8-K

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF

THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported) November 19, 2020

Commission	Registrant; State of Incorporation;	IRS Employer
File Number	Address; and Telephone Number	Identification No.
1-9513	CMS ENERGY CORPORATION (A Michigan Corporation) One Energy Plaza Jackson, Michigan 49201 (517) 788-0550	38-2726431
1-5611	CONSUMERS ENERGY COMPANY (A Michigan Corporation) One Energy Plaza Jackson, Michigan 49201 (517) 788-0550	38-0442310

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

¨ Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

¨ Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

¨ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

¨ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class	Trading Symbol(s)	Name of each exchange  on which registered
CMS Energy Corporation Common Stock, $0.01 par value	CMS	New York Stock Exchange
CMS Energy Corporation 5.625% Junior Subordinated Notes due 2078	CMSA	New York Stock Exchange
CMS Energy Corporation 5.875% Junior Subordinated Notes due 2078	CMSC	New York Stock Exchange
CMS Energy Corporation 5.875% Junior Subordinated Notes due 2079	CMSD	New York Stock Exchange
Consumers Energy Company Cumulative Preferred Stock, $1.00 par value: $4.50 Series	CMS-PB	New York Stock Exchange

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).  Emerging growth company:  CMS Energy Corporation ¨        Consumers Energy Company ¨

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.  CMS Energy Corporation ¨        Consumers Energy Company ¨

Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.

Item 8.01 Other Events.

On November 24, 2020, CMS Energy Corporation (CMS Energy”) and Consumers Energy Company (“Consumers Energy”) announced the following management changes.

As of December 1, 2020, LeeRoy Wells Jr. will assume the position of senior vice president of operations. Wells, age 42, joined Consumers Energy in 2006 as part of the electric generation operations team responsible for electric infrastructure reliability. He was elected vice president of gas operations in 2019. Prior to this role, Wells served in a variety of leadership positions across the business as vice president of operations support overseeing the supply chain, corporate safety and health, fleet, facilities, and real estate departments helping to ensure reliability and safety within our infrastructure. He has also worked as an executive director in electric operations, leading a workforce of over 480 employees in the area of electric low voltage distribution, construction and service restoration.

As of December 1, 2020, Tonya Berry will assume the position of vice president of gas operations.  Berry, age 48, has served as vice president of operations performance since November 2018. In her role, she leads the implementation of Lean methodologies to further enhance our Quality Assurance function and improve work management processes within the gas and electric groups.  Berry joined Consumers Energy in 2015 as a member of the quality team. After briefly serving as manager of strategic initiatives with Massachusetts-based Energy Federation, Inc., she returned in 2017 to successfully lead Consumers Energy’s Lean Office and the company’s adoption of the CE Way. Berry has 20 years of experience deploying Lean methodologies across many industries and is a Six Sigma Black Belt from Lawrence Tech University. Prior to joining Consumers Energy, Berry also worked for Chrysler LLC in lean operations and industrial engineering. 

Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits.  

	Exhibit Index
99.1		CMS Energy News Release dated November 24, 2020
104		Cover Page Interactive Data File (the cover page XBRL tags are embedded in the Inline XBRL document).

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrants have duly caused this report to be signed on their behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

		CMS ENERGY CORPORATION
Dated: November 24, 2020	By:	/s/ Shaun M. Johnson
		Shaun M. Johnson
		Senior Vice President and
		General Counsel
		CONSUMERS ENERGY COMPANY
Dated: November 24, 2020	By:	/s/ Shaun M. Johnson
		Shaun M. Johnson
		Senior Vice President and
		General Counsel

EX-99.1

Exhibit 99.1

 

CMS Energy Announces LeeRoy Wells Jr. as Senior Vice President of Operations, Tonya Berry Named Vice President of Gas Operations

JACKSON, Mich., November 24, 2020 – CMS Energy announced today that LeeRoy Wells Jr. is named senior vice president of operations, effective December 1, 2020, following Garrick Rochow being named president and CEO last week. LeeRoy currently serves as the vice president of gas operations responsible for gas transmission, distribution, and the integrity of the company's gas system. Tonya Berry, currently vice president of operations performance, leads the implementation of Lean methodologies to enhance our Quality Assurance function and improves work management process within the gas and electric groups, is named vice president of gas operations, also effective December 1, 2020.
“LeeRoy has served the company in a variety of roles within gas and electric operations and embodies our triple bottom line of people, planet and prosperity,” said Garrick Rochow, incoming president and CEO of CMS Energy and Consumers Energy. “He is a key leader who will continue to champion safety within our operations team, promote world class operational performance and continue to improve service for our customers.”
Wells has been with CMS Energy for 14 years and served as vice president of gas operations since 2019. Prior to this role, Wells served in a variety of leadership positions across the business as vice president of operations support overseeing the supply chain, corporate safety and health, fleet, facilities, and real estate departments helping to ensure reliability and safety within our infrastructure. He has also worked as an executive director in electric operations, leading a workforce of over 480 employees in the area of electric low voltage distribution, construction and service restoration. Wells graduated from Michigan Technological University in 2002 with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. He also holds a master’s degree in Organizational Leadership and Management from Lourdes College, along with business certifications from George Washington University and the University of Michigan – Stephen M. Ross School of Business.

“Whether it is reducing the number of outages we have on our electric system or completing multi-year gas pipeline projects, I will work hard to ensure our customers have the energy they need – when they need it,” said Wells. “Tonya is a champion of process improvement and Lean and I’m proud to continue to work alongside her as we strengthen our natural gas operations.” Tonya Berry has served as vice president of operations performance since November 2018. Berry has 20 years of experience deploying Lean methodologies across many industries and is a Six Sigma Black Belt from Lawrence Tech University. Prior to joining Consumers Energy, Berry also worked for Chrysler LLC in lean operations and industrial engineering. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Michigan, and a Master of Business Administration from Wayne State University.

“With 30,000 miles of natural gas service all throughout Michigan, I’m thrilled to bring my lean expertise to leading a great team in gas operations at Consumers Energy,” said Berry. “Protecting our customers, the planet and Michigan’s communities are the core of the work we do for 1.8 million homes and businesses.”

2

CMS Energy (NYSE: CMS) is a Michigan-based company that has an electric and natural gas utility, Consumers Energy, as its primary business. It also owns and operates independent power generation businesses.

# # #

Media Contact: Katie Carey, 517/740-1739

3

XML

Cover	Nov. 19, 2020
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	8-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Nov. 19, 2020
Entity File Number	1-9513
Entity Registrant Name	CMS ENERGY CORPORATION
Entity Central Index Key	0000811156
Entity Tax Identification Number	38-2726431
Entity Incorporation, State or Country Code	MI
Entity Address, Address Line One	One Energy Plaza
Entity Address, City or Town	Jackson
Entity Address, State or Province	MI
Entity Address, Postal Zip Code	49201
City Area Code	517
Local Phone Number	788-0550
Written Communications	false
Soliciting Material	false
Pre-commencement Tender Offer	false
Pre-commencement Issuer Tender Offer	false
Entity Emerging Growth Company	false
Common Stock [Member]
Document Information [Line Items]
Title of 12(b) Security	CMS Energy Corporation Common Stock, $0.01 par value
Trading Symbol	CMS
Security Exchange Name	NYSE
A 5.625 Junior Subordinated Notes Due 2078 Member
Document Information [Line Items]
Title of 12(b) Security	CMS Energy Corporation 5.625% Junior Subordinated Notes due 2078
Trading Symbol	CMSA
Security Exchange Name	NYSE
A 5.875 Junior Subordinated Notes Due 2078 Member
Document Information [Line Items]
Title of 12(b) Security	CMS Energy Corporation 5.875% Junior Subordinated Notes due 2078
Trading Symbol	CMSC
Security Exchange Name	NYSE
A 5.875 Junior Subordinated Notes Due 2079 Member
Document Information [Line Items]
Title of 12(b) Security	CMS Energy Corporation 5.875% Junior Subordinated Notes due 2079
Trading Symbol	CMSD
Security Exchange Name	NYSE
Consumers Energy Company Member
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	8-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Nov. 19, 2020
Entity File Number	1-5611
Entity Registrant Name	CONSUMERS ENERGY COMPANY
Entity Central Index Key	0000201533
Entity Tax Identification Number	38-0442310
Entity Incorporation, State or Country Code	MI
Entity Address, Address Line One	One Energy Plaza
Entity Address, City or Town	Jackson
Entity Address, State or Province	MI
Entity Address, Postal Zip Code	49201
City Area Code	517
Local Phone Number	788-0550
Written Communications	false
Soliciting Material	false
Pre-commencement Tender Offer	false
Pre-commencement Issuer Tender Offer	false
Title of 12(b) Security	Consumers Energy Company Cumulative Preferred Stock, $1.00 par value: $4.50 Series
Trading Symbol	CMS-PB
Security Exchange Name	NYSE
Entity Emerging Growth Company	false