Robinson recommended for appointment to SDCEA Board of Directors

At the SDCEA Board of Directors meeting October 26, the Director/CEO Nominating Committee announced their intention to recommend Michael Robinson to fill the electric cooperative board’s At-Large director vacancy.

If approved by the SDCEA board of directors at their monthly board meeting November 29, Robinson, a business consultant and former telecommunications executive, will be appointed to represent consumer-members as an At-Large board member, and will be seated on the board at SDCEA’s monthly meeting December 28.

Robinson describes his professional background as divided into two chapters.

The first half of his career was in the telecommunications industry where he led engineering and operations teams in the design and implementation of fiber optic, satellite, and wireless systems, both nationally and in several other countries.

The second half of his career has been as an executive business consultant specializing in leadership and team development focused on achieving consistent execution excellence of “doing the right things right, the first time, on time, every time,” Robinson said.

“I thoroughly enjoy helping teams achieve outcomes that they did not believe they were capable of.”

“The electrical energy industry is entering a period of extraordinary challenges and opportunities with respect to the emerging widespread adoption of EV’s and renewable energy technologies. This will require transformative strategies and flawless execution across the industry,” Robinson said.

“I want to help SDCEA succeed in these strategies, which as a rural electrical co-op, requires even more deft leadership, in part due to the characteristics of the markets they serve. I believe SDCEA has an extraordinary talent base and I am grateful to become part of that team,” Robinson said.

“I bring a lot of parallel learnings from both my telecom background as well as my consulting background. For much of my career I worked in the telecom business serving rural communities, and fully understand the macro-economics of serving rural communities with few customers per mile while investing significant capital in the plant required to serve them. I have also led technology transformation strategies that completely changed those economics over time. I believe this experience will be useful in helping SDCEA navigate its future,” Robinson said.

Robinson has lived in the Salida and Buena Vista area part-time for 12 years and full-time for 1.5 years. He is married to his high school sweetheart and has two children and four grandchildren. His son lives in Westminster. His daughter and her family live in Monument. He enjoys fly-fishing, woodworking, and plays the guitar.

SDCEA board member Suzy Kelly, one of two representatives of Chaffee/Lake County members, announced her intent to retire from her board position in November. In accordance with the SDCEA bylaws, the at-large director Joe Redetzke will fill the remainder of Kelly’s term. Robinson was appointed to fill the at-large vacancy created by Redetzke’s transfer.

Per SDCEA policy A-4, if an SDCEA director resigns more than eight months before the end of their term, the selection of a new director shall be carried out within three regular board meetings of the occurrence of said vacancy.

Notice of the vacancy was advertised in local papers allowing a minimum of four weeks for interested candidates to respond. Ultimately, four candidates submitted letters of interest and candidate disclosure and bio forms. The search committee reviewed the candidates’ submissions and determined all to be eligible, qualified, and willing to serve. Based on that determination all four candidates were offered and accepted the opportunity to meet with the committee for an interview on the afternoon of October 19. Three interviews were in person, and one was conducted remotely, via internet connection.

The search committee developed a list of roughly 9 questions, all of which were asked of each candidate. Candidates were also given the chance to ask the committee members questions. Each interview was conducted in 45-60 minutes. The committee discussed each candidate briefly after each interview. After all four interviews were completed, the committee reviewed the interviews, shared their perceptions of the candidates, discussed the benefits each could bring to the board, and arrived at a consensus on the best candidate for appointment. The committee unanimously recommended Robinson to the full board for approval.

 

Michael Robinson