Santee Cooper announces organizational changes

MONCKS CORNER, SC – March 23, 2011 – Santee Cooper today announced several organizational changes, to better align leadership and key departments in preparation for upcoming retirements and to further ready the state-owned utility for anticipated regulatory, legislative and environmental changes in the industry.
There are three new members added to the executive management team and three new vice presidents.  The promotions and changes will take effect on April 4.

“Santee Cooper has had some key officers recently announce their retirement plans. This has caused us to carefully consider the overall structure of our organization, in light of the vast challenges and opportunities facing Santee Cooper and our entire industry moving forward,” said Lonnie Carter, Santee Cooper president and chief executive officer.

Terry Blackwell, Phil Pierce and Marc Tye will join the executive management team.

Terry Blackwell has been promoted to the executive management team. As senior vice president of power delivery, Blackwell will continue overseeing planning and power supply, design engineering, transmission technical and transmission operations. He has been with Santee Cooper for 32 years. His previous positions include manager of transmission operations and supervisor of power supply planning. Blackwell obtained his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from N.C. State University in 1977.

Phil Pierce has been promoted to senior vice president of generation, and will oversee the generating stations, performance services, maintenance planning, technical services and operations. Pierce currently serves as vice president of generation and has been employed with Santee Cooper for the past 30 years. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1978 from Clemson University.

Marc Tye has been promoted to senior vice president of customer service, overseeing retail operations, renewable energy, wholesale and industrial services, and conservation and energy efficiency. Tye currently serves as vice president of conservation and renewable energy. Previous positions include manager of corporate analysis and pricing and manager of wholesale markets. He has been with Santee Cooper for 27 years and obtained his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in 1982 and his M.B.A. in 1991, both from The Citadel.

Mike Brown, Mike Poston and Pamela Williams have been named vice presidents. 

Mike Brown has been promoted to vice president of wholesale and industrial services and will report to Tye.  Brown currently serves as manager of economic development and has previously served as director of industrial services. Prior to his 19 years with Santee Cooper, Brown previously worked at Carolina Power and Light Co. He obtained a BS in mechanical engineering in 1981 from Georgia Tech and his M.B.A. in 1998 from Charleston Southern University.

Mike Poston has been promoted to vice president of retail operations, filling the vacancy that will be left by Zack Dusenbury, who will retire on March 31 after 42 years of service to Santee Cooper. Poston will report to Tye and will be responsible for customer service and the planning, construction, maintenance and operations of the distribution system in the Horry Georgetown retail area. Poston is currently manager of district services and has been with Santee Cooper for 24 years. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Clemson University in 1985.

Pamela Williams has been promoted to vice president of administration and corporate secretary, and will report to R.M. Singletary, executive vice president of corporate services. Williams currently is corporate secretary and associate general counsel, corporate affairs. Prior to her eight years of service with Santee Cooper, she worked at Clorox and Bronson, Bronson & McKinnon. Williams obtained her bachelor’s degree in economics in 1984 from the College of Charleston and her Juris Doctor in 1988 from the University of Virginia. 

“I am confident in the abilities of these six talented individuals and know their institutional knowledge, experiences, and leadership skills will help chart the course of Santee Cooper for years to come. Their contributions, along with our other leaders, will ensure we continue to serve in the best interests of our customers,” said Carter.

Santee Cooper is South Carolina’s state-owned electric and water utility, and the state’s largest power producer. The ultimate source of electricity for 2 million South Carolinians, Santee Cooper is dedicated to being the state’s leading resource for improving the quality of life for the people of South Carolina. For more information, visit www.santeecooper.com.