a Wisconsin 275 “Living Legend.”

Klappa serves as co-chair of the Milwaukee 7 (M7) regional marketing and economic development initiative.