The Southern Company has named David R. Altman vice president for corporate communication, effective Jan. 1, 1996, Southern Company Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer A.W. Dahlberg announced today.

In his new position, Altman will direct The Southern Company’s public relations functions, including employee communications, news media relations, stockholder communications, speechwriting, business television, and advertising.

The Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is the parent firm of five electric utilities: Alabama Power, Georgia Power, Gulf Power, Mississippi Power, and Savannah Electric. Other subsidiaries include Southern Electric International, Southern Nuclear, Southern Communications Services, Southern Development and Investment Group, and Southern Company Services. Together, these companies make up one of the largest electric utility groups in the United States. The Southern Company’s common stock is one of the 20 most widely held corporate stocks in America.

Altman succeeds J.R. Harris, who has been named vice president of external affairs and assistant corporate secretary at Southern Electric International.

Altman, 43, currently serves as vice president of corporate communication at Georgia Power. He joined The Southern Company in 1978 as a senior media services representative at Southern Company Services. He moved to Georgia Power in 1980 as broadcast services supervisor. He also served as Georgia Power’s nuclear information manager, public information manager, and director of corporate communication before being named to his current position in 1992. Before joining The Southern Company, Altman worked as a writer and news producer at WSB-TV in Atlanta.

He serves as a member of the Communication Executive Advisory Committee of the Edison Electric Institute, the trade organization of investor-owned electric utilities in the United States. He also is a member of the Georgia Press Association and the Communications Committee of the Georgia Council on Economic Education. He has served as Georgia Power’s corporate campaign chair for the Georgia State University alumni fund-raising drive and chair of the Public Relations Committee of the North Georgia Chapter of the March of Dimes. In addition, he serves on the board of directors of Childkind.

Altman holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Georgia State University and is a graduate of Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program.

“Dave Altman’s expertise in public relations and his leadership in The Southern Company and the electric utility business make him uniquely qualified to guide the corporate communication operations and policies across our company,” Dahlberg said in announcing the appointment.