ATLANTA, Oct. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Marie Mouchet, vice president and chief information officer for Southern Company operations and Southern Nuclear, has been named Enterprise CIO of the Year by the Georgia CIO Leadership Association (GCLA).

Southern Nuclear is a Southern Company subsidiary responsible for operating the company's existing nuclear fleet. Southern Company operations includes the functional areas of generation and transmission and subsidiary Southern Power, a wholesale business unit that owns and operates natural gas and renewable generating facilities in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina and Texas.

Established in 1998, the Georgia CIO of the Year Award honors individuals who have demonstrated outstanding technology leadership in Georgia. They recognize chief information officers, or executives in equivalent positions, who have shown excellence in managing their organization's enterprise-wide information systems. The awards are segmented into four categories: Global – CIOs who manage more than 2,500 IT users and a multinational operation; Enterprise – CIOs who manage more than 1,000 IT users; Corporate – CIOs who manage up to 1,000 IT users; and Nonprofit/Public Sector – CIOs who manage IT for any not-for-profit organization, government agency or school in the public sector.

"My philosophy is that we win with people and that our greatest achievements are gained through collaboration and teamwork, so I share this recognition with those I have the honor of working with at Southern Company," Mouchet said in accepting the award. "I thank the sponsors who make this event possible and the GCLA and their board of directors for their leadership in recognizing the work of IT professionals throughout our state."

In her role, Mouchet leads the development and implementation of IT strategy across Southern Company subsidiaries Southern Power and Southern Nuclear and the functional areas of generation and transmission. She provides strategic and tactical planning and direction for information technology for fossil, hydro and nuclear generating facilities; fuel services for the plants; new plant acquisitions; new nuclear plant development; a real-time energy trading floor; the engineering and construction services organization and the transmission system.

Mouchet has served in leadership positions within Southern Company for more than 25 years and has experience across a variety of Southern Company organizations, including regulatory affairs, financial services, public relations, marketing, sales and generation.

She has served on the board of Sheltering Arms Child Development and the advisory board of the Fulton County Red Cross. She is an advocate for My House, a long-term transitional home for medically fragile and/or abused infants and children. She represents Southern Company on IBM's Tivoli Customer Advisory Board and was recently selected to serve on the Women in Technology Foundation Board.

Mouchet holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics and a master's degree in mathematics education from Georgia State University.

All nominees for Georgia CIO of the Year are judged by the Awards Selection Committee, which is comprised of past award winners and Georgia technology leaders. Eligible candidates must be employed by a Georgia-based entity, be primarily responsible for the technical performance of the organization, be a member of top management and have a proven track record of technology leadership.

The GCLA is the preeminent professional organization for Georgia's information technology leaders. Founded in 2003, its membership is comprised exclusively of chief information officers or individuals in equivalent positions at companies and organizations throughout the state.

With 4.4 million customers and more than 43,000 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 also is continually ranked among the top utilities in Fortune's annual World's Most Admired Electric and Gas Utility rankings. Visit our website at www.southerncompany.com.

SOURCE Southern Company