The Calculated Hire: PSEG Isn't Just Filling a Role; It's Acquiring a Fixer
On the surface, the announcement on October 31st was standard corporate procedure. Wesley Mathews, the successful President and CEO of the nonprofit Choose New Jersey, will step down to become the new Vice President for State Government Affairs at PSEG. The press releases were polished, filled with congratulatory quotes from Governor Phil Murphy and PSEG’s own CEO, Ralph LaRossa (who, not coincidentally, is also the chairman of Choose New Jersey). Mathews is lauded for his “exceptional leadership” and “global experience.” (Choose New Jersey President and CEO Mathews to Join PSEG)
It’s the kind of executive shuffle that happens every day. A proven leader moves from a quasi-public role to a major utility, bringing along a deep network and strategic insight. PSEG’s statement notes he will help them “navigate the increasingly dynamic public affairs environment.”
But when you place this single data point next to another, seemingly unrelated event happening at the exact same time, the narrative shifts. The story is no longer about a simple executive hire. It’s about a calculated acquisition of a very specific skill set at a moment of acute need. PSEG isn’t just hiring a lobbyist; it’s hiring a diplomat to manage a crisis of its own making.
Deconstructing the Asset
To understand the logic of this move, you first have to quantify what, exactly, PSEG is acquiring in Wes Mathews. He isn't just a generic executive. His tenure at Choose New Jersey provides a clear performance record. Under his leadership since February 2022, the organization supported over 180 company relocations and expansions. The output of that work is impressive: a claimed 14,000 new and retained jobs and an estimated $6.7 billion in economic impact. Those are hard numbers.
But the softer metrics are, in this context, even more significant. Mathews, a former career diplomat, launched the "This is New Jersey" campaign. The initiative was a masterclass in narrative control, designed to reframe the state’s image for business attraction. The campaign generated over 11 billion impressions—to be more exact, 11.3 billion. I’ve analyzed hundreds of these marketing reports, and while "impressions" can be a notoriously soft metric, the sheer scale here points to a highly effective perception-shaping operation. Mathews’ core competency isn’t just attracting business; it’s selling a story on a massive scale.
He opened international offices in Ireland, Israel, India, and the Asia Pacific region. He led economic missions with the governor across the globe. This is the work of a diplomat, someone skilled at forging partnerships and smoothing over complex relationships to achieve a specific economic goal. What does a domestic utility company need with a global diplomat? Why acquire an asset so proficient in international statecraft and large-scale public relations?
The answer, it seems, lies a few states away in the rural landscapes of Maryland.
Juxtaposing the Liability
Just one day before PSEG announced its prized new hire, on October 30th, the Carroll County Board of Commissioners in Maryland announced it was formally joining citizen groups to fight the utility. PSEG is attempting to build a new transmission line, and the conflict has escalated from a standard routing dispute into a full-blown public affairs disaster.
The company rerouted its proposed power line to a corridor that local officials say endangers the town of New Windsor's water infrastructure. But the move that truly ignited local outrage was a legal one. On October 24th, PSEG filed papers in U.S. District Court seeking to prohibit landowners from hunting on their own property on days the company plans to conduct surveys. (PSEG seeks to prohibit hunting on properties while it does surveys for power-line project)
Let that sink in. A major utility is not only fighting a town over its water supply but is also taking residents to court to restrict the use of their private land. This is the very definition of a "dynamic public affairs environment," as PSEG’s press release so delicately puts it. It’s a five-alarm fire in community relations, a complete failure of the very "corporate citizenship" department (the one Mathews is slated to join) to build trust and collaborate with stakeholders.
And this is the part of the analysis I find most telling. PSEG's official statements frame the Mathews hire as a routine addition to strengthen engagement. The concurrent data from Maryland suggests a different narrative entirely. One division of the company is creating intense local hostility, while corporate headquarters is simultaneously hiring a man whose entire career is built on fostering goodwill and positive perception. Is it truly his job to lobby state legislators, or is his unstated-but-primary function to be deployed as a fixer for these intractable, reputation-shredding local battles? What happens when the next fight isn't in Carroll County, but in a town much closer to home?
A Correlation Too Strong to Ignore
This isn't a coincidence; it's a calculated response. The timing is too perfect. PSEG’s leadership, particularly Ralph LaRossa, who has a direct line of sight into Mathews' capabilities from his perch as Chairman of Choose New Jersey, saw a growing liability. The company is learning the hard way that you can’t build critical infrastructure in the 21st century with legal brute force alone. You need a social license to operate, and right now, PSEG’s is being revoked in real-time in Maryland.
They aren't just hiring Wes Mathews. They are acquiring his track record, his diplomatic toolkit, and his demonstrated ability to generate billions of positive "impressions." It's a strategic purchase of goodwill and narrative control, disguised as a standard executive appointment. The cost of his salary is a rounding error compared to the escalating price of lawyers, project delays, and the immeasurable damage of a toxic public image. PSEG has a math problem, and they believe a diplomat is the solution.
