Tom Fanning, the former president and CEO of Atlanta-based utility giant Southern Company, is retiring from his last official post at the company as executive chairman of its board of directors.
Fanning, 66, will step down on December 31, Southern said in a release. For nearly 13 years, Fanning served as the company’s president and CEO. He relinquished both roles earlier this year, but maintained his position atop the company’s board.
When Fanning retires, Chris Womack will take over as chairman. Earlier this year, Womack also assumed the titles of CEO and president from his former boss, becoming the first Black man to lead the company. Womack will likewise be the first African American to chair Southern’s board.
Southern owns a constellation of electricity and energy companies serving customers in Georgia and across the Southeast. Its largest subsidiary is Georgia Power, which provides electricity to roughly 2.7 million customers across the state.
In a statement about the succession plans, Fanning — who has worked at Southern for more than 43 years — thanked the company’s customers, stakeholders and shareholders.
Fanning led the company through most of the expansion of Plant Vogtle, the nuclear plant near Augusta. The two new reactors at the site are the first new nuclear units built from scratch in the U.S. in more than three decades, but their completion has been plagued by years of costly delays. The first new reactor entered service this summer, more than seven years later than expected, while the second is set to begin providing electricity to customers in the first quarter of 2024.
“I have seen first-hand what this company can accomplish, including putting into service the first new nuclear generation unit in our country in a generation, and I am confident our best chapter is still ahead,” Fanning said. He also praised Womack as, “the ideal person to lead Southern Company into the future.”
In a release, Womack said Fanning had left an “indelible mark” on the company.
“It is incumbent upon us to carry his legacy forward as one team,” Womack added. “I am proud of this company’s history, enthusiastic about our present and excited for the opportunities ahead.”
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