Ameren Illinois President Richard J. Mark Recognized as Top Business Leader by National Magazine

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Feb 26, 2015, 01:34 ET

COLLINSVILLE, Ill., Feb. 26, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Richard J. Mark, President of Ameren Illinois, has been named as one of the nation's top business leaders by the publication "African-American Career World". He is being recognized in the Winter/Spring edition, along with executives from nine major corporations:

Sam's Club
Xerox
American Express
Carnival Cruise Lines
TIAA-CREF
UPS
Merck
Kaiser Permanente
Infor

"The executives on our inaugural list of top African-American business leaders were selected for their business acumen, leadership, and vision to drive their company's success, often during difficult times," said Joann Whitcher, Editorial Director, Equal Opportunity Publications. "This initial listing demonstrates a range of influence, in companies both public and private, spanning the energy, finance, hospitality, healthcare, package delivery, pharmaceutical, retail, and technology industries."

Mark is responsible for electric and gas distribution to more than 1.2 million electric and 812,000 gas customers across three-quarters of the state of Illinois. The Ameren Illinois complex delivery system includes 4,500 miles of electric transmission lines, 45,700 miles of distribution lines, 18,100 miles of natural gas transmission and distribution mains and 12 underground natural gas storage fields. Ameren Illinois, which has $2.5 billion in revenues and more than 3000 employees, is a subsidiary of Ameren Corporation which is ranked 313^th of the Fortune 500 companies.

To ensure a secure energy future for Ameren Illinois customers, Mark is leading a Strategic Customer Initiative focused on promoting energy efficiency and Smart Grid technologies. Under Mark's leadership, Ameren Illinois has established a regulatory model that has enabled his company to move forward on a 10-year, $3.5 billion upgrade to the state's energy delivery infrastructure. In addition to giving customers new tools and services to manage their energy usage and save money, the improvement projects are creating hundreds of new jobs, improving reliability, and boosting economies in central and southern Illinois.

Mark serves on a variety of boards and organizations including Enterprise Bank and Trust, Madison Mutual Insurance, Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis, and the St. Louis Police Foundation. He has received three honorary doctorate degrees for his civic and community work, as well as numerous awards and honors; most recently Mark was recognized by Savoy magazine in its 2014 spring issue as one of the Top 100 Most Influential Blacks in Corporate America. In 2012, Black Enterprise magazine named him one of the 100 Most Powerful Executives in America. His other honors include the NAACP's Inspiring St. Louisan Award of 2011, St. Louis Business Journal's Ten Years of Influence of 2010, St. Louis Business Journal's Most Influential Energy Executive of 2010 and many more.

Background on African-American Career World Magazine
Published two times a year
Audience: Students, entry-level and professionals in all career professions who are African American. Copy of magazine is sent to their home address. In addition to direct subscribers, the magazine is distributed by direct request in bulk to all 2,474 four-year universities, 34 top graduate schools, and all 296 accredited engineering schools at their placement offices and to all related student & professional associations.
Print Readership: 60,200

Background on Equal Opportunity Publications
Published by Equal Opportunity Publications (www.eop.com). The company publishes magazines that are intended to be a recruitment link between students and professionals. Each magazine focuses on specific career strategies, industry trends and role model profiles. Their magazines include:

Women Engineer
Minority Engineer
Careers and the Disabled
Workforce Diversity
Hispanic Career World
African American Career World
Equal Opportunity

About Ameren Illinois
Ameren Illinois delivers energy to 1.2 million electric and 812,000 natural gas customers in Illinois. Our mission is to power the quality of life. Our service territory covers more than 1,200 communities and 43,700 square miles. For more information, visit AmerenIllinois.com, find us on Twitter @AmerenIllinois or Facebook.

SOURCE Ameren Illinois