CHARLOTTE, NC, June 24, 2010 -- Raftelis Financial Consultants Inc. (RFC) has formed a new division named Sunesis to provide management consulting services to the utility industry, with an emphasis on Effective Utility Management (EUM), the emerging management initiative developed by the industry. The name Sunesis has a Greek origin and means "when knowledge and understanding come together."
To lead Sunesis, RFC has hired Darin Thomas, a senior-level consultant. Darin previously served as a Vice President with ARCADIS and has more than 25 years of relevant experience ranging from utility system master planning, performance evaluations and condition assessments, asset management programming, emerging technologies research, pilot testing and full scale implementation. He has been a significant contributor to many of the utility industry's emerging technologies and services.
"With Darin's experience in many different facets of the utility industry, he will lead Sunesis in providing expert management advice to our clients," said Bill Stannard, RFC's President. "What's more, he will be supported by RFC's highly experienced management consulting teams to help utilities address today's variety of management challenges."
Sunesis will draw from RFC's 17 years of experience in serving utility clients. Since 1993, RFC has provided financial, pricing, and management consulting services to hundreds of utilities across the nation and abroad.
"The effectiveness of any utility's management system is crucial for the long-term sustainability of its operation," said RFC CEO George Raftelis. "Through Sunesis, we will partner with utility clients to help them achieve management excellence. Sunesis' services will complement RFC's established focus on the pricing and financial objectives of our clients."
About Raftelis Financial Consultants Inc. (RFC)
RFC was established by George Raftelis in 1993 to provide financial, pricing, and management consulting services of the highest quality to public and private water and wastewater utilities. Moreover, RFC has been instrumental in developing utility best practices in the areas of financial planning and rate setting. In addition to serving hundreds of utility clients, RFC has published one of the leading books on utility finance and pricing; provided leadership to relevant utility industry associations; written articles in industry publications; and made numerous presentations regarding financial best practices for utilities. RFC has grown to a staff of 30 personnel with three offices located in Charlotte, NC, Kansas City, MO, and Pasadena, CA.
About Effective Utility Management (EUM)
In 2008 a consortium of six water and wastewater industry associations and the United States Environmental Protection Agency developed EUM to assist utilities in achieving long-term sustainability. EUM's framework focuses on improving organization-wide performance by assessing their management practices against best practices.
Given its vast experience in dealing with utility management issues and in-depth knowledge of the utility industry, RFC is at the forefront of employing EUM as a tool to assist utilities in addressing their management challenges. RFC has successfully conducted EUM assessments for Central Arkansas Water, the City of Pompano Beach, Florida, and Grand Strand Water & Sewer Authority in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. In addition, RFC consultants have presented at many industry workshops and conferences, focusing on the EUM process and the benefits that EUM provides to utilities.
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