SHANNON O. PIERCE | President and CEO, Virginia Natural Gas; Senior vice president, Southern Company Gas

A Surry County native, Shannon Pierce succeeded Robert Duvall in April as leader of Virginia Natural Gas, the utility serving more than 310,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in Southeastern Virginia. She also serves as an executive for Southern Company Gas, VNG’s parent.
Although Pierce has spent her entire career in energy, mere chance delivered her to the industry. Fresh out of the University of Virginia School of Law, Pierce took a job at McGuireWoods in the energy and utilities practice group. From there, she moved to Georgia to work as counsel at AGL Resources, which was purchased in 2016 by Southern Company Gas. Over the years, Pierce has held leadership positions in legal, regulatory affairs, external affairs and utility operations.

Pierce credits her Virginia roots with fueling her passion for leveraging Virginia Natural Gas’ resources to support the communities the utility serves. In July, VNG announced a $175,000 donation to the Peake Childhood Center, a Hampton Roads nonprofit dedicated to preparing children for kindergarten.

“Peake’s motto, ‘growing promising futures,’ resonates deeply with us,” Pierce said in a statement about the gift. “Workforce development transcends job creation — it’s about understanding and meeting the broader needs of our families and communities.”

Pierce sits on boards for the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, the Elizabeth River Project and the Hampton Roads Executive Roundtable. In June, Gov. Glenn Youngkin appointed Pierce to Christopher Newport University’s board of visitors.

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