CVPS honors retiring CEO Bob Young, plans for future with Larry Reilly

Central Vermont Public Service (NYSE-CV) honored retiring leader Bob Young at the annual meeting of shareholders today, and set out a bold new vision aimed at improving value for customers, shareholders and the state of Vermont.
Lead Director Bill Sayre honored Young for transforming CV during his tenure as president, and presented him with a framed page from the Congressional Record that included a speech from Representative Peter Welch, D-VT, who feted him on the House floor.
‘When Bob Young became president, that utility faced many challenges,’ Welch said in the speech. ‘He faced them directly: rising costs, transmission system upgrades, a customer base that wanted reliable power but green power. Bob Young succeeded in making CVPS an award-winning company. He focused on customer service and environmental concern and stewardship, proving that green power could be reliable and affordable.’
Sayre showed a brief film of Welch’s speech, and praised Young for what he called his gentlemanly ways even in difficult times.
‘Bob had to orchestrate the complete reorganization of the company in the late ‘90s, the rebuilding of a clean, affordable power supply over the past few years, and the rehabilitation of CV’s reputation starting on day one,’ Sayre said. ‘Perhaps most importantly, he led senior management, the board and employees through a cultural transformation that is the stuff of business textbooks. Through it all, Bob remained focused on the big picture, and provided employees and the board of directors with a steady hand and calm, thoughtful guidance.
‘Bob revamped this company from top to bottom, improving its way of thinking, its environmental footprint, its commitment to customers and Vermont, and indeed its very soul. The CV Bob leaves today is a dramatically better company than the one he took over on December 31, 1995, and he deserves tremendous credit for that,’ Sayre said.
‘I am truly proud of the work we have done,’ Young said. ‘We’ve turned CV into a solid investment, a civic leader, an environmental steward, a great place to work, and a values-based, customer-focused business that is the envy of many in the industry. We’ve certainly faced many trials and tribulations over the years, but we’ve acted with integrity, and our employees have become true ambassadors for the company.’
Young praised CV’s employees, who he said were committed to customers and shareholders alike, and his successor, Larry Reilly. ‘He’s humble, intelligent, collaborative and focused, and he constantly espouses a belief that I have held every day at CV: Value creation for shareholders has to begin with value creation for our customers,’ Young said.
On that point, Reilly announced a new CV vision: to be the best small utility in America. ‘We think we already are one of the best small utilities in America ‘ but we aren’t satisfied with that,’ Reilly said. ‘We’ll work extremely hard to get even better.’
Reilly said CV would work to improve already-high customer satisfaction and reliability; provide rates that are competitive in the Northeast; protect the environment; give customers new tools to manage energy consumption and reduce their costs and environmental footprints; demonstrate and expand CV’s corporate citizenship; and provide exceptional value for shareholders over time.
‘All that adds up to a tall order,’ Reilly said. ‘But the board, officers and employees are committed to our new vision, and will work hard every day to achieve itâ ¦ From J.D. Power scores to third-party assessments of CVPS SmartPower®, from total shareholder return to independent reviews of our corporate governance and management, we will look at every aspect of the company. Measures we’ll rely on will include bond ratings, dividends, carbon footprints, environmental achievements, bill comparisons, service quality matrices, surveys and a host of other independent measuresâ ¦
‘CV already excels in many, many ways, and we wanted to create a vision to help management and employees build on our successes, ward off complacency, and continue to improve our value for all stakeholders,’ Reilly said. ‘I think we’ve done just that. This will not happen overnight. Just as it took many years for Bob Young to lead the way to CV’s turnaround and make the company the success it has become, we are in this for the long haul. We have no illusions about how much work will be required to achieve our vision.
‘But CV and its employees have demonstrated a substantial ability to develop and implement plans to improve service, reliability and value over a period of years. The difference this time will be that we are beginning from the great spot that Bob will leave us, with a team of employees dedicated to each other, our customers and our shareholders.’
May 3, 2011. Photos of Bob Yound and Larry Reilly courtesy of CVPS.