Lisa Sparrow, President and COO, Utilities Inc.
NORTHBROOK, IL, Dec. 1, 2009 -- Utilities Inc., a national water and wastewater service corporation, is pleased to announce the appointment of Lisa Sparrow to President. Ms. Sparrow is an extremely talented leader who has served the company since 2002 -- including three years in her current role as Chief Operating Officer. She replaces outgoing President and CEO Larry Schumacher, who announced his departure earlier today. Mr. Schumacher's nearly 18 years of distinguished service with the company helped position Utilities Inc. as a market leader and his hard work and dedication are dearly appreciated.
In her new role, Ms. Sparrow will report directly to the board of directors as well as gain a seat on the board.
Ms. Sparrow is a senior leader with over 20 years of experience in infrastructure, operations and manufacturing with an impressive track record of executive management and policy development. Ms. Sparrow joined Utilities Inc. in 2002 as Director of Operations. She quickly advanced to Vice President of Operations and was later appointed to the position of Chief Operating Officer in 2006. In her current role, she is responsible for providing safe drinking water and environmentally responsible wastewater service daily to over one million people nationwide.
"Lisa is an exceptional choice. Her drive and skills are evident to anyone who works with her. Utilities Inc. and its growing ranks of customers are very fortunate to have such an extraordinary talent at the helm," said Christopher Lee, Founder and Managing Partner of Highstar Capital, the majority owner of Utilities Inc. "I want to thank Larry for getting us this far. Now it is time for Lisa to lead Utilities Inc. into its very promising future."
Ms. Sparrow's tireless pursuit of innovation and quality makes her an exceptional choice to lead Utilities Inc., which became a leading provider of potable water and wastewater management decades ago when it bought up scores of underperforming, poorly equipped systems and improved them beyond industry safety and environmental standards.
Prior to joining Utilities Inc., Ms. Sparrow held numerous management positions in her sixteen years with BP, a global energy company, and General Motors, a global automotive company. Her work included refinery engineering, finished products transportation, business development and human capital. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan State University and a Masters in Management from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.
About Utilities Inc.
Utilities Inc. was formed in 1965 to provide developers with an alternative method to obtain water and wastewater utility service. Today, Utilities Inc. is a portfolio company of Highstar Capital, and through its approximately 90 subsidiaries, operates over 500 utility systems in 15 states and serves over 300,000 connections. For further information, please visit www.uiwater.com.
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