LINCOLN, Neb. – June 28, 2023 – Black Hills Energy today announced changes within the company’s Nebraska leadership team. Kevin Jarosz is now the vice president of operations in Iowa and Nebraska and Quintin Gaddis is now the general manager for Nebraska.
“These changes position the company with highly skilled, tenured and energized leaders committed to serving the needs of our customers and communities while driving operational efficiencies and growth within our expansive eight-state service territory,” said Marne Jones, Black Hills Energy’s senior vice president of utilities.
With 35 years of gas operations experience, Jarosz most recently served as the vice president of operations for Nebraska for the past 3 years. He is an advocate for community service and economic development, serving on numerous boards including Sarpy County Economic Development, the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce and Partnership for Economic Development, The Nebraska Chamber of Commerce, the LaVista Community Foundation and Black Hills Corporation Foundation.
“Kevin’s appointment to vice president of Iowa and Nebraska is a natural progression in his leadership journey at Black Hills Energy and reflective of his deep commitment to our customers, our employees and our communities,” added Jones. “In this expanded leadership role, Kevin will be responsible for the company’s operational, business, and financial objectives while creating customer-focused solutions that position the company for long-term growth.”
The company’s state operations directors will lead and manage the day-to-day operations of the business, including employee, customer and system safety, capital project execution and operational excellence. To reflect their broader duties, state operations directors are now titled as general manager (GM) for their respective states.
Prior to joining Black Hills Energy in 2022, Gaddis held several leadership positions at Portland General Electric, PacifiCorp and Dayton Power and Light Company. He has earned an M.B.A. from Mount Vernon Nazarene University, a B.S. in Aeronautical Science from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University and served in the United States Air Force. Gaddis will build on the utility’s customer focused and safety driven reputation, and commitment to the supporting our communities as a volunteer at Bryan Health, the Lincoln Food Bank home delivery program and United Way of Lincoln and Lancaster County.
“Quintin’s new role as general manager reflects his strong track record of leadership and his commitment to guide our teams as they work safely each day to serve the needs of our customers,” added Jones. “Quintin is an integral part of our team and will continue to drive excellence within every aspect of our business.”
Black Hills Energy delivers safe, reliable energy for more than 300,000 natural gas customers in 319 Nebraska communities supported by 12,671 miles of infrastructure. In 2022, the utility had a $119 million economic impact in Nebraska with compensation to 376 employees, charitable contributions, payments to suppliers and taxes paid. The Nebraska operations team regularly achieves exceptional safety metrics and was recently recognized by the Nebraska Chapter of the National Safety Council with a Nebraska’s Safest Company award and leads peer natural gas utilities with its Net Zero carbon emissions target announced in 2022.
Black Hills Energy News
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