Jennifer Montague has been named vice president of communications and external affairs for Northern Illinois Public Service Co. (NIPSCO) in Merrillville.

She will report to Violet Sistovaris, NIPSCO president, and be based at the company’s headquarters in Merrillville.

Montague will oversee the company’s customer focused branding, marketing, economic development, municipal relations, media relations, advertising, charitable giving and employee communications and engagement efforts for the combined electric and natural gas utility in northern Indiana. 

Montague joins NIPSCO from Commonwealth Edison where she served as director of business strategy and technology. She also served as the director of revenue management and the director of marketing during her eight years working with the Chicago-based Exelon electric distribution subsidiary. Prior to joining ComEd, Jennifer worked for nearly two decades in a number of communications, branding and marketing positions at British Petroleum and its Amoco subsidiary company in London and Warrenville, Ill.

Montague earned her bachelor of arts in qualitative economics and feminist studies from Stanford University and a master of business administration from the University of Chicago.

NIPSCO, a subsidiary of NiSource Inc., serves 810,000 natural gas and 460,000 electric customers across northern Indiana.