Some changes in the leadership of the Southwest Power Pool were announed this week.
Michael Desselle, vice president and chief compliance and administrative officer, will retire from SPP effective January 2, 2025. He joined the organization in 2006 and has more than 40 years of experience in the energy industry.
“We’ll definitely miss Michael,” said Barbara Sugg, SPP president and CEO. “His dedication to SPP is clear.”
Mike Riley, SPP senior director and deputy general counsel, has been promoted to fill Desselle’s position. Riley has managed the day-to-day operations of SPP’s legal department by providing direction and guidance in support of all business units. He has been with SPP since 2009. Previously, Riley was senior counsel with Alltel Corporation and an assistant district counsel with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
SPP has reconfigured its legal management team following Riley’s promotion. Chris Nolen and Tessie Kentner, managing attorneys at SPP, each have been named associate general counsel, effective October 1.
Kentner oversees the legal team responsible for supporting corporate legal matters, transmission planning, SPP’s service agreement process and state regulatory matters.
Nolen oversees the legal team partnered with the markets, settlements, operations and credit teams. He has been with SPP since September 2016 and previously practiced criminal defense law.
In SPP’s engineering organization, Steve Purdy was also promoted from his previous role as principal systems planning engineer. He will begin his new position as technical director, engineering, effective October 1, playing a critical role at the intersection of engineering challenges and policy development.
“The promotions of these excellent longtime staff members represent everything that makes SPP an amazing organization to work for,” Sugg said. “Each has demonstrated dedication to their craft and diligence in serving our member organizations. We have an extremely worthwhile mission to keep the lights on for millions of people. These hardworking individuals help make that outcome a reality.”
Oklahoma and 13 other states are members of the SPP.
