Industry Veteran with Decades of Experience
Most recently Served as President and Chief Executive
Officer of Berkshire Hathaway Energy
LAS
VEGAS, Dec. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Southwest
Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SWX) ("Southwest Gas" or the
"Company") today announced that its Board of Directors has
appointed William J. ("Bill") Fehrman as President and Chief
Executive Officer of Centuri Group, Inc. ("Centuri"), effective
January 12, 2024. Mr. Fehrman
succeeds Paul Daily, who previously
announced his intention to retire.
Mr. Fehrman brings decades of utility operation leadership
experience, including most recently having served as President and
Chief Executive Officer of Berkshire Hathaway Energy. During his
tenure he drove significant financial growth and implemented key
initiatives to enhance customer service and position the business
for long-term success. Mr. Fehrman also led MidAmerican Energy
Company and Nebraska Public Power District as President and Chief
Executive Officer.
"Bill is a proven leader with decades of experience in the
utility and energy industry along with an expansive network of
relationships and we're pleased to welcome him at such an important
time in Centuri's history," said Karen
Haller, President and Chief Executive Officer of Southwest
Gas. "He has a long track record of delivering strong financial
performance and driving operational excellence at world-class
companies. His operational and financial expertise will be
extremely valuable as we advance our efforts to separate Centuri
into a stronger, standalone company and maximize value for
Southwest Gas stockholders."
"It is an honor to be appointed to lead Centuri as it enters its
next chapter as a public company," said Bill Fehrman. "Working at Berkshire Hathaway
Energy and MEC put me on the front lines of building utility
infrastructure. Joining Centuri represents an opportunity to
continue to develop utility and industrial assets across the
company's customer base, and I look forward to working with the
Centuri team to drive further growth and success."
"I am proud of the broad offering, customer focus and commitment
to excellence that our team has become known for at Centuri," said
Paul Daily, retiring President and
Chief Executive Officer of Centuri. "I am confident that Bill is
the right individual to lead Centuri into the future and I look
forward to watching the team's continued success for years to
come."
Southwest Gas previously noted its intent to pursue an initial
public offering ("IPO") of newly issued shares of Centuri Holdings,
Inc. ("Centuri Holdings") in the spring/summer 2024.
About Bill Fehrman
Mr. Fehrman served as President, Chief Executive Officer and a
director of Berkshire Hathaway Energy (BHE), a subsidiary of
Berkshire Hathaway, which controls several locally managed
businesses that delivered low cost, safe and reliable service each
day to more than 12 million customers and end-users throughout
the United States, Great Britain and Alberta, Canada, from 2018 to 2023. In this
role, he drove significant financial growth of the company and led
the $9.4 billion acquisition of
natural gas pipelines from Dominion Energy in 2020. From 2007 to
2018, Mr. Fehrman served as President and Chief Executive Officer
of MidAmerican Energy Company (MEC), which was acquired by BHE in
1999. During his tenure at MEC, he created a new non-regulated
renewable energy business unit from the ground up with a focus on
developing solar and wind assets designed to serve regulated
utility customers. Mr. Fehrman also led MEC's $10.9 billion acquisition of NV Energy, Inc. in
2013. Mr. Fehrman served in a variety of other roles prior to this,
including Senior Vice President of Berkshire Hathaway Energy,
President and Chief Executive Officer of PacificCorp Energy and
President and Chief Executive Officer of Nebraska Public Power
District. Mr. Fehrman serves on the Celonis Advisory Board,
Dragos Board of Directors and the
Tetrad Corporation Board. He received a Bachelor of Science degree
in Civil Engineering from the University of
Nebraska and an MBA from Regis
University.
About Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc.
Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages
in the business of purchasing, distributing and transporting
natural gas, and providing comprehensive utility infrastructure
services across North America.
Southwest Gas Corporation is a dynamic energy company committed to
exceeding the expectations of over 2 million customers throughout
Arizona, Nevada, and California by providing safe and reliable
service while innovating sustainable energy solutions to fuel the
growth in its communities.
About Centuri
Centuri Group, Inc. is a strategic utility infrastructure
services company that partners with regulated utilities to build
and maintain the energy network that powers millions of homes and
businesses across the United
States and Canada. Centuri
is a subsidiary of Southwest Gas.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
Such statements include, without limitation, statements regarding
the Company's expectations or intentions regarding the future.
These forward-looking statements can often be identified by the use
of words such as "will", "predict", "continue", "forecast",
"expect", "believe", "anticipate", "outlook", "could", "target",
"project", "intend", "plan", "seek", "estimate", "should", "may"
and "assume", as well as variations of such words and similar
expressions referring to the future, and include (without
limitation) statements regarding expectations with respect to the
separation of Centuri and the Company's plans for an IPO of Centuri
Holdings. The Company can provide no assurances that an IPO and/or
separation of Centuri will occur on the expected timeline or at
all. A number of important factors affecting the business and
financial results of the Company could cause actual results to
differ materially from those stated in the forward-looking
statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, the
timing and impact of executing (or not executing) on strategic
alternatives, including the separation Centuri, the timing and
amount of rate relief, changes in rate design, customer growth
rates, the effects of regulation/deregulation, tax reform and
related regulatory decisions, the impacts of construction activity
at Centuri, the potential for, and the impact of, a credit rating
downgrade, future earnings trends, inflation, interest rates,
sufficiency of labor markets and similar resources, seasonal
patterns, current and future litigation, and the impacts of stock
market volatility. Factors that could cause actual results to
differ also include (without limitation) those discussed under the
heading "Risk Factors" and "Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure
about Market Risk" in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc.'s most recent
Annual Report on Form 10-K and in the Company's and Southwest Gas
Corporation's current and periodic reports, including our Quarterly
Reports on Form 10-Q, filed from time to time with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission. The statements in this press
release are made as of the date of this press release, even if
subsequently made available by the Company on its website or
otherwise. The Company does not assume any obligation to update the
forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, that may be
made from time to time, whether as a result of new information,
future developments, or otherwise.
For investor information, contact: Justin S. Forsberg, Vice President of Investor
Relations, Phone: (702) 364-3135, justin.forsberg@swgas.com. For
media information, contact: Sean Corbett, Manager, Corporate
Communications, Phone: (702) 876-7219, sean.corbett@swgas.com
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SOURCE Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc.
