Kenergy Names New President and CEO
04/07/2004

Mark A. Bailey, currently an executive with American Electric Power Service Corporation (AEP) in Columbus, OH, has been named by the Kenergy Board of Directors to succeed Dean Stanley as President and Chief Executive Officer of the electric distribution cooperative

Henderson-based Kenergy serves in excess of 52,000 accounts in all or portions of 14 western Kentucky counties and ranks No. 1 in the sale of electricity among the 900-plus electric distribution cooperatives in the nation.

Stanley, who has headed the cooperative since 1981, plans to retire later this year. In the interim, he and Bailey will work together toward a transition of leadership.

Bailey, who currently resides in Dublin, OH, will join Kenergy in early May.

"I am delighted to have this opportunity and am very proud to be joining the Kenergy team," said Bailey. "I am grateful to the Board and humbled by my selection. I look forward to working with them and my fellow employees to continue Kenergy's long tradition of providing high quality, low-cost service to its members. I am eager to meet and become acquainted with my new colleagues and work with Dean Stanley in making a smooth transition. I want to thank Dean for his many years of service and very capable leadership of Kenergy and its predecessors."

"The Kenergy Board of Directors was impressed with Mark's technical skills, his strong communications skills, his work ethic, the quality and diversity of his experience and his understanding of our cooperative's commitment to this region's economic development, while managing costs for consumers," said Sandra Wood, Kenergy board chair.

"I am very encouraged with our board's selection of Mark Bailey as Kenergy's new President and CEO," said Stanley. "His industry background and experience will serve him well as he guides Kenergy in the coming years in an ever changing and complex industry. As he comes on board, I can say with utmost confidence that he will be supported by a very progressive and dedicated staff of associates and board of directors. My personal goal in working with him is to have a smooth and seamless transition of leadership and I eagerly look forward to working with Mark to accomplish this task."

Bailey's career spans 30 years with AEP - one of the nation's largest electric utilities. In his current position as Vice President of Transmission Asset Management, Bailey's responsibilities include managing AEP's transmission assets in 11 states, developing engineering and maintenance standards, developing strategic and business plans, overseeing system planning and coordinating regulatory and legislative matters. Prior to this, he managed the corporation's six distribution regions in portions of five states as Director-Regions and later was Managing Director for Energy Delivery and Customer Relations, while also heading AEP's Transmission and Distribution Materials Management organization.

Joining AEP in 1974, Bailey held electrical and performance engineer, generating station production and performance superintendent, transmission and distribution division manager and executive assistant positions with AEP subsidiary Ohio Power before becoming Vice President of Operations and later Vice President of Administration for AEP-owned Indiana Michigan Power in Fort Wayne, IN.

"Kenergy has a reputation in our region as an outstanding organization and has an industry reputation for innovative leadership," said Wood. "With Mark's experience and his abilities, he will continue our legacy and become a leader in our region and in the electric cooperative industry.

"The board of directors is grateful for the legacy of the outstanding managers who have made Kenergy the progressive utility that it is today," added Wood. "We know our employees and member-owners demand that the tradition continue. With that standard of high expectations, we understood the challenge to choose an individual who could lead the cooperative into the future."

Bailey, 51, holds a degree in electrical engineering from Ohio Northern University and was a Sloan Fellow at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, from which he earned a masters degree in management.

Throughout his career, Bailey has been actively involved in economic development and community and civic organizations, including the United Way, Junior Achievement, YMCA and Rotary and Lions clubs. He also served in the campaign cabinet of two state senators and is a graduate of Leadership Fort Wayne.

A native of West Liberty, OH, Bailey worked during the summers while in college with the line crews at Dayton (OH) Power & Light Company, where his father held lineman, area supervisor and management positions.

Bailey and his wife, Susan, have three children - a son, who is a physician in Columbus, and two daughters, one of whom is studying law at Emory University in Atlanta and the other who is pursuing a degree in biomedical engineering at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

Mycoff & Associates, a Colorado-based search firm, assisted Kenergy's Board of Directors in its search for a new President and CEO.

Initially, the firm was in contact with 200-plus individuals from throughout the electric utility industry. By last fall, the field had been reduced to 13 candidates, each of whom was personally interviewed by the firm in November 2003. Thereafter, the names of six individuals were submitted to Kenergy's Search Committee, which selected three candidates to be interviewed by the entire 11-member Kenergy Board of Directors for the final selection.

Kenergy was established in July 1999 through the consolidation of Owensboro-based Green River Electric Corporation and Henderson-based Henderson Union Electric Cooperative Corporation.

Stanley joined Green River Electric's Accounting Department in 1969 and later served the cooperative as Assistant General Manager before becoming President and CEO in 1981. He became Kenergy's first President and CEO in 1999.

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