When Talen Energy General Counsel John Wander told his fellow executives and corporate board earlier this year that he planned to retire, the hunt for a replacement did not take long.
“The search for my successor was easy and fast — Dan is the perfect choice,” Wander said. “Dan spent nearly 15 years at Vistra and did just about anything a GC can do and he did it well.”
Next week, former Vistra Corp. Deputy GC Dan Kelly officially replaces Wander as the booming Houston energy company’s top lawyer.
“I’m very excited because this is a business sector that I know well,” Kelly told The Texas Lawbook. “With my knowledge and experience, this is a good fit for me. The way both companies approach issues is very similar.”
“The AI revolution is coming and people will need power, and both Talen and Vistra are critical players in the future of AI,” said Kelly.
Kelly joining Talen is a reunion of sorts.
“I recruited Dan to join V&E in 2003,” Wander said.
Also at V&E at the time was Andy Wright, who is Talen’s chief administrative officer and its GC prior to Wander.
In 2004, Wright jumped to the Dallas-based energy giant Energy Future Holdings, which became Vistra in 2016. Kelly joined EFH in 2012.
“Dan is a litigator and I am a corporate transactional guy, but he and I worked together for more than a decade at V&E and then at EFH through great times and challenging times,” Wright told The Lawbook. “Dan is a great lawyer, and a big plus is our familiarity with him. He is a known commodity to our folks, and that is also a big plus. This is like getting the band back together.”
There are additional connections between Vistra and Talen, including Talen CEO Mac MacFarland, who was previously the CEO at Vistra subsidiary Luminant, and Terry Nutt, who was senior vice president of risk management at EFH.
And Wander and V&E did legal work for both EFH and Talen.
“Having known Dan and seeing the great work he did a lawyer and business leader at EFH and Vistra makes this transition so much easier,” Wander said.
Kelly, according to lawyers at multiple law firms, was a key engineer in Vistra’s highly successful legal strategy related to the Winter Storm Uri litigation. Earlier this year, the Texas Supreme Court ruled in favor of Luminant, dismissing thousands of lawsuits filed by Texas individuals and businesses seeking damages that occurred during the 2021 winter storm.
Kelly officially left Vistra last month and joined Talen as an advisor until he assumes the GC role May 20.
“Leaving Vistra was bittersweet after 14 years, but you only get so many opportunities like this one at Talen,” Kelly said. “The way Stephanie refers to it is that we hit every number on the bingo card at Vistra — major litigation, major M&A deals, bankruptcy and a highly successful restructuring — a bit of everything.”
Stephanie is Vistra GC Stephanie Zapata Moore.
“Dan is responsible for so many successes at Vistra over the years,” Moore said. “He is a strategic thinker, and he has the unique ability to see around corners and anticipate what could happen. And he is a tenacious litigator. He sees five moves down the board.”
Kelly and Wright also pointed to great successes Wander achieved during his three years as GC at Talen.
Wander, who is 58, said he wants to take time to enjoy life.
“While I am still young, I want to travel and experience things,” he said. “I want to go to Antarctica and do an African safari. I will look to do some board work at some point.”
During Wander’s time at Talen, the Houston energy company scored some major transactions, including its $3.5 billion deal for midwestern power plants from Energy Capital Partners, acquisition of an equity interest in Nautilus Cryptomine, a 200 MW nuclear-powered bitcoin mining facility in Pennsylvania, and uplisting on the NASDAQ Global Select Market exchange.
The Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Lawbook honored Wander and his team at Talen with the 2025 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Legal Department of the Year.
“I am very pleased with the successes at Talen,” Wander said. “We’ve had a great run, and Dan is going to do a great job.”