By Tom Kleckner

SANTA FE, N.M. — SPP’s Board of Directors announced Wednesday that it has unanimously selected Barbara Sugg as the grid operator’s CEO.

Sugg, SPP’s senior vice president of information technology and chief security officer, replaces Nick Brown, who announced his retirement last July after 16 years in the position. (See SPP’s Brown to Retire as CEO in 2020.)

Board Chair Larry Altenbaumer went public with the decision 15 minutes before the press release went out, notifying the Strategic Planning Committee as it began its January meeting. Altenbaumer chairs the committee, on which Sugg, 55, serves as the staff secretary.

“You have heard it here first,” Altenbaumer said.

“I’m thrilled. Excited,” Sugg said when the SPC broke. She said she had only been notified of the board’s decision just before the meeting began.

“I’m humbled by this opportunity, I really am,” Sugg said.

Sugg’s selection follows a monthslong national search and selection process. A management consulting firm identified and vetted internal and external candidates, some of whom were SPP stakeholders. The board met Jan. 10 in Dallas to conduct its final interviews and agreed that afternoon on Sugg, Altenbaumer said.

The decision surprised some stakeholders, given Sugg’s expertise in IT instead of markets or operations. The 23-year SPP employee, with 30 years of electric utility experience, was only named chief security officer in 2016 and a senior vice president last year.

Altenbaumer added further color in explaining the board’s decision to the SPC.

“One of the big issues for the board was the issue of whether to go external or internal. Clearly, some of the external candidates brought to the table a broader set of CEO experience than the internal candidates,” he said. “About half of the board members related to a situation in their career where someone had faith in them and gave them a position of higher authority. I’m absolutely convinced of the potential Barbara has.”

Sugg said she stressed her leadership skills and experience during her interview. “I focused largely on the type of leader I’d be,” she said. “Not that I didn’t have a good idea [of my chances] coming out [of the interview].”

“The board believes Barbara is well-suited to continue to strengthen SPP’s foundational attributes while recognizing the need and opportunity to improve our efficiency and effectiveness,” Altenbaumer said in a statement. “She is equipped to develop, build and strengthen the relationships that are increasingly critical to the sustained success of our organization, and particularly those with our members and regulators.

“We look forward to seeing Barbara lead the organization in establishing itself as the premier RTO in providing comprehensive value in a rapidly changing and increasingly uncertain industry landscape,” he said.

The board will work with Sugg and Brown to develop a specific transition plan.

Sugg will be the only woman leading a U.S. grid operator. Audrey Zibelman, once PJM’s COO, has run the Australian Energy Market Operator since 2017. PJM Board Member Susan J. Riley served as that RTO’s acting CEO for six months last year after the retirement of Andy Ott.

SPP’s communication staff, with little advance warning of the closely held decision, is working to determine whether Sugg is the first female CEO at a North American RTO or ISO. Asked whether he was aware of a woman preceding Sugg in her role, Brown said, “None that I’m aware of, and I’ve been around a long time.”

Members greeted the news enthusiastically.

Longtime SPP stakeholder Mike Wise, senior vice president of regulatory and market strategy with Golden Spread Electric Cooperative, called the board’s decision a “great choice” and one he could support “110%.”

“I have had the privilege of working with Barbara on SPP issues for more than a decade,” Wise said. “She tackles the hard issues and understands quite well the value proposition of members in SPP.”

Noman Williams, another veteran SPP stakeholder and senior vice president of operations for GridLiance, said he has known Sugg since she joined SPP in 1997.

“She brings great relationships across the SPP stakeholder groups and fantastic leadership skills to help move to the next level,” Williams said.

“I’m excited to see the SPP board select someone with such a rich history within SPP. Barbara has been an integral part of SPP’s growth prior to the formation of the RTO,” said Brett Hooton, president of GridLiance High Plains and a former SPP staffer. “I am optimistic about SPP’s future under Barbara’s leadership and hope and believe that SPP will continue to be an RTO that strives to treat all transmission customers comparably and ensures fair, equitable and competitive rules within its marketplace.”

Sugg joined SPP as a senior IT specialist and became a member of the management team two years later. She was named vice president of IT in 2010.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 1986 and completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School in 2013.

Sugg participates in numerous industry and non-industry committees, as well as community and philanthropic boards. In 2018 she founded the Leadership Foundation for Women, a nonprofit that provides professional development and education for women.