Don Gulley has been named the next president and chief executive officer of Big Rivers Electric Corporation. Gulley will assume the role on January 8 and will succeed Bob Berry upon his retirement.
Berry is retiring from Big Rivers after a 43-year career with the cooperative and 9 years serving as CEO.
Gulley has served as President and CEO for the last 10 years at Southern Illinois Power Cooperative (SIPC), a generation and transmission (G&T) cooperative based in Marion, Illinois. SIPC is owned by 7 member-owner distribution cooperatives with $700 million in assets and a generation portfolio consisting of coal, gas, hydro, and renewables. The cooperative also owns and operates 1,100 miles of transmission lines.
Gulley has more than 35 years of diverse utility management experience working for regulated and merchant investor-owned utilities (IOUs), as well as G&T cooperatives.
The Big Rivers Electric Board conducted an extensive, nationwide CEO search to replace Berry.
“Berry’s tenure brought positive change to our company,” said Big Rivers Electric board chairman Wayne Elliott. “When he took over in 2014, Big Rivers was on the brink of bankruptcy, and today, Big Rivers is one of the highest-performing G&Ts in the country. We have regained our investment-grade credit rating, and we have successfully landed some significant economic development projects across our members’ service territory. Don has the full support of the board, and we are excited that Don has decided to join our company. Don is enthusiastic about joining Big Rivers, and he and his wife are looking forward to making Owensboro their home.”
Gulley currently sits on several industry boards. He serves as Chairman of the Board for both ACES, a national energy management organization, and the National Renewables Cooperative Organization (NRCO). Gulley is also a member of the Executive Committee at Prairie State Generating Company. He has previously served as the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) Member Representative for the National G&T Managers Association.
