Southern Company’s Thomas Fanning receives Edison Electric Institute Distinguished Leadership Award
Southern Company Chairman, President, and CEO Thomas Fanning received Wednesday the Edison Electric Institute’s (EEI) Distinguished Leadership Award in recognition of his contributions to the electric industry.
The award was presented at EEI’s fall CEO and board of directors meeting.
“Tom is a terrific leader whose efforts have elevated coordination between the electric power industry and the government to prepare for and respond to national disasters and to better protect the energy grid against physical and cybersecurity threats,” Dominion Energy Chairman, President and CEO Tom Farrell said. “Under his leadership, the Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council (ESCC) was founded and continues to undertake a wide range of security and resiliency initiatives in order to improve the security posture of the energy grid.”
Fanning became president of Southern Company in August 2010 and assumed the responsibilities of chairman and CEO in December 2010. Before being elected president, he worked for Southern Company for more than 35 years in 15 different positions in eight different business units.
Fanning is a co-chair of the Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council (ESCC), which coordinates efforts to prepare for and responds to natural disasters and other threats to critical infrastructure. He also works with the Tri-Sector Executive Working Group, which includes members of the electricity, finance and communications sectors and aims to improve national and economic security.
Fanning also serves on several board entities, including the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, the advisory board of the Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business, the board of directors of the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations, and the board of directors of Vulcan Materials Company. He is also a member of the Business Roundtable and the 2018 recipient of the American Football Coaches Foundation’s CEO Coach of the Year Award.
He is immediate past chairman of the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and served as chairman of the Edison Electric Institute from June 2016 to June 2017.
