Tennessee Valley Authority's CEO Brings 'Laid-Back Intensity' to New Job

---

Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--For now, Bill Johnson, the new president and chief executive at the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) (Knoxville, Tennessee), is spending time "learning what we do, how we do it and why." By midyear, Johnson said he expects the "listening and learning" phase to be complete, setting the stage for new organizational goals. But first, he wants to make sure that he and TVA's employees share a common understanding of the challenges facing the organization.

Johnson became TVA's new leader on January 1, 2013. In his first interview since assuming that position, he described his management style as "laid-back intensity. I set high standards and expect them to be met. Wherever we start from, the most important questions are: Are we better today than we were yesterday, and are we getting better? What are we doing to become better tomorrow?"

Johnson told Industrial Info that he wants TVA to be in the top quartile of the electric industry, with one exception: He wants TVA to be either No. 1 or in the top 10% of the industry when it comes to safety. "Safety requires constant attention. It is critical that we keep our employees and public safe."

Johnson said he was "standing in the right place at the right time" when TVA began looking for a new CEO a few months back to replace Tom Kilgore, who reached mandatory retirement age. "I didn't know anyone on the board, and I don't play golf," so the job offer did not materialize through back channels or on the golf course, Johnson said. He described himself as a "lawyer with a physics background." Last summer, Johnson, the longtime head of Progress Energy Incorporated (Raleigh, North Carolina), was named chief executive of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) (Charlotte, North Carolina) following its merger with Progress. But the day the deal closed, Johnson was ousted in a boardroom coup that has proven to be deeply embarrassing to Duke.

Johnson prefers to look forward, not backward: "TVA is a big deal, as important as it's ever been. It's a great pleasure to lead such an important national institution."

The new CEO faces no shortage of challenges. One of them is finishing construction of the Watts Bar Unit 2 nuclear generator. It is years late and billions of dollars over budget. "Finishing a nuclear project is an expensive and difficult proposition, one that requires constant attention to safety," Johnson remarked. For more on some of TVA's recent challenges, see June 4, 2012, article - U.S. Power Generation Industry Suffers Jobs Losses.

TVA's new leader said he will benefit from the agency having a clearly defined mission to provide low-cost power, resource stewardship, and economic development to the Tennessee Valley, while also managing the Tennessee River. From his comments, it didn't sound as if Johnson thought the agency needed a new mission direction or statement of purpose. "Stability is important. I want to promote stability," he said.

Johnson also noted TVA's commitment to providing power that is increasingly clean. TVA is closing some of its coal-fired generation, installing scrubbers on others, and taking other steps to reduce its environmental impact in its region. For more on that issue, see August 23, 2011, article - TVA Board Approves $5.5 Billion in Power Plant Capital Projects.

When asked why he was the right man to lead TVA, Johnson danced a bit, but did say the TVA board was looking for "a seasoned CEO from the utility business that had a good reputation and was an open, trustworthy and transparent leader."

When he was introduced as TVA's new CEO in early November, Johnson said, "TVA and the people who work there have had a dramatic positive impact on the quality of life in the Tennessee Valley, and I look forward to being a part of the dynamic team serving the people of the region."

"We will achieve our objectives through collaboration and shared responsibility," Johnson said in his interview with Industrial Info. "Over the last five years, energy markets have changed, the political environment has changed and our customers' needs have changed. When there's a leadership change, we need to start by making sure we're all on the same page of the playbook."

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, and eight offices outside of North America, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.