Southern Company announces executive changes

Southern Company Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer David Ratcliffe today announced several management changes involving Southern Company and Southern Company subsidiaries Georgia Power and Alabama Power.

Marsha Johnson, Birmingham Division vice president at Alabama Power, was appointed vice president of diversity and chief diversity officer for Southern Company. Bryan Fletcher, Georgia Power’s Northern Region distribution vice president, was appointed vice president of supply chain management at Southern Company. Pete Ivey, vice president of Georgia Power’s administrative services, was appointed vice president in Southern Company’s transmission organization. The changes are effective immediately.

In her new role, Marsha will lead Southern Company’s diversity efforts throughout the system. “Marsha will continue to drive the company’s efforts in the area of diversity. She will be handling a critical function of our business as we continue to elevate our company’s commitment in this area,” Ratcliffe said.

Marsha started her career with Southern Company in 1986 as a management development analyst in Atlanta and has held positions of increasing responsibility including, manager of personnel and employee development, assistant to division vice president, division manager of business office operations and vice president of customer service. Prior to Southern Company, she held positions with Westinghouse Electric Corporation, United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta and Coleman Management Consultants.

In his new role as vice president of supply chain management, Bryan Fletcher’s responsibilities will include oversight of the Southern Company volume procurement and strategic sourcing, as well as Georgia Power’s purchasing and materials.

A Georgia Institute of Technology graduate with a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering, Bryan began his career with Southern Company as a co-op student in 1979, joining the company in 1983 as an operating engineer with Georgia Power. He has held positions including industrial marketing engineer, McRae area manager, assistant to region vice president, assistant to executive vice president, manager of governmental and regulatory affairs, and vice president of governmental and regulatory affairs for Georgia Power.

As vice president in Southern Company transmission, Pete Ivey will report to Andy Dearman, Southern Company’s chief transmission officer.

A graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology with a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering, Pete started his career with Georgia Power in 1977 as a co-op student and distribution engineer. He has since worked in a variety of capacities including general manager of system operations responsible for the oversight and operation of Georgia’s transmission grid, control center manager, transmission manager, manager of distribution support, assistant to region vice president, Augusta power delivery manager, and Winder area manager.

“Southern Company has always been fortunate to have a pool of talent and experience from which to pull company leaders,” Ratcliffe added. “We place a priority on providing our customers with reliable service and competitively priced energy. These leadership changes will strengthen our ability to maintain this focus.”

With more than 4 million customers and nearly 39,000 megawatts of generating capacity, Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is the premier super-regional energy company in the Southeast and a leading U.S. producer of electricity. Southern Company owns electric utilities in four states, a growing competitive generation company, an energy services business and a competitive retail natural gas business, 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 15 percent below the national average. Southern Company has been named three consecutive years No. 1 on Fortune magazine’s “America’s Most Admired Companies” list in the Electric and Gas Utility industry. Southern Company has been ranked the nation’s top energy utility in the American Customer Satisfaction Index five years in a row. Southern Company has more than 500,000 shareholders, making its common stock one of the most widely held in the United States. Visit the Southern Company Web site at www.southerncompany.com.