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Mary Powell again named among 25 Most Influential Women by CEO Connection

Submitted by tim on

Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain Power President and CEO Mary Powell was named one of CEO Connection’s 2018 Most Influential Women of the Mid-Market for the third year in a row. The 25 CEOs on the list have demonstrated leadership that goes beyond their businesses to help improve lives and benefit greater society. CEOs were selected to recognize how they influence change, innovation and standards of excellence.

Other CEOs on the list this year (see below) include Sally Smith of Buffalo Wild Wings, Lesa France Kennedy of International Speedway and Martine Rothblatt, who first founded Sirius Radio and is now the founder and CEO of United Therapeutics Corp., the company that created groundbreaking treatments for primary pulmonary hypertension.

Mary Powell

President & CEO of Green Mountain Power

CEO Connection Mary Powell is nationally recognized as an energy visionary, positioning Green Mountain Power as a leading energy transformation company. Delivering clean, cost-effective and highly reliable power to customers all across Vermont, GMP offers cutting-edge products and service to reduce costs and carbon. In 2017, GMP was named one of the top 10 energy companies in the world by Fast Company. GMP has also achieved the top score for mid-sized utilities in the East Region in J.D. Power’s 2016 electric utility residential customer satisfaction study.

Mary has served as president and chief executive officer for GMP since 2008. She initiated and implemented a strategic and comprehensive restructuring of the company that dramatically transformed GMP, and she has been the backbone of a cultural transformation and service quality improvement. Fast, fun, and effective is her motto. Under Mary’s leadership, GMP became the first utility in the world to become a member of B Corp, showing a commitment to use energy as a force for good.

Mary has delivered on an ambitious energy vision to provide low-carbon, low-cost and highly reliable power to Vermonters. As a result, GMP became the first utility to offer to help customers go off-grid, built Vermont’s largest wind farm, made Rutland, Vermont, the Solar Generation Capital of New England, and installed smart grid technology across GMP’s service territory.

In 2012, Mary led the acquisition of Central Vermont Public Service, with a promise to generate $144 million in savings for customers. GMP has grown from serving 88,000 customers in 2008 to serving over 260,000 customers, with revenues of more than $640 million and $2 billion in assets.

In 2014, Mary announced a new partnership with NRG Energy, Inc. to make Vermont a leader in sustainable energy. And in 2015, Mary led another partnership with Tesla, with GMP becoming the first utility anywhere to offer customers the Tesla Powerwall battery.

In 2014, Mary was recognized by Powergen as the Woman of the Year, in 2015 The Burlington Free Press named her Vermonter of the Year, and in 2016, Fast Company named Mary one of the 100 most creative people in business. This is the second year that Mary has been nominated for the CEO Connection’s Top 25 Most Influential Women CEO.

“This is an amazing group of business leaders and it is a great honor to be listed among them,” said Mary Powell, president and CEO of Green Mountain Power. “Women are leading change throughout the country and across industries. It is inspiring to see the innovative approaches they are using to solve problems and make a difference at work and within their communities – all while creating paths and opportunities for other women to become leaders.”

In selecting its Mid-Market list, CEO Connection and academic, media and business leaders evaluated CEOs at companies with annual revenues between $100 million and $3 billion and also considered factors like a company’s number of employees, social media presence, and community involvement.

"We are honored to recognize such a prestigious group of women who have truly made an impact on their company and have given back to their community," saysKenneth Beck, CEO of CEO Connection.