January 2023, Vol. 250, No. 1
Business
People in the News January 2023
People
NDT Global announced Paul Cooper will take over as president of the Dublin-based provider of inspection solutions, data analysis and diagnostic insight services for energy infrastructure assets. Cooper has more than 20 years of experience managing technical inspection companies and bringing new advanced solutions to the market. He has held CEO and other senior leadership roles at TSC Subsea, Halfwave, Oceaneering and AGR Pipetech. In addition, Cooper served as senior vice president of Technology as a Service (TaaS) at Previan, NDT Global’s parent company, where he steered the deployment of the business strategy within Previan’s business units. In his new role, he will focus on expanding NDT’s product portfolio, improving its ability to quickly deliver new technologies to market, and enhancing and building client relationships.
Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. appointed Darren Myers as chief financial officer, replacing Arthur Kacprzak, who stepped down from the job. Myers most recently served as executive vice president and CFO at Loblaw, Canada’s largest retail company. He previously was at global supply chain and manufacturing company Celestica, including five years as executive vice president and CFO after starting his career in Audit and Corporate Finance group of PricewaterhouseCoopers.
IronCraft, LLC, formerly Titan Implement, named Michael Kucharski as its new director of Digital and Dealer Development. He joins IronCraft after serving in various leadership roles within the heavy equipment industry, most recently as vice president of Dealer Development at Fecon. In addition to his responsibilities for establishing, training and growing the dealer network in-person and online, Kucharski is also responsible for all of Iron Crafts Digital Solutions and Marketing activities including internal and external communications, trade shows, advertising, e-commerce, website and digital solutions. Kucharski’s extensive experience in dealer development includes16 years with Caterpillar or its dealers. He holds a bachelor’s of science degree in business administration from Southern Illinois University.
Rudy D. Garza has been named president and CEO at CPS Energy, the largest municipally owned U.S. electric and natural gas utility. Garza served in both the public and private sectors during his 25 years in the utility industry. He joined CPS Energy in 2012 and previously served as chief customer and stakeholder engagement officer and as senior vice president of Distribution Service & Operations and as vice president of External Relations. Garza holds a bachelor’s of science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and an MBA from the University of North Texas.
Drew Marsh, a 24-year Entergy veteran, was promoted to CEO from executive vice president and CFO to replace the retiring Leo Denault, who remained chairman until his retirement in 2023. Marsh previously served in a series of financial planning and strategy leadership roles, including vice president of planning and financial communication and vice president of strategic planning for Entergy’s joint venture with Koch Industries. Kimberly Fontan, who served as Entergy’s senior vice president and chief accounting officer, succeeds Marsh as executive vice president and CFO. In her new role, she oversees corporate finance, accounting, internal audit, treasury, investor relations, and corporate development and planning. In addition, Chris Bakken became executive vice president of Entergy Infrastructure, where he has oversight of Entergy’s power generation, transmission and distribution operations and major projects.
The NYU School of Professional Studies (NYU SPS) announced that Amy Myers Jaffe was named director of the Energy, Climate Justice, and Sustainability Lab in the Center for Global Affairs at NYU’s School of Professional Studies. An expert on global energy policy, sustainability, and geopolitical risk, Jaffe is the author of several books, including her most recent publication, Energy’s Digital Future. A frequent media commentator, Jaffe is co-chair of the Women in Energy Initiative at Columbia University and a non-resident faculty affiliate at the Climate Policy Lab at Tufts University. From 2014 to 2017, she served as senior advisor on sustainability to the Office of the Chief Investment Officer of the University of California, Regents. In addition to her role leading the Energy, Climate Justice, and Sustainability Lab, Jaffe will be a research professor teaching graduate-level courses examining global climate finance and energy as well as climate justice and policy.
NorthWestern Energy announced that Heather Grahame will retire as general counsel and vice president – regulatory and federal government affairs effective Jan. 1. NorthWestern also announced several executive officer appointments as part of a planned succession process. Effective Jan. 1, Shannon Heim joined the executive team as vice president and general counsel, and Cyndee Fang joined the executive team as vice president – regulatory. Effective Sept. 1, 2022, Curt Pohl, who has served as a NorthWestern executive for the past 24 years, became vice president – Asset Management & Business Development. Jason Merkel moved into an executive leadership role and succeeded Pohl as vice president – Distribution after serving in several lead operational roles for the company.
Elena Labrador and Andrei Zhorau joined ProSep as process engineers at its Houston headquarters, where they will focus on product development and deployment initiatives. Labrador, who holds a Ph.D. in chemistry, has more than 25 years of experience at Chevron, Du Pont, Dow and Heritage Environmental. Zhorau is a chemical engineer with previous experience in the energy industry.
Joe Fenstermacher is the new U.S. sales representative for Logiball, the designer and manufacturer of equipment for rehabilitation contractors and utility owners. The West Virginia native has worked throughout the United States over the past 15 years, primarily in the construction and storm water industries, including installations and troubleshooting with contractors.
New Jersey Resources appointed Lori DelGiudice as senior vice president of Human Resources. A career HR professional with more than 20 years of experience, DelGiudice will design, implement and overseeing HR strategies and programs for NJR’s diverse and growing workforce. Her responsibilities will include labor and employee relations, professional development and training, strategic workforce planning and compensation and benefits initiatives.
Essential Utilities announced that Jim Barbato was appointed vice president of financial planning and analysis at Essential Utilities, which provides water, wastewater and natural gas under the Aqua and Peoples brands. Most recently vice president of Corporate Engineering. Barbato has held engineering roles in Aqua’s New Jersey, Virginia and North Carolina subsidiaries since joining the company in 2007 from Valero Refining, including chief engineering officer for Essential’s water and gas segments. He holds a bachelor’s of science degree from Drexel University and an MBA from the University of Delaware.
Pablo Vegas has been named president and CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. He served most recently as executive vice president at NiSource and group president of NiSource Utilities.
Melissa Lavinson has joined National Grid as New England vice president of corporate affairs. She was most recently senior vice president of Federal Government and Regulatory Affairs and Public Policy at Exelon.
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