Charles Lenns, Esq., CPA
Charles Lenns recently formed Lenns Consulting Group, LLC, located near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Lenns Consulting Group provides business, tax, and regulatory consulting services, primarily to companies in the Power and Utilities Industry. Prior to forming his consulting business, Chuck served as the Vice President – Tax at Consolidated Edison, Inc., a Fortune 500 electric, gas, and steam utility company, and a leading generator of renewable energy, from 2012 until his retirement in 2018. As Vice President – Tax, Chuck was an integral member of the team that completed the largest acquisition in the company’s history - the acquisition of several solar energy facilities located primarily in California and Nevada. He was also instrumental in winning carve-out tax provisions in the 2017 tax reform legislation allowing for full deductibility of interest expense for public utilities.
As Vice President – Tax, Chuck was responsible for managing Consolidated Edison’s tax filings, tax controversy, tax planning, and income tax accounting, including tax disclosures in the company’s financial statements. In addition, Chuck was responsible for the tax component of the company’s regulatory filings with utility commissions in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, as well as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Under his leadership, the tax department was the first group in Finance to employ robotics to achieve operational efficiencies and cost reductions. His tax planning strategies resulted in annual contributions to earnings of as much as $.10 per share.
Prior to his role as Vice President – Tax at Consolidated Edison, Chuck had a distinguished career as a partner at Ernst & Young. At Ernst & Young, Chuck served in a National leadership role as the leading mergers and acquisition tax partner in the firm’s Power and Utilities industry group. He was a founding member of the M&A Group at E&Y, and he helped grow this practice into one of the largest practices in the firm. Chuck consulted on large acquisitions in several industries, including power and utilities, and media and entertainment. Lenns served as an expert witness for several utility clients in regulatory matters. He also served as an expert witness in a malpractice case, successfully representing a competing “Big 4” accounting firm.
Chuck has been an educator for most of his career. He is an adjunct instructor in the Business School at his alma mater, The University of Scranton. He also serves on the Advisory Council for its Business School. He has received several teaching awards from The University of Scranton and he established an endowed scholarship at The University of Scranton for underprivileged Scranton students. While at Ernst & Young, Chuck served as an adjunct law professor at Duquesne University Law School. Chuck has served on several charitable and not-for-profit boards. He has recently co-authored three published articles on current tax and business ethics issues.
Chuck is a 1975 Magna Cum Laude graduate of the University of Scranton. He received his Juris Doctorate from Duquesne University in 1978, where he served as an editor of the Duquesne Law Review. He and his spouse, Peggy, have four children and live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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