PG&E’s New CEO Faces Epic Task of Fixing ‘Culture of Ineptitude’

After years of upheaval, criminal charges and bankruptcy, California utility giant PG&E Corp. has placed its fate in the hands of a new chief executive with a record of reducing accidents, cutting costs and building bridges.

Patricia K. Poppe, a General Motors Co. veteran who now runs the Michigan utility CMS Energy Corp., will be PG&E’s fourth leader in the past two years, taking over on Jan. 4., the company said Wednesday in a statement.

Her task is monumental. Not only must she reform a sprawling enterprise that’s been found responsible for sparking numerous deadly wildfires, she ...