Great River Energy names new executives

Elk River, Minn. (July 20, 2005)
Great River Energy announced leadership changes, effective July 11, as part of an organizational alignment that focuses the company on customer service and operational excellence.

David Saggau, president and chief executive officer, said in making the personnel announcements that Great River Energy is moving from a traditional generation and transmission company to a more customer-driven, employee-focused organization.

“It’s important that our strategic direction is focused on providing our member cooperatives with great service, while creating value by exploring new diversification opportunities,” Saggau said. “This organizational change will allow us to do that by eliminating duplication, leveraging existing resources and focusing on employee development.”

As president and CEO, Saggau leads Great River Energy executive division. Louy Theeuwen remains manager, executive services and a member of the senior staff team.

Greg Ridderbusch was named, vice president, business development and strategy. Ridderbusch has been a consultant with MCR Consulting/Chicago and supported Great River Energy on its strategic planning process for the past three years. He brings an extensive knowledge of business development, which will aid Great River Energy as the organization looks at even more ways to diversify and leverage its core assets.

In another appointment, Kandace Olsen was promoted to vice president of communications and human resources. Combining communications and human resources into one division will assure that the organization’s values and culture are consistent both internally and externally. Olsen previously was manager of communications.

Larry Schmid remains vice president and chief financial officer. Schmid has been Great River Energy’s CFO since 2002. The administrative services department now reports to Schmid.

Also, Rick Lancaster was named vice president, generation, and is charged with bringing the organization through the increasingly complex world of acquiring generation to meet members’ growing demand for electricity. Lancaster previously was Great River Energy’s vice president, corporate services.

There were no changes for Jim Jones, vice president, information technology and chief information officer. Jones has served as CIO since joining Great River Energy in 2003.

Eric Olsen will join Great River Energy as vice president and general counsel. Olsen, an attorney with Moss & Barnett, has worked with Great River Energy for several years. In addition, Great River Energy’s government affairs and environmental services departments will report to him.

Jon Brekke will join Great River Energy as vice president, member services. Brekke has been vice president, finance and planning for Minnesota Valley Electric Cooperative, located in Jordan, Minn. He brings an invaluable customer perspective to Great River Energy’s customer-focused efforts.

Will Kaul remains vice president, transmission. Kaul has served in that position since Great River Energy was formed in 1999.

“Each of these vice presidents has the ultimate respect of our industry,” said Saggau. “I look forward to working with them as we progress on our goal of providing the very best service for members and bringing more value to our organization through strengthening and further diversifying our core assets.”

Headquartered in Elk River, Minn., Great River Energy is a not-for-profit generation and transmission electric cooperative providing wholesale electric energy and related services to 28 distribution cooperatives in Minnesota and Wisconsin serving 1.5 million people. Great River Energy is the second largest power supplier in Minnesota, in terms of generating capacity, and the fifth largest utility of its type in the United States.