Kirby A. Dyess (age 63) has been a director since 2006. Ms. Dyess is a principal in Austin Capital Management LLC where she invests in and assists early stage companies. Prior to forming Austin Capital Management LLC in 2003, Ms. Dyess spent 23 years in various executive and management positions at Intel Corporation, most recently serving as corporate vice president and director of operations for Intel Capital, vice president and director of new business development, and vice president of global human resources. Ms. Dyess served on the board of directors of Merix Corporation, a NASDAQ traded company, until February 2010 when Merix and Via Systems Inc. were merged. She has joined the board of the resulting public company, VIA Systems Group Inc. She also serves on the board of Complí, a privately-held company that provides compliance software to companies, and chairs the board of Prolifiq SW Inc., a privately-held enterprise software company. She also served as vice president and president of the Oregon Board of Higher Education, and served on its board from 2004 to 2009. In 2009, Ms. Dyess was elected to the board of directors of Portland General Electric (PGE), a public utility whose shares are traded on NYSE. Due to her positions at Intel Corporation, Ms. Dyess provides the Board a strong background in technology, brand marketing, human resources, mergers and acquisitions, and business development, in addition to business innovation and R&D knowledge that she utilizes in her current association with Austin Capital Management.
Jon E. Eliassen (age 63) has been a director since 1987, and effective January 1, 2010, is serving as our Chairman of the Board. Mr. Eliassen is managing director of Terrapin Capital Group, LLC, a business consulting and private equity firm. From 2003 until 2007, he was president and chief executive officer of the Spokane Area Economic Development Council, and from 1970 until 2003, he held numerous positions within Avista Corporation, a company involved in the production, transmission, and distribution of electricity and natural gas, before retiring in 2003 as senior vice president and chief financial officer, a position he had held since 1986. He has served since 2003 on the board of directors and audit committee of Red Lion Hotels Corporation, a NYSE traded company headquartered in Spokane, Washington, and in January 2010 was appointed Interim President and CEO. In addition, Mr. Eliassen is a member of the board of directors of IT Lifeline, a privately held technology company, and the Washington Technology Center, a state science and technology agency that facilitates and funds industry-university research collaborations. Mr. Eliassen has an extensive background with public utilities and the utility industry in general. He contributes to our Board his extensive financial experience that includes accounting, audit, strategic planning, business development, and financing strategy while associated with a public utility, and merger and acquisition involvement that has included due diligence processes, company and business valuation techniques, and financial analyses. In addition, Mr. Eliassen has been a principal or general partner in venture capital firms with expertise in evaluating businesses, and has several years' experience as an expert witness before utility regulatory commissions in matters relating to financial strategy and policy, credit ratings, cost of capital, and capital structure.
Charles H. Gaylord, Jr. (age 64) has been a director since 2006. Mr. Gaylord is a private technology investor focusing on software and communications. Until his retirement in 1994, Mr. Gaylord was executive vice president for Intuit Inc., a leading developer of personal and small business finance software programs such as "Quicken" and "QuickBooks." From 1990 to 1993, he served as chairman and chief executive officer of ChipSoft, Inc., the original publisher of the tax preparation software program "TurboTax". Mr. Gaylord is a member of the board of directors and a member of the compensation committee of Proximetry Inc., a privately-held company, and a member of the advisory board of Technology Crossover Ventures I, an investment firm that invests primarily in private and public information technology companies. During various periods from 1990 to approximately 2002, Mr. Gaylord was a member of the boards of directors and served on the compensation committees of the following public companies: Stac, Inc.; HNC Software, Inc.; Maxis, Inc.; and Retek, Inc.; and also served as a director of a number of private technology companies. His wealth of knowledge of software services, brand marketing, IT technology, and business development adds to the diverse business backgrounds of our other members of the Board.
Thomas S. Glanville (age 51) has been a director since 2001. Mr. Glanville has been managing partner of both Eschelon Energy Partners, LP, an energy industry private equity firm, and Eschelon Advisors, a financial and strategic consulting firm to energy/utility industry principals, since 2003. From 1999-2002, Mr. Glanville served as vice president of technology and new ventures for Reliant Energy, Inc., one of the world's largest international energy services companies, and its affiliate, Reliant Resources, Inc. He currently serves on the boards of directors of Chroma Exploration and Production, Inc., and Strand Energy, L.L.C., both privately-held oil and gas exploration and production companies. Mr. Glanville brings to the Board financial expertise, industry-related experience through his association with Reliant Energy, and technology skills that include his involvement with electric metering studies and research while he was Vice President of Technology for Reliant Energy. He is currently President of the Texas Tri-Cities branch of the National Association of Corporate Directors (Houston, Austin, San Antonio).
Philip Mezey was appointed president and chief executive officer and named to Itron’s board of directors on January 1, 2013. Mezey has served the company in several capacities during his career at Itron, most recently as chief operating officer for Itron’s global Energy segment, with responsibility for the operations of Itron’s electricity and gas businesses around the world. He also previously served as senior vice president and chief operating officer – Itron North America, group vice president and general manager, as well as senior vice president for Software Solutions. Upon Itron’s acquisition of Silicon Energy in 2003, Mezey joined the company as managing director of Software Development for Itron’s Energy Management Solutions group.
Prior to joining Silicon Energy in 2000 as vice president, Software Development, Mezey was a founding member and served 12 years with Indus, a provider of integrated asset and customer management software. Mezey earned his BA degree in history from the University of California, Berkeley.
Sharon L. Nelson (age 63) has been a director since 2003. Ms. Nelson is an attorney and served as chief of the Consumer Protection Division of the Washington State Attorney General's Office from 2003 to 2006, and as director of the Shidler Center for Law, Commerce, and Technology at the University of Washington from 2000 to 2003. In addition, Ms. Nelson has been a consultant to both corporations and nonprofit organizations specializing in advice on public policy and regulation. In the past she has served as chair of the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission and as president of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners. She currently is a member of the National Commission on Energy Policy and is co-chair of the U.S. China Clean Energy Forum. Previously, she served as chair of the board of directors of Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports. She also served previously as a member of the Board of Trustees of the North American Electrical Reliability Corporation (NERC) based in Princeton, New Jersey. NERC's members consist of the owners, operators and users of the North American bulk electrical system. The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission granted NERC the legal authority to enforce reliability standards on users of the bulk power system. Ms. Nelson has also served on the boards of two other public corporations, XO Telecommunications (now private) and Covad Communications. Her experience as an executive and as a board member of other public companies, her legal education, and her knowledge of public policy and regulation systems are of great value in her role as a director of Itron.
Gary E. Pruitt (age 60) has been a director since 2006. From 2007 to October 2009, Mr. Pruitt was chairman and chief executive officer of Univar N.V., a chemical distribution company with distribution centers in the U.S., Canada and Europe. He retired in October from his role as CEO of Univar, and still serves as the company's non-executive chairman. He has been associated with Univar and related entities since 1978 and has held a variety of senior management positions within Univar and Van Waters & Rogers, Inc., which ultimately became Vopak USA Inc. Mr. Pruitt worked at Arthur Andersen & Co. as a chartered accountant from 1973 through 1977. He serves on the boards of directors of Public Storage, Inc., a NYSE traded company, Esterline Technologies, a NYSE technology company, and Premera Blue Cross. He brings to the Board his experience as a chief executive officer of a multi-national company and all the business attributes required of that position, along with operational and manufacturing expertise through his various other management positions held with Univar. His public accounting financial background and other public board experiences provide strategic and global perspectives on our business as well.
Graham M. Wilson (age 65) has been a director since 1990. Mr. Wilson has been sole shareholder and chairman of GraWil Consultants Inc., a management and financial consultant firm, since 2002. Prior to that, he was employed by Westcoast Energy Inc., an integrated energy company, where he held the positions of executive vice president and chief financial officer, and president and CEO, Services. Mr. Wilson also serves on the boards of directors of British Columbia Ferries Services Inc., Naikun Wind Energy Group Inc., and Daylight Energy Trust, and is a trustee of Hardwoods Distribution Income Trust. A Canadian citizen, Mr. Graham has extensive financial and senior leadership experience, particularly with energy businesses such as Westcoast Energy which focuses primarily on natural gas in the U.S. and Canada. He served as Vice President of Finance for two other public Canadian companies and currently serves on the audit committees of five public companies. In addition, through his consulting firm, GraWil Consultants Inc., Mr. Wilson assists various business enterprises with their operations and finances. His Canadian business and financial acumen brings an international perspective to our Board.
Lynda Ziegler (age 60) has been a director since February of 2013. Ms. Ziegler recently retired from Southern California Edison (SCE), one of the largest electric utilities in the U.S. and part of Edison International. Ziegler was responsible for the successful automation of nearly 5 million meters and associated supporting systems as a part of SCE’s Edison SmartConnect® program. She also successfully led SCE’s customer satisfaction efforts, achieving a first-quartile ranking in residential customer satisfaction by J.D. Power & Associates. During her tenure at SCE, she also held various management positions related to customer program offerings, customer service, development, communication and implementation of energy efficiency programs. In the past she has served on the advisory committee for power delivery and utilization at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), and currently serves as a founding member of the Board of the Association for Women in Water and Energy.
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