19 Jun UTC Board Names Sheryl Riggs as New President, CEO
Washington—June 19, 2020–The Utilities Technology Council Board of Directors has named Senior Vice President of Finance and Operations Sheryl Riggs as its new President and CEO.
Ms. Riggs has served as Interim President and CEO since January 2020; the UTC Board approved her appointment during it June 17 meeting.
“After a nearly seven-month search and reviewing literally hundreds of applications, we had no shortage of qualified candidates for this position,” UTC Chairman of the Board Greg Angst of CenterPoint Energy said. “After Sheryl led the UTC staff ably and inclusively, ensuring that UTC remained stable during the worst of the economic downturn, it became clear that our CEO was already in place. Sheryl did not blink when the pandemic disrupted all of our lives; she kept a firm hand on the wheel and guided us through a trying and difficult period. I am therefore honored and proud to introduce Sheryl Riggs as our new President and CEO.”
“I am deeply humbled to be appointed to lead UTC,” Ms. Riggs said. “While those of us in this industry have always understood how critical utilities are to our nation’s health and wellbeing, the pandemic proved this to each and every American every single day. Our nation’s utilities found new ways to engage and interact with their customers, all the while providing resilient, essential services to everyone under challenging conditions. But as this industry knows, our work is never done. Utility communications infrastructure is challenged by policies and rules that do not acknowledge the criticality of our services. In addition, our utility members not only face new and growing cyber threats every day, but severe storms and natural disasters as well. I look forward to working with our Board, our members, and our small but mighty staff to build upon UTC’s leadership in these critical areas. We are #UTCstrong and #UTCready.”
Ms. Riggs first joined UTC in 2017 as Director of Accounting and Administration. She was promoted to Senior Vice President of Finance and Operations in 2019 prior to being named interim CEO in January 2020. Prior to coming aboard at UTC, Ms. Riggs worked with organizations in the banking/finance, education, and health and social services industries. Her career also includes experience with federal and state government entities and nonprofit organizations.
Her experience and passion for compliance and community led her to obtain IRS certification to be a registered IRS tax professional, in which she partners with other professionals to provide volunteer tax preparation services and financial literacy training.
Ms. Riggs earned her Bachelor’s degree at Howard University and she also conferred two Master’s degree in Accounting and Human Resource Management.
In related news, the UTC Board of Directors also extended the terms of its officers for an additional year due to the postponement of UTC’s Annual Telecom and Technology Conference, which will now be held virtually starting the week of Aug. 26.
As a result, Chairman Angst, Vice Chairman Kevin Huff of Salt River Project, Secretary/Treasurer Paul Lambert of East River Electric Cooperative, and Past Chair Ron Beck of Central Lincoln People’s Utility District will remain in their current capacities until the June 2021 Telecom and Technology Conference.
###
About UTC
The Utilities Technology Council (UTC) is a global trade association dedicated to serving critical infrastructure providers. Through advocacy, education and collaboration, UTC creates a favorable business, regulatory and technology environment for our members who own or operate Information and Communication Technology (ICT) systems in support of their core business. For more information: UTC.org
