Dickerson
SUEZ announced it has named Charles Dickerson as president of its utility division for North America, effective Aug. 31. Dickerson is a senior operations executive and thought leader with more than 30 years of unique and broad utility experience ranging from production, transmission and distribution to customer service, human resources and market/risk operations.
In his most recent role, he built and led high-performing teams as chief operating officer and deputy general manager of Austin Energy with a strong focus on business strategy, service reliability, operational efficiency and customer care.
“Charles’ background in the utility business, coupled with his outstanding interpersonal and communications skills, will ensure that our Utility Division enjoys continued success in the water industry,” said Nadine Leslie, CEO, SUEZ North America. “I believe Charles’ strong leadership will help us focus on our mission to provide exceptional water quality and service reliability to our customers. His track record, depth of experience and excitement about joining our business makes him an ideal leader to build on the great work of our SUEZ team.”
Dickerson previously served as president of National Grid – USA Business Services, one of the largest global investor-owned energy companies, identifying more than 20 percent ($22M) in operational cost inefficiencies. Prior to National Grid, he worked for Exelon-Pepco Holdings Inc., an investor-owned company delivering electricity and gas to more than two million customers in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Washington D.C.
“I understand this is an important time for SUEZ. As the nation continues to work its way through the health pandemic, the company is well-poised to lead the water industry in the delivery of life’s most essential resource,” said Dickerson. “But our mission does not stop there. Our goal is to build sustainable water and wastewater systems that will serve generations of customers for many years to come. I’m thrilled to be taking on this new challenge.”
Dickerson served on the boards of The Treatment Learning Center, City Year and Aclara and as an adjunct professor at the University of the District of Columbia’s School of Public Policy and Business. He brings deep governance expertise as a Board of Directors member for Seedling and RMEL.
Named a Utility Industry Leader by Intelligent Utility Magazine, Dickerson was also honored as a Significant Business Leader by Minorities and Women in Business. He has been published in Public Utility Fortnightly, Intelligent Utility Magazine and Texas Renewable Energy Industries Alliance.
Charles holds a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering and master’s in applied management from the University of Maryland.
SUEZ North America operates across all 50 states and Canada with 3,000 employees dedicated to environmental sustainability and smart and sustainable resource management. The company provides drinking water, wastewater and waste collection service to 6.7 million people on a daily basis; treats 560 million gallons of water and 460 million gallons of wastewater each day; delivers water treatment and advanced network solutions to 16,000 industrial and municipal sites; processes 160,000 tons of waste for recycling; rehabilitates and maintains water assets for more than 6,000 municipal and industrial customers; and manages $4.1 billion in total assets. The company posted revenues of $1.1 billion in 2019 and is a subsidiary of Paris-based SUEZ.
