John Bryson, Former Edison International Chairman and CEO, Dies at 81

By: Edison International via Business Wire

May 17, 2025 at 01:30 AM EDT

Successfully Led Company Through California Electricity Crisis in Early 2000s

Remarkable Career Spanned Environmental Activism and Public Service

The entire Edison International, Southern California Edison and Trio community is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of John Bryson, who served as Edison International’s chairman and CEO from 1990 to 2008. John passed away Tuesday, May 13 at age 81. He was a groundbreaking leader whose remarkable career ranged from a founding role in the environmental movement to public service as the U.S. Secretary of Commerce.

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John Bryson was former Edison International Chairman and CEO, former U.S. Secretary of Commerce and co-founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council.

“Our industry has lost a true legend, and I have lost a mentor,” said Pedro Pizarro, president and CEO of Edison International. “John’s steady leadership during the California electricity crisis and the industry’s restructuring two decades ago set a guiding model for me as we navigate a changing utility landscape.”

After graduating from Stanford University and Yale Law School, John co-founded the Natural Resources Defense Council in 1970. He was one of the earliest to sound the alarm about the impacts of climate change and was a vocal advocate to advance energy efficiency, renewable energy and electric transportation. He later chaired the California State Water Resources Board (1976-79) and served as president of the California Public Utilities Commission (1979-82).

John joined SCE in 1984 as senior vice president for legal and financial affairs. His first major assignment was to analyze whether the company should develop a competitive power business, newly permitted under changes in federal law, which would be independent of the utility. John strongly recommended its development. Subsequently, the company developed a series of successful cogeneration projects in California and the western United States; created a new parent company, Edison International; and formed a new subsidiary that became Edison Mission Energy.

As chairman and CEO during the 1990s and early 2000s, John’s background as a regulator and environmentalist benefited the company through California’s utility deregulation and electricity supply crisis, while prioritizing customer and shareholder interests. John also helped clear a path for Edison’s leadership role in today’s clean energy transition.

Under his direction, Edison Mission Energy grew from a small operation with about 300 people to a major part of Edison International's business — one that employed 1,900 people and contributed more than $500 million to the parent company's earnings. It was the sale of most of EME's international assets that enabled Edison International to return to financial health following the collapse of the independent power producers’ market in 2002. SCE soon became one of the nation’s leaders in supporting the growth of renewable energy.

“John worked tirelessly with state officials and other stakeholders to achieve legislative and regulatory changes in the public interest that strengthened Edison and California’s entire economy,” Pizarro said.

After retiring from Edison International, John later served as U.S. Secretary of Commerce under President Barack Obama from 2011 to 2012.

Our most heartfelt sympathy goes out to John's wife, Louise, their four daughters and their families. He will be deeply missed.