New energy: first Black ComEd chief: Frank M..Clark, former mailroom worker, heads Illinois giant - Biography

Ebony, July, 2003 by Kimberly Davis

FRANK M. CLARK, the first African-American president of Illinois' ComEd (Commonwealth Edison), overcame poverty, adversity and racism to become one of the few high-ranking Blacks in the multibillion-dollar energy industry. And he says he is where he is today--in charge of the day-to-day operations of a $6 billion electric utility--because of people in his life who believed in him and wanted more for him.

From his mother to his wife and family members, friends and co-workers, Clark says that he succeeded, in part, because they built a foundation that allowed him to succeed.

"My mother, Silvella James, believed that you can do or be whatever you wanted to be, you just have to work hard, be positive and believe in yourself," says Clark, 57, one of seven children raised by a determined mother on Chicago's South Side. "It took me 35 years to become president, but I did."

Clark, who also serves as senior vice president of the Exelon Corporation, ComEd's parent company, and senior vice president of Exelon Energy Delivery, started his remarkable journey to the top of corporate America in grammar school, where he met and fell in love with Vera Pringle. The two have been together ever since.

He went on to Hirsch High School, where he admits he was a "very average" student, and in 1965 he and Vera married. Clark was working as a white-collar Supervisor at a Catholic bookstore when he interviewed for a position at ComEd.

He turned the job down at first, but when his wife found out that the job paid $15 more a month than the bookstore, Clark says she "strongly encouraged" him to take it.

"The only job they had for me at that time--this was 1966--was in the mailroom," Clark says. "I had no intentions of accepting it, but Vera got her way very quickly."

Although he didn't like his job as "mail boy," as the position was called in those days, Clark says he was determined to be the best at it. Three years after taking the position, he was drafted into the U.S. Army and spent a year in Vietnam. While in the Army, he realized the value of education and returned to Chicago and ComEd with a renewed sense of purpose and a desire to do better for himself and his family.

He took classes at a junior college to get into DePaul University and made "A's" for the first time in his life. At DePaul, he earned a business administration degree with honors, went on to DePaul law school and began to believe his mother's teaching.

"You really can be whatever you want to be if you work hard enough," Clark says. "Corporations can't stop you, glass ceilings can't stop you, individuals can't stop you, racism can't stop you. The key is to really believe and continue applying yourself, so that when you get those setbacks--and you will--you don't fall apart."

With his wife's commitment and a family (including sons Frank III and Steven) to support, Clark finished law school at night and pursued other positions at ComEd. He also had a mentor and strong advocate in executive Bill Farrow, who worked at the company and put in a good word for him with his colleagues.

As he pursued those opportunities, Clark also solidified his friendship with associate John Hooker, whom he calls "completely and totally inspiring." The two, who could have been competitors--Black men working their way up the corporate ladder at a major company at the same time--made a pact to never undermine each other.

Hooker, who is now vice president of property management and external affairs for CornEd, says that Clark's accomplishments have paved the way for other minorities.

"We both started as 'mail boys' in the mailroom over 35 years ago," Hooker says. "As [Clark] advanced within the company, there were inevitably going to be some people who did not want to see him succeed. But Frank's qualifications always prevailed, earning him coveted positions and ensuring him success."

When a merger of Chicago's Unicom (parent company of Commonwealth Edison) and PECO Energy Company of Philadelphia created Exelon Corp. in October 2000, and John Rowe became chairman, Clark was one of his key advisors, particularly on regulatory issues. That trusted relationship led to Clark's promotion to president a year later.

"I was floored," Vera Clark recalls of her reaction to news of her husband's promotion. "He told me that he was going to be president one day and I just wasn't sure that it could happen. But he did it! I sent him a telegram telling him, 'Don't ever let anybody tell you what you cannot do.'"

The new position has brought with it some changes. The couple, who have four grandchildren and live in a Chicago suburb, attend more social functions, sit on the boards of charitable organizations, and are busier than ever.

Clark says that he realizes that he's in the twilight of his career and is looking toward leaving a lasting impression. He has done his best to reach back and pull others up with him. And he has tried hard to be a champion, but he still doesn't believe he has succeeded.

"I'll feel that I was successful as the first African-American president [at ComEd]," he says, "if I see a pipeline--where there's more people of color at every level--that sustains itself after I leave. That's the legacy I want to leave."