ATLANTA, July 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern Company Chief Operating Officer Mark A. Crosswhite has announced several changes within the company's operations management team.

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William C. Grantham will become vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer for subsidiary Southern Power. He will assume a role vacated by Michael W. Southern, who has announced his plans to retire. The change will take place on Sept. 1.

John G. Trawick will return to Southern Company from the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), succeeding Grantham in the newly expanded role of vice president of commercial operations and services, effective Aug. 1. In his new role, the company's fleet operations and trading functions will report directly to Trawick, a role currently held by Charles D. Long, who has announced plans to retire. Trawick most recently served as TVA's senior vice president of power supply and fuels.

In addition, Crosswhite announced that Kimberly D. Flowers will become vice president of engineering for engineering and construction services. Lewis A. Jeffers will succeed Flowers as vice president of technical services for engineering and construction services.

"These individuals exemplify the Southern Company system's diversity of experience and demonstrate the exceptional leadership needed for the company to remain among the best in our industry while providing our customers with clean, safe, reliable and affordable power," said Crosswhite. "These moves will enhance our ability to deliver on our major projects and support the fleet with industry-leading technical expertise."

Michael W. Southern joined Southern Company in 1974 as an accounting associate with subsidiary Georgia Power. After progressing through various roles, he held leadership positions across multiple operating companies, including assistant treasurer for Georgia Power, director of financial planning and director of corporate finance for Southern Company, and chief financial officer of subsidiary Mississippi Power. He is past chairman of the Finance and Regulation Executive Advisory Committee and the Finance Committee for the Edison Electric Institute.

Long began his Southern Company career in 1974 as a junior engineer at subsidiary Alabama Power's Plant Barry. He subsequently held management positions in bulk power services and contracts, integrated resource planning and system planning for Southern Company Services. In 1998, Long became vice president of generation planning and development and was named vice president of fleet operations and trading in 2005. Since that time, he has led the real-time operation and energy trading activities of the Southern Company fleet.

"Through 39 years of dedicated service, Mike Southern and Charley Long have led the successful execution of numerous Southern Company projects that have improved the company's financial and operational performance while increasing customer value," said Crosswhite. "Their sound guidance has helped our company identify and deliver solutions to best meet customers' energy needs, both now and in the future."

Grantham, 43, began his Southern Company career in 1988 as a distribution co-op student at Mississippi Power. He then worked in system planning, competitive wholesale generation and corporate finance before being named to his current position of vice president and chief financial officer for operations in 2010.

Grantham earned bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering from Mississippi State University.

In addition to leading TVA's power trading, fuels and generation planning organization, Trawick, 44,  has held executive positions at TVA in the strategy, pricing and contracts businesses. Prior to his tenure at TVA, Trawick was director of strategic and corporate affairs for Southern Power. He also served as director of market affairs for Mirant Corporation.

Trawick earned a bachelor's degree in applied mathematics from Auburn University and a master's degree in mathematics from the University of Tennessee.

Flowers, 48, joined Southern Company in 1984 as a co-op student at Georgia Power. She progressed through a number of plant positions, including serving as manager of plants Bowen and Smith. She has also served as senior production officer for Mississippi Power.

Flowers holds a bachelor's degree in industrial and systems engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a master's degree from the University of West Georgia.

Jeffers, 57, began his Southern Company career in 1979 as a junior engineer at subsidiary Alabama Power. He worked in numerous positions in generation, including the roles of manager at plants Smith and Barry. He served as senior production officer at Savannah Electric, a subsidiary that merged with Georgia Power in 2006. He most recently served as general manager of new generation projects and construction for engineering and construction services.

Jeffers earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Alabama.

With 4.4 million customers and nearly 46,000 megawatts of generating capacity, Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is the premier energy company serving the Southeast through its subsidiaries. A leading U.S. producer of clean, safe, reliable and affordable 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 energy innovation, excellent customer service, high reliability and retail electric prices that are below the national average. Southern Company and its subsidiaries are leading the nation's nuclear renaissance through the construction of the first new nuclear units to be built in a generation of Americans and are demonstrating their commitment to energy innovation through the development of a state-of-the-art coal gasification plant. Southern Company has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Defense and G.I. Jobs magazine as a top military employer and listed by DiversityInc as a top company for Blacks. The company received the 2012 Edison Award from the Edison Electric Institute for its leadership in new nuclear development, was named Electric Light & Power magazine's Utility of the Year for 2012 and 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