PROFILE

The President & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) reports to multiple governing boards of the Missouri Public Utility Alliance (MPUA) and supervises 52 full time employees. All employees are formally employed by the Missouri Electric Commission (MEC) and the MPUA Board is recognized as the primary governing board. Direct reports include a Chief Financial Officer, a Chief Member Services Officer, a Chief Markets Officer, a Chief Energy Officer, a Manager-Human Resources, and a Director-IT and Building Systems.

CONDITIONS AND REQUIREMENTS

MPUA is on a strong evolutionary path as an organization with membership enjoying a high level of unity and positioned as a key portal for collaborative problem solving on the myriad challenges faced by municipal utilities in Missouri and some adjoining states. Members feel that the organization is meeting or exceeding its service expectations and that MPUA evolved beyond expectations in recent years. The next CEO will assume leadership of a healthy and expanding organization that offers full recognition by all stakeholders of the necessity for continued investment in the organization and its personnel.

The next CEO will be charged with continuing to provide outstanding service to member utilities and defining the organization’s future through strategic leadership, addressing the ever-growing needs of member utilities, and enhancing the capabilities of the organization’s personnel. While the majority of MPUA’s action often centers around power supply services, MPUA’s largest revenue resource that carries the majority of member risk, the organization continues to expand its services related to water, wastewater, natural gas, advocacy, and member access to grant opportunities.

Ideal candidates will offer proven leadership capability in complex environments that include substantive industry challenges related to power supply, finance, and legislative and regulatory advocacy. Exemplary communication and listening skills are a necessity. Ideal candidates will offer experience leading multifaceted utility affairs that includes electric power supply, transmission, and distribution service, but also natural gas, broadband, water, and wastewater services. Candidates should offer a recognized position in the industry as a collaborator and peer leader at the state, regional, and national levels with evidence of leading a utility organization through the most complex industry challenges. Ideal candidates will also display evidence of leadership through organization and execution of formalized strategic planning exercises that lead to quantifiable execution of related initiatives.

One of MPUA’s most valued services to all members is its regulatory and legislative advocacy service. Candidates with experience providing leadership on regulatory and legislative matters are strongly desired. Such experience in Missouri or midwestern states is desired. An applicable network of contacts in this category could be an advantage.

The origin of MPUA surrounds its power supply services to members and the high value of aggregation of such services for cost and efficiency. While the ideal candidate would bring substantive power supply experience, governance is confident in the current power supply team and expects its next CEO to bring substantive strategic and regulatory and/or legislative experience related to power supply rather than a hands-on analytic or engineering perspective. MPUA is in varying stages of planning with the addition of hundreds of megawatts of generation development to assist with grid stability and member load growth within each of the regions in Missouri. Candidates with leadership experience surrounding generation resource development are desired. At a minimum, ideal candidates will offer substantive experience in an advisory or direct management capacity in the negotiation, development, and/or maintenance of critical contracts.

Candidates that offer experience providing leadership with a board of directors in the public utility realm are desired. Candidates from other segments of the industry are encouraged to apply provided they bring respect and appreciation for the municipal utility business model and experience working with publicly elected and/or volunteer boards representing community affairs related to the industry.

Candidates must offer experience fostering an organization through workforce challenges as well as proven experience enhancing the capabilities of a workforce while utilizing tools such as workforce development processes and succession planning. The next CEO is expected to be a supportive leader that guides personnel through strategy development and communication, encourages staff development, and expects accountability yet allows key leadership to operate independently. An environment where all MPUA leadership personnel are engaged with the boards and membership exists now and will be expected to continue.

Overall, it is desired that candidates bring proven capabilities in the following areas:

· Ability to maintain and expand beneficial coalitions;

· Continuous improvement and goal orientation guided by strategic planning;

· Strong business acumen with a complement of industry, general business, and financial savvy;

· Ability to continually energize the membership and MPUA workforce and continue to establish a creative, diverse, and open-minded philosophy in the organization’s approach to services;

· Strong political savvy and capability to navigate state and federal regulatory and legislative environments and represent members interests across party lines;

· A respect and appreciation for large to small communities and an ability and willingness to maintain such relationships and foster credibility and value for MPUA with local city governance;

· Mediation and negotiation experience;

· People skill that is adaptable across all types of stakeholders;

· Integrity and ethics;

· Emotional maturity and stability;

· Leadership presence and experience providing engaging presentations to a variety of audiences;

· A proactive approach and assertive attitude to solving challenges balanced with a patience to both manage and allow the democratic process to take place;

· Industry vision;

· Empathy, a sense of humor, and humility.

A bachelor’s degree in an applicable field is required. An MBA or advanced degree is desired. Candidates should offer at least five years of proven experience as a utility industry executive.

MISSOURI PUBLIC UTILITY ALLIANCE (MPUA) - https://mpua.org/

MPUA represents community-owned (municipal) and locally regulated electric, natural gas, water, wastewater, and broadband utilities that work together for the benefit of the customers. For many years, the vision of a strong, versatile and multi-faceted collaboration grew in the minds of municipal utility leaders from across Missouri. In October of 1998, the three current member organizations of MPUA voted to combine efforts and resources to better serve their municipal utility memberships by establishing the alliance umbrella known as MPUA.

MPUA is a legal entity representing the nature of the partnership among three legally distinct member organizations. Each organization maintains its own legal status and Boards of Directors. An MPUA Board of Directors, comprised of three Executive Committee members from each of the three organizations, provides guidance and cohesiveness to joint issues. An integrated set of budgets makes the broadened array of MPUA services available to all members. Additionally, two members of each Executive Committee and the MPUA CEO (as Chair) comprise a Board of the more recently established MPUA Resource Services Corporation (RSC), which houses additional services and resources. MPUA is further defined by its three primary service organizations:

Missouri Association of Municipal Utilities (MAMU).

MAMU Web Page

Missouri Electric Commission (MEC)

MEC Web Page (includes information on resources)

Missouri Gas Commission (MGC)

MGC Web Page

MPUA presents a portfolio of power supply resources as well as planning, procurement, and energy management services to meet the growing needs of its members. Services include an expanding portfolio of generating facility contracts and an expanding renewable resource, load forecasting, power project administration, power contract management, transmission negotiation, resource planning and management, gas nominations (daily and monthly), and a 24X7 scheduling and tagging service, among others.

MPUA is also expanding its technical services to members with a service offering currently covering substation controls, SCADA and IED service to both electric and water system, data communications for wireless and fiber, AMR, overall PLC service, and meter testing.

Helpful Web Links:

Benefits summary

Columbia, Missouri, Web Links

City of Columbia - https://www.como.gov/

Wikipedia Site - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia,_Missouri

Columbia Visitors and Convention and Visitors Bureau - https://www.visitcolumbiamo.com/

City-Data.com site - http://www.city-data.com/city/Columbia-Missouri.html

Timeline

· November 15, 2024 - Resume submittals due

· December 17 and 18 - Likely date for virtual semifinalist interviews

· January 13 and 14 – Likely finalist interview dates in Columbia, MO

· February to early March – Successful candidate begins employment