By Amanda Durish Cook
CARMEL, Ind. — A former airline executive is slated to become the newest member of MISO’s Board of Directors, while two incumbents will retain their seats, the RTO’s voting members have decided.
Newcomer Theresa Wise, former chief information officer for Delta Air Lines, will join Baljit “Bal” Dail and Thomas Rainwater to begin three-year terms on the nine-member body beginning Jan. 1.
Wise has also served as an executive consultant at Amtrak and CIO for Northwest Airlines. She holds a bachelor’s in mathematics from St. Olaf College and a master’s and Ph.D. in operations research from Cornell University.
“We are pleased to have an executive with Theresa’s knowledge and experience join the board. … With Theresa’s election and Bal and Tom returning to the board, we are well positioned as a governing body to continue providing steady, strategic guidance as MISO leadership navigates future challenges and opportunities,” board Chairman Michael Curran said in a statement.
Dail stood for a fourth term after receiving a waiver of rules limiting directors to three terms. MISO’s Nominating Committee granted the exception in June, saying Dail was needed to preserve the board’s knowledge about information technology. The decision was not taken lightly, committee members said. (See “Committee Permits Consideration of Extra Term for Dail,” MISO BoD Briefs.)
Wise replaces current Director Paul Bonavia, who announced this fall that he would not seek re-election for personal reasons. (See MISO Board Announces Candidates, Hears Budget Review.)
“Paul’s got some things he needs to tend to at home, and that’s going to take him away from MISO for the time being,” CEO John Bear said during a Nov. 14 Informational Forum. Bear commended Bonavia’s contributions over the last three years.
“Director Bonavia served MISO with the utmost commitment to our vision and mission — and we are grateful for his service,” Curran said. “He can leave the board knowing that his leadership helped propel the organization in the right direction.”
Vote Net Solutions, vendor for MISO’s election process, confirmed that 83 online ballots were cast. MISO needed 25% of its 138 voting members to participate to meet its quorum. Electronic voting was open for over a month.
John “Jeb” Bachman, former partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Wolfgang Richter, former CIO at the consulting firm, stood as alternates in the election in the event that any of the candidates failed to garner a majority vote, but neither alternate proved necessary. In MISO board elections, alternates only rotate into the election for a second round of voting if any of the candidates don’t receive a majority in the first round.
