ATLANTA, July 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Susan N. Story, executive vice president of Southern Company and president and CEO of Southern Company Services, announced today that Kenneth E. Coleman has been elected senior vice president and CIO, effective Aug. 1.

Coleman will succeed Becky Blalock, who has held the position since 2002.

"Becky leaves a track record of accomplishments that have distinguished her career and Southern Company as a technology leader," said Story. "Under her leadership, Southern Company has been recognized as one of the '100 Best Places to Work in IT' for the past five consecutive years."

Coleman comes to Southern Company from Alabama Power where he is currently vice president of Alabama Power's Southern Division. Prior to serving in that role, Coleman was the sales and marketing director at Mississippi Power.

After joining the company in 1999 as a residential marketing manager for Alabama Power's Birmingham Division, he held numerous positions including area manager in Alabama Power's Mobile Division, business development manager for Southern Company generation and energy marketing, and assistant to the executive vice president of external affairs at Alabama Power. Before joining Southern Company, Coleman recruited new businesses to Alabama while working for the Metropolitan Development Board in Birmingham.

"The critical importance of IT to every business function requires a person with strong leadership and customer skills, an understanding of our core business, technical aptitude, strategic capability and a practical and innovative nature," Story said. "Kenny brings a breadth of experience, both internally and externally, which positions him to effectively lead our information technology organization."

Coleman holds a master's degree in business administration from the University of Alabama and a bachelor's degree in communication from the University of New Haven in West Haven, Connecticut. He is a native of Jersey City, N.J.

Blalock will remain with the company while Coleman transitions into his new role. She will officially retire Oct. 1. Blalock's career began with Georgia Power 33 years ago in the finance and accounting organization, after which she held positions at Georgia Power in regulatory affairs, community and economic development and corporate communication and also served as assistant to the president. She held positions in SCS as regional CIO and for the past nine years has served as senior vice president and CIO for Southern Company.

Blalock has been recognized regionally and nationally for her leadership in IT, including being named CIO of the Year in the utility industry by EnergyBiz magazine. Under her guidance, IT launched an intellectual property program that has generated 56 conventional patent filings. More than $1 billion in new technology projects have been implemented within the company's business during her tenure as CIO.

With 4.4 million customers and more than 42,000 megawatts of generating capacity, Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is the premier energy company serving the Southeast. A leading U.S. producer of electricity, Southern Company owns electric utilities in four states and a growing competitive generation company, as well as fiber optics and wireless communications. Southern Company brands are known for excellent customer service, high reliability and retail electric prices that are below the national average. Southern Company was named the World's Most Admired Electric and Gas Utility by Fortune magazine in 2011, and is consistently listed among the top U.S. electric service providers in customer satisfaction by the American Customer Satisfaction Index. Visit our website at www.southerncompany.com.

SOURCE Southern Company