Cliff Thrasher has been named vice president, chief financial officer and comptroller for Southern Company Generation and Energy Marketing, a business unit of Southern Company that works to manage and generate electricity for the company’s retail customers and markets energy in the competitive wholesale supply business.

In his new position, Thrasher will be responsible for directing O&M and capital budgets, fuel accounting activities, contract administration related to wholesale revenue reporting, risk management oversight and financial planning. He will also be a member of the Southern Company Generation and Energy Marketing management council, which will give him broad input into the direction of the company’s wholesale generation strategies.

Thrasher joined Southern Company in 1970 as an accounting clerk with Georgia Power, the largest subsidiary of Southern Company. Between 1970 and 1987, he held various positions in Georgia Power’s accounting organization and was elected assistant comptroller in 1987. In 1995, he was named vice president and comptroller, his most recent position.

A native of Atlanta, Thrasher earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Georgia State University in 1972. He attended the Stanford Executive Program in 1997. He and his wife, Sumie, have one child, Nicholas, age 9.