Industry & Services >> CEO Interviews >> June 24, 2015

Interview with the President and CEO: American Water Works Company, Inc. (AWK)

Susan N. Story
Susan N. Story is President and Chief Executive Officer of American Water Works Company, Inc., the largest publicly traded U.S. water and wastewater utility company. In this role since May 9, 2014, Ms. Story leads a team of approximately 6,400 dedicated professionals who provide drinking water, wastewater and other related services to an estimated 15 million people in 47 states and parts of Canada. She is responsible for developing the overall strategy and vision of American Water, and directing its key business-development initiatives. Ms. Story joined American Water in April 2013 as Chief Financial Officer. With more than 30 years of utility experience, Ms. Story is well-versed in overseeing complex financial systems, optimizing cost structures and strengthening internal controls. Prior to joining American Water, she served as Executive Vice President of Southern Company, where she was also a member of the company’s management council, and was President and CEO of Southern Company Services Inc. Previously, Ms. Story served as President and CEO of Gulf Power Company, and as Southern Company’s Executive Vice President of Engineering and Construction Services. She began her career at Southern Company as a nuclear power plant engineer, and had increasing responsibilities in operations, human resources, customer service, corporate real estate and supply chain. She is also an independent director of Raymond James Financial, a diversified financial services company. Ms. Story serves on the board of directors for the Bipartisan Policy Center and the Alliance to Save Energy — ASE — and is a member of the Moffitt Cancer Center board of advisers in Tampa, Florida. She was recently the national Chairman for the Center for Energy Workforce Development — CEWD — and served on the board of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory — NREL. Previously, she was a member of the Florida Board of Education, appointed to the Federal Judicial Nominating Commission, appointed Chair of the state's economic development public-private partnership, and was an appointee to the Tax and Budget Reform Commission. Ms. Story attended executive education programs at Duke University and Oxford University in England, and completed international business studies at Cambridge University and leadership studies at Harvard. She earned a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from Auburn University and an MBA from the University of Alabama in Birmingham. She completed additional postgraduate coursework in the Master of Finance program at the University of Alabama focusing on financial derivatives, and at the Birmingham School of Law focusing on torts and contracts. Profile
TWST: Let's start with some company history and then an overview of American Water's business today.

Ms. Story: We have been a company since 1886, so we have a long and really rich