AUSTIN ENERGY
GENERAL MANAGER
An Extraordinary Career Opportunity
The City of Austin is seeking a highly experienced and dedicated professional to serve as the General Manager of one of the nation’s leading electric utilities. This talented leader will help shape Austin Energy’s future as it continues its industry transformation—focusing on affordability, reliability, and advancing the City’s position in energy efficiency, renewables, smartgrid technology, distributed generation, storage, wildfire and weather resilience, and climate policy.
AUSTIN, TEXAS
Austin, Texas, remains one of the nation’s most vibrant, high-growth cities. Beyond serving as state capital and home to the University of Texas, Austin has become a global technology, arts, and sustainability hub that welcomed over 200,000 new residents since the early 2000s, and the city now serves more than 1.1million residents across a 437squaremile area.
People in Austin enjoy the wide variety of what the city offers, including restaurants, museums, and nature trails, attending University of Texas Football tailgating parties and games, browsing local shopping meccas and vintage shops, and cheering on the Austin FC soccer team at the Q2 Stadium. By any traditional measure, Austin is thriving. Fueled by an influx of people and businesses, Austin is currently the 11th largest city in the U.S. and is projected to be the 3rd largest metropolitan area in the U.S. by 2100.
U.S. News & World Report releases a series of lists each year, including the highly respected 150 Best Places to Live. They consider many factors to determine the best, including quality of life, the local job market, value for money, and general desirability. Austin is ranked #9 in the U.S. and #1 in Texas for 2024-2025 on that list. Austin is ranked #9 best places to find a job in the U.S. from 2024-2025. On additional U.S. News and World Report lists, Austin's University of Texas ranked as the #1 public university in Texas, 9th best public university in the nation, and 32nd among private and public universities. Twelve Austin Metro area high schools made the Best High Schools list. The highest ranked in Austin is #38, AISD's Liberal Arts and Science Academy (LASA) is ranked #6 in Texas.
Austin attracts many visitors with its live music events. Attending music events is one of the top things to do in Austin, though there's music to enjoy throughout the year – not only during the South by Southwest and Austin City Limits festivals. As the "live music capital of the world”, Austin serenades the community with live music in the airport terminal, on the downtown streets, and at about 200 venues. Museums in town include The Contemporary Austin, the Blanton Museum of Art, and the Mexic-Arte Museum. Austin offers many community centers, gardens, parks, libraries, churches, synagogues, temples, and other houses of worship and contemplation.
The city is home to notable employers such as the State of Texas, Tesla, Amazon, Apple, the University of Texas, Samsung Austin Semiconductor, Dell Technologies, Oracle, Meta, IBM, Google, Applied Materials, St. David’s Medical Center, Indeed, U.S. Internal Revenue Service, Emerson, and Ascension Seton Health.
#KeepAustinHired austintexas.gov austincityjobs.org
The city is home to notable employers such as the State of Texas, Tesla, Amazon, Apple, the University of Texas, Samsung Austin Semiconductor, Dell Technologies, Oracle, Meta, IBM, Google, Applied Materials, St. David’s Medical Center, Indeed, U.S. Internal Revenue Service, Emerson, and Ascension Seton Health.
AUSTIN CITY GOVERNMENT
The City of Austin is a progressive, full-service municipal organization operating under the Council-Manager form of government. Austin’s Mayor is elected from the city at large, and ten City Council members are elected from single-member districts. Terms of the Mayor and City Council members are four years and terms are staggered so that a general election is held every two years, with half the council being elected at each election. Term limits for the Mayor and City Council members provide for two consecutive four-year terms. The City Council is responsible for the appointment of the City Manager, who is the Chief Executive Officer of the City. The City Council also appoints the City Clerk, City Auditor, Municipal Court Judges, and the Municipal Court Clerk. To learn more about the dynamic City of Austin, visit austintexas.gov
Austin Energy’s Strategic Plan - Austin Energy’s Resource, Generation and Climate Protection Plan (to 2035)
AUSTIN ENERGY FACTS*
Profile
- Territory & Customers: Covers 437sqmi across Austin and parts of Travis and Williamson counties, serving over 550,000 meters (~502,000 residential; ~54,000 commercial/industrial).
- Financials (FY24):
- Operating revenues: ~$1.14billion
- Power supply revenues ~$544million, expenses ~$481million
- Utility transferred $115million to the City’s General Fund
- Debt Service Coverage ~$2.4 million
- Debt-to-Capital Ratio ~57%
- Peak Demand: Summer peak reached 3,135MW, and winter peak 2,703MW (both new records in 2024)
- Reliability: Avg interruptions/customer ~0.84 vs. Texas average ~1.76; avg outage length ~75min vs. ~214min statewide
Generation Portfolio
- Total Capacity: ~5,000MW (owned + PPA)
- Carbonfree/renewable resources: >3,000MW capacity, comprising wind, solar, biomass, energy storage, and nuclear
- Owned/coowned plants:
- Natural gas: Decker Creek, Sand Hill
- Coal: ~50% Fayette Power Project
- Nuclear: ~16% South Texas Project
- Biomass: Nacogdoches (~105MW)
- Utility-scale solar and wind PPAs (~3000MW total).
- Transition Goals: Targeting 100% carbon-free energy by 2035, with an interim of 70% renewables by 2030
Transmission & Distribution Portfolio
- 633 miles of Transmission Line; 4,753 Transmission Structures
- 12,270 miles of Distribution Line
- 80 T&D Substations
Workforce & Organizational Resilience
- Multi-year workforce increases planned
- Recent efforts focused on talent development, retention, and succession planning amid an aging workforce
- Safety and performance indicators remain strong.
2025 Power-Supply Portfolio Overview (Approximate % of Load Served)
- Renewables (wind + solar + biomass + storage): ~70–75%
- Nuclear: ~10–15%
- Coal: ~5–10%
- Natural Gas: ~15–20%
*(These values follow FY24 performance trends and FY25 targets)
Austin Energy Web Links
AustinEnergy.com Who We Are By the Numbers Corporate Reports Electric System Building a Better Austin Green Power Rates
Requirements
THE IDEAL GENERAL MANAGER
The next General Manager of Austin Energy must be a forward-thinking leader who embodies broad technical and financial competence, strategic vision, and exceptional communication skills. Ideal candidates have a passion for the future model of public power leadership, are able to inspire their team to meet new challenges in an ever-changing energy industry, and know how to make the most of innovative opportunities. Austin’s next General Manager must be committed to implementing the utility’s Strategic Plan and the Resource, Generation, and Climate Protection Plan which is based on the community’s key values of affordability, reliability, environmental sustainability, and energy equity.
Deep Knowledge of the Energy Industry & Operations
The ideal GM should possess a solid grasp of utility operations, electricity markets, and generation strategy, with the ability to weigh affordability, reliability, and decarbonization in equal measures. In particular, the ideal candidate:
- Understands and can effectively apply long-term capital investment and regulatory strategy in decision-making.
- Can explain the nuances of complex trade-offs, such as investments in the power supply portfolio.
- Balances grid resiliency, environmental goals, and ratepayer impact.
- Navigates major system investment and evolution (outage response, vegetation management, grid hardening, etc.) with clarity and foresight.
Exceptional Communicator
A non-negotiable trait is the ability to communicate authentically, regularly, proactively, and clearly. The GM will be expected to be engaged and present during emergencies and must be able to:
- Communicate effectively across all audiences.
- Explain complex utility issues and challenges to people across all spectrums of utility knowledge.
- Listen and synthesize questions and information to respond to critics without being dismissive while genuinely and continuously seeking input from all demographics of the customer base.
Financial Acumen
- Demonstrates a strong command of financial principles, including rate design and cost of service.
- Capable of reinforcing credibility with rating agencies and communicating financial challenges with clarity to critical financial partners.
- Understands the not-for-profit philosophy of a public utility, prioritizing business stability and customer impact alongside financial and strategic agenda.
- Experience leveraging external funding and partnerships such as federal and resilience grants.
Community-Aligned and Culturally Fluent
- Understands and reflects the City’s values of blending innovation, equity, resilience, and sustainability.
- Experience building trust across neighborhoods, especially those historically underserved.
- Collaborative, informed, world-wise, and culturally sensitive.
Leadership, Trust, and Team Cohesion
The organization needs a visionary yet humble leader who can:
- Inspires and maintains cohesion among a strong executive team, fostering collaboration across divisions.
- Leads with accountability, empathy, and consistency, ensuring high-performing divisions and partner departments continue thriving.
- Sets and effectively communicates a clear and actionable strategic direction to all employees, including middle- and front-line staff.
- Is grounded in performance, values, and community goals.
- Is deeply engaged as a strategic leader of the organization.
- Is a trusted and responsive partner with community stakeholders, City department leaders, and elected leaders.
- Exhibits the competence and proven experience as a change management leader to assist the culture of the organization through critical evolutions of the business and industry.
- Confidently defends Austin Energy’s business health and interests, while maintaining the humility to listen, compromise, and adapt.
- Represents Austin Energy with credibility at the state and federal levels, defending public power and supporting regulation or legislation as representative of the community’s interests.
Forward-Focused and Risk-Savvy
The utility is at a critical juncture—navigating environmental threats, regulatory and legislative barriers, grid evolution, and demographic changes in the service territory. The ideal GM:
- Embraces smart innovation, piloting emerging technologies with an appetite for calculated risk.
- Has the courage to position Austin Energy to be an industry leader by making long-term investments.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHART
The Austin Energy GM reports to the Deputy City Manager’s Office, engaging substantively with the City Manager. The GM communicates regularly with the Mayor, City Council, and regulatory commissions. Austin Energy employs over 1,924 personnel. Austin Energy executives include the GM, Chief of Staff, and four Deputy General Managers who oversee Operations; Customer Services; Finance and Information Technology; and Regulatory, Communications, Compliance, and Legal Services. Multiple Vice Presidents are also key members of the leadership team in other primary functions.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
Bachelor’s degree in engineering, business or a related field plus ten years of relevant electric utility experience, at least five years of which in a managerial or executive capacity. Master’s degree preferred. Strong preference for proven executive leadership success with a large public power or similar utility organization.
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
The salary is commensurate based on experience and the approved salary range. The benefits package includes medical, dental and vision coverage, life insurance, compensated leave, short-term disability, and retirement benefits. The City is a member of the Proportionate Retirement Program. Optional benefits include supplemental life insurance, a 457 deferred compensation plan, long-term disability plan, and a legal plan. Visit www.austintexas.gov/department/active-employee-benefits to learn more about the City’s employee benefits. Reasonable relocation benefits will be provided to the successful candidate.
TIMELINE
September 1 – Preferred deadline to receive resume submittals
Third week of September – Semi-finalist Interviews
Mid-October – Finalist interviews in Austin
October/November 2025 – General Manager begins employment
HOW TO APPLY
Information submitted for consideration may be made available to the public in compliance with the Texas Open Records Act.
As a department of the City of Austin, Austin Energy is an Equal Opportunity Employer and follows all City hiring practices.
For more information or SUBMIT YOUR PDF RESUME:
Patrick Prouse - Senior Executive Recruiter
Mycoff Fry Partners LLC
(720) 201-1828 cell
pprouse@mfpllc.us
www.mfpllc.us
