Executive Leadership Team

Austin Energy is part of the City of Austin, with budget and policy oversight by the Austin City Council. Our utility has nationally recognized energy efficiency and renewable energy programs, excellent reliability, and competitive rates. The City Manager selects the General Manager, who hires the executive team. The team leads our public power utility in its mission to safely deliver clean, affordable, reliable energy, and excellent customer service.

  • Bob Kahn headshot

    Bob Kahn

    General Manager

    Bob Kahn joined Austin Energy as General Manager in July 2023. He is responsible for Austin Energy’s day-to-day operations and strategic direction, including the customer experience, grid resilience, environmental leadership, financial health, the employee experience and health and safety.

    With his extensive experience and proven track record in the Texas electric utility industry, Kahn brings a wealth of knowledge and strategic vision to this role. Kahn came to Austin Energy from the Texas Municipal Power Agency, where he served as General Manager for more than a decade. Previously, he was the President and Chief Executive Officer at the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) from 2007-2009. Before that role, Kahn served as Deputy General Manager, General Counsel and Vice President for Legal Services at Austin Energy.

    Kahn holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Ohio University and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Dayton School of Law.


  • Tammy Cooper Headshot

    Tammy Cooper

    Deputy General Manager of Regulatory, Communications, Compliance and Legal Services

    Tammy Cooper joined Austin Energy in June 2020 and serves as Deputy General Manager of Regulatory, Communications, Compliance and Legal Services. In this role, she oversees Regulatory Affairs, Corporate Communications, Corporate Compliance Programs, Legal Services, and Environmental, Health & Safety.

    Cooper has extensive experience in the electric industry, most recently serving as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Texas Reliability Entity (Texas RE) where she led the Legal, Communications, and Training departments. She also worked in private law practice representing clients in state and federal electric regulatory proceedings and advising clients on a broad range of energy-related issues. She began her legal career at the Public Utility Commission of Texas, where she held several positions, including the Director of Commission Advising.

    Cooper holds both a Bachelor of Science in radio-television-film and a law degree from the University of Texas at Austin.

  • Lisa Martin

    Lisa Martin

    Deputy General Manager & Chief Operating Officer

    Lisa Martin is Deputy General Manager & Chief Operating Officer, overseeing Power Production, Electric System Field Operations, Electric System Engineering & Technical Services, and Energy Market Operations and Resource Planning. Martin has previously served as Vice President of Electric System Engineering & Technical Services.

    Martin joined Austin Energy in 2010 and has served in several engineering and compliance positions related to grid operations, transmission and distribution, generation, cybersecurity, battery storage, distributed energy resources, and technology strategy.

    Prior to joining Austin Energy, Martin worked in power and gas origination and energy markets for Southern California Edison. She also worked for Shell Exploration & Production Company, UPS, and the American Transmission Company.

    Martin holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and a Master of Business Administration in Operations Management. She is a licensed professional engineer and attended the University of Idaho Energy Executive Course.

  • Kerry Overton

    Kerry Overton

    Deputy General Manager and Chief Customer Officer

    Deputy General Manager Kerry Overton joined Austin Energy in 2000 and oversees the utility’s Customer Care Services and Customer Account Management. On Oct. 31, 2016, Overton took the expanded role of Chief Customer and Compliance Officer with responsibilities including Internal Audit, Reliability Compliance and Environmental Services.

    Overton provides executive oversight to Austin 3-1-1 and the utility’s customer contact center, which handles 2.84 million customer interactions annually. Prior to his current role, Overton served as vice president of Customer Care and was a senior business process consultant. Customer billing operations generate more than $1.3 billion in revenues for the City of Austin each year. He previously served as deputy land commissioner in the Texas General Land Office, where he oversaw energy resources.

    Overton has a Bachelor of Arts in managerial studies and political science from Rice University, a Master of Business Administration from The University of Texas McCombs School of Business, and a Master of Public Affairs from The University of Texas LBJ School of Public Affairs. He also attended the University of Idaho Utility Executive Course.

  • Stuart Reilly portrait

    Stuart Reilly

    Deputy General Manager of Business Services

    Stuart Reilly is the Deputy General Manager of Business Services. In this position, Reilly serves as Chief Risk Officer and Chief Administrative Officer in addition to overseeing the utility’s business functions, including Finance, Technology and Data, Employee Development and Corporate Support Services.

    Reilly has previously served as Deputy General Manager and Chief Operating Officer as well as Interim General Manager of Austin Energy. Reilly joined Austin Energy as Chief of Staff in January 2019. Prior to that, he worked as an Assistant City Attorney for the City of Austin, specializing in in utility regulations, operations, transactions, customer programs, and renewable energy.

    Stuart Reilly holds a Bachelor of Arts in Government from the University of Texas at Austin and a Juris Doctor degree from George Washington University Law School.

  • Russell (Rusty) Maenius

    Russell (Rusty) Maenius

    Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer

    Rusty Maenius oversees the four finance functions of the utility — Financial Planning & Budget, Corporate Accounting, Financial Risk Management and Rates & Financial Support Regulated Operations.

    Maenius joined Austin Energy in 2000, serving in several analytical and managerial positions in the Finance business unit, including Chief Financial & Risk Officer. He also did a stint as Interim Deputy General Manager. Since 2011, Maenius has been responsible for establishing retail and transmission rates, financial and load forecasting, and financial modeling. Prior to joining Austin Energy, Maenius was with Pedernales Electric Corporative in Johnson City, the largest electric cooperative in the United States. Before his career in public power, he worked in the banking industry.

    Maenius earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Economics from Texas Tech University.  

  • Michael Enger headshot

    Michael Enger

    Vice President, Energy Market Operations & Resource Planning

    As Vice President, Michael Enger is responsible for Austin Energy’s physical and financial power portfolio in the ERCOT wholesale electric market, including the Real Time, Day Ahead and Forward market desks. He oversees the origination of the utility’s renewable power purchase agreements and manages the Qualified Scheduling Entity (QSE) operations for Austin Energy’s owned and contracted resources. Enger is also responsible for resource planning at Austin Energy, which includes achieving the climate protection and affordability goals established by the Austin City Council and Austin Energy.

    Enger brings a wealth of energy market knowledge to his role. He has more than 20 years of service with Austin Energy, most recently as Director of Energy & Market Operations. He has served as Manager of Market Operations and Risk Management and Interim Manager of Energy Market Analysis, in addition to roles as an energy planner, scheduler and marketer.

    Enger has a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from Texas A&M University.


  • Greg Flay

    Greg Flay

    Vice President, Technology and Data

    Greg Flay oversees the Information Technology, Strategic Planning & Technology, Enterprise Information Security (Cybersecurity), and Data Analytics & Business Intelligence organizations. Flay joined Austin Energy in October 2016 as Chief Technology Officer.

    In his role as Chief Technology Officer, Flay oversaw corporate strategic planning, technology roadmap management, enterprise architecture, technology selection and research and development functions — including oversight of Austin Energy’s relationship with the Electric Power Research Institute. His focus is on transparency, operations, and the speed and strategic alignment of technology acquisition.

    Flay has more than 20 years of leadership and management experience in the power industry and related fields. His diverse leadership roles include information technology; mergers and acquisitions; business operations; business analysis; strategy; technology process controls; program and project management; technology portfolio management; and enterprise architecture. Flay has vast experience in the wholesale power generation and competitive retail segments of the power industry. He also has experience in residential solar and home services markets, including smart home, HVAC, and electrical and plumbing services.

    Flay holds Bachelor of Arts and Master of Science degrees in geography from Penn State University as well as a Ph.D. in geography from the University of Minnesota with a focus on spatial analytics.

  • Jerry Galvan Headshot

    Gerardo (Jerry) Galvan

    Vice President, Customer Care Services

    Gerardo “Jerry” Galvan started at Austin Energy in July 2016 as the Vice President of Customer Care. Galvan has more than 15 years of experience directing and leading high-volume call centers.

    At Austin Energy, Galvan is responsible for the City of Austin’s Utility Contact Center, Austin 3-1-1 — the City’s 24-hour information center — and customer service management, including customer escalations and the Customer Assistance Program.

    Prior to joining the Austin Energy team, Galvan spent more than eight years at a large Midwest electric & natural gas utility with more than 2 million customers. Before that, he worked here in central Texas at Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation.

    At Austin Energy, Galvan has asked his teams to focus on improving our customers’ experience. This is what our brand promise is all about — Customer Driven. Community Focused.

    Galvan has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from The University of Texas at Austin. He joined the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Board in 2018, and also serves on the chamber’s foundation, helping to raise resources to support community initiatives.

  • Kathleen Garrett headshot image

    Kathleen Garrett

    Interim Vice President, Power Production

    As Interim Vice President of Power Production, Kathleen Garrett is responsible for Austin Energy’s nuclear, coal and natural gas power generation as well as On-Site Energy Resources. She has more than 30 years’ experience working in the electric utility industry in power generation, water resource planning, and environmental health and safety.

    Garrett joined Austin Energy in 2008 and has served in various leadership roles throughout the utility. Most recently, she worked as the Director of Environmental Health & Safety Services. She has also served as Interim Director of Energy Operations, Interim Director of Energy Efficiency, and Interim Director of Corporate Compliance.

    Garrett holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science from the University of Maine and a Global Leadership Executive Master of Business Administration from the University of Texas, Dallas.

  • Richard Génecé

    Richard Génecé

    Vice President, Customer Energy Solutions

    Richard Génecé joined Austin Energy in August 2021. He guides programs that interact directly with Austin Energy customers, including Green Building, Electric Vehicles and Emerging Technologies, Energy Efficiency Services, Commercial and Key Accounts, and Customer Renewable Solutions.

    Génecé's career spans more than 20 years in the utility industry, in both the public and private sectors. Prior to joining Austin Energy, he held executive positions at some of the largest public utilities in the country. He was Vice President of Energy Efficiency at Bonneville Power Administration in Portland, Oregon and provided oversight for stakeholder engagement and the development of community programs. Génecé also worked at Southern California Edison (SCE), a utility that provides service to more than 13 million customers. Génecé's private sector experience includes his role as Senior Vice President of West Operations for CLEAResult, with leadership responsibilities across the U.S. and Canada, in program sectors including residential, commercial, agricultural, industrial, low-income, and federal/government accounts.

    Génecé earned his bachelor’s degree in Information & Decision Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University and an MBA at Indiana University. He served as a board member to the Consortium for Energy Efficiency and has earned Six Sigma Quality Process Improvement Certification (Green Belt).

  • Monica Joyner headshot

    Monica Joyner

    Acting Vice President, Customer Account Management

    Monica Joyner leads a division encompassing Revenue Measurement, Billing Services, Payment Services, and Quality Management and Training. Her oversight includes meter reading, maintenance, current diversion, collections, payment processing, branch services, quality, training, and bill production and support.

    Joyner has 30 years of experience in customer account management, including 20 years of senior leadership. While at Austin Energy, she has served as Director of Customer Account Management, responsible for system integrations, process and compliance, staff development and curriculum design. Prior to that she managed Customer Solutions Management, overseeing customer escalation resolution and administrative hearings for COA Utilities.

    Joyner joined Austin Energy in 2014. She is a graduate of the University of Idaho where she also attended the Utility Executive Course in 2018. She is fluent in five languages and holds a Six Sigma Black Belt certification from DePaul University.


  • Elton Richards

    Elton Richards

    Vice President, Electric System Field Operations

    Elton Richards joined Austin Energy in 2019 and serves as the Vice President of Electric System Field Operations. He is responsible for leading the utility’s Distribution, Transmission, Substation and Metering operations. These areas are responsible for system construction and maintenance to ensure safe, reliable and efficient power to the community.

    Richards is well versed in all aspects of leadership and utility operations. He is a retired first sergeant with the United States Army and has more than 20 years of experience. Richards was the Director of Site Maintenance at the Byron Nuclear Plant with Commonwealth Edison and he served as Regional Transmission and Distribution Manager in Northern Illinois.

    Prior to coming to Austin Energy, Richards was at the Tennessee Valley Authority as a General Manager in Transmission and Senior Compliance Manager for North American Electric Reliability Corporation.

    Richards holds a Master of Business Administration with a focus in Leadership from Aurora University where he was an adjunct professor in Strategy and Leadership.

  • Veselka photo

    Elaine Veselka

    Vice President, Electric System Engineering & Technical Services

    As Vice President, Elaine Veselka oversees Transmission and Distribution Planning, Design and Engineering, System Operations & Advanced Grid Technologies, Emergency Management, and Electric Service Delivery Shared Services to ensure the safe and reliable delivery of electric service and associated information to our customers.

    Veselka has more than 20 years of senior leadership and executive experience at both regulated and deregulated electric and water utilities. She joined Austin Energy in 2008 and has served as Vice President of Customer Account Management, Interim Vice President for Customer Energy Solutions, Director of Electric Service Delivery Support Services, and Director of Customer Services Management.

    Veselka has a Bachelor of Science from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Phoenix.

     

Date last reviewed or modified: 02/05/2024