Alabama Power Company today announced several leadership changes.

Bobbie Knight, vice president of the company’s Birmingham Division, has accepted the position of senior adviser to Alabama Power Chairman, President and CEO Mark Crosswhite. Knight, a 37-year veteran of Alabama Power, will serve in the advisory role until April 2016, when she will retire from the company.

Jonathan Porter, vice president of Human Resources and Ethics, will succeed Knight as vice president of Birmingham Division.

Jeff Peoples, vice president of Operations Services for Southern Company, has been elected Alabama Power’s new vice president of Human Resources and Ethics.

The three assume their new roles immediately.

“Bobbie Knight has been an exceptional leader at Alabama Power for many years. I am grateful that she is willing to serve our company and our customers in this advisory position until her well-deserved retirement,” Crosswhite said.

“Jeff Peoples and Jonathan Porter bring extraordinary knowledge and experience to their new roles,” Crosswhite added. “Their leadership will be invaluable as we continue to look for more efficient and innovative approaches in how we serve our customers and our communities.”

During her career at Alabama Power, Knight has built an impressive portfolio of accomplishments through a series of leadership positions.

A former vice president of Public Relations, Knight also has served in management roles in the company’s Western Division, Human Resources, Corporate Services and Supply Chain organizations. She became vice president of the Birmingham Division in 2010.

Knight is a graduate of Banks High School, the University of Alabama and the Birmingham School of Law. She is a 2002 graduate of the Kellogg School of Management Executive Development Program at Northwestern University, and in 2005 was named an “Outstanding Alumna in Public Relations” by the University of Alabama College of Communications and Information Sciences.

In his new position as vice president of Human Resources and Ethics, Peoples’ responsibilities will include labor relations, wellness, safety, and health and disability management functions, as well as delivery of human resource products and services to Alabama Power employees throughout the state.

Peoples began his career with Southern Company in 1984 as a chemical technician at Alabama Power's Plant Miller. Over the years he has progressed through positions of increasing responsibility in the areas of human resources, training and workforce development.

In his most recent role, Peoples was vice president of operations services for Southern Company Operations, where he had responsibility for human performance, safety, training and labor relations. Peoples, who holds a bachelor's degree in Chemistry and Biological Science from Lee University in Cleveland, Tenn., will maintain responsibility over operations services as part his new Alabama Power role.

As the new vice president of Birmingham Division, Porter will be responsible for providing reliable service to more than 430,000 customers in north central Alabama. The Birmingham Division encompasses all of Jefferson County, most of Shelby County and parts of four other counties.

Porter has held positions of increasing responsibility during his career at Alabama Power. They include senior corporate recruiter, senior human resources business representative, customer service supervisor, assistant business office manager, lead human resources business consultant, assistant to the executive vice president of External Affairs, Birmingham Division area manager and director of Customer Services. He became vice president of Human Resources and Ethics in 2014.

Porter graduated cum laude from Tuskegee University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. While at Tuskegee, Porter was a four-year letterman in football and an All-Conference scholar-athlete. Porter later received his Master of Business Administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).

In other business, the board elected Kimberly Jackson, assistant to the company’s senior vice president for Marketing and Economic Development, as the new assistant secretary.

Jackson joined the company in 2008 as an analyst in the Regulatory and Corporate Affairs department. She served in positions of increasing responsibility in the Regulatory, Financial Planning, and Marketing and Economic Development organizations before being named assistant to the senior vice president, Marketing and Economic Development. Jackson graduated from the University of Alabama in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in Finance. She also attended UAB and obtained her CPA Equivalency in 2006.

As assistant secretary, Jackson will assist the corporate secretary in managing the activities of the board of directors, including coordinating all directors and shareholders meetings.
Alabama Power, a subsidiary of Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE:SO), provides reliable, affordable electricity to more than 1.4 million customers at a total retail price that has been below the national average for decades. Learn more at www.alabamapower.com.