As she began a new role with Atlanta Gas Light, Suzanne Sitherwood was given a monumental task: converting the utility’s paper maps and diagrams into a technology platform to enable geospatial asset management.
When a hired consultant couldn’t figure it out, Sitherwood was asked to tackle the job. Her first step was to ask for a whiteboard and a team. Marker in hand, working with others, she began by mapping out the additional teams needed and the resources available, then shifting them to the right places to get the work done. Within two years, the group had accomplished the task, leaving Sitherwood energized and asking, “What else do we get to address?”
That very concept of understanding the issue, convening people and building teams, and mapping the critical path to success continues to be a hallmark of her leadership approach.
“Gathering a group of diverse individuals who work together to clearly articulate a challenge and create solutions is rewarding work,” said Sitherwood, who left AGL as its president in 2011 and has served as CEO of Spire for the past decade.
The other hallmark of her work is this: While that early project was about enabling the technology necessary for geospatial mapping, the real goal was connecting with people—through leading teams of diverse talent and by creating a deeper connection with customers. That purpose still drives her today. And for Sitherwood, who has served on numerous corporate and community boards and is an active leader in the St. Louis community, those personal connections also continue to energize her.
“Our industry has a significant amount of infrastructure from wellhead to burner tip, but it’s how we show up behind the meter that matters,” she said. “That’s where it becomes personal, and it’s where we connect people to the energy that fuels their lives. It’s all about being a champion for people—making sure they have affordable, reliable and clean energy every day.”
As Sitherwood takes on the role of 2023 chair of the American Gas Association, she’s continuing that journey of connection on a national stage—and using her energy to help educate industry investors, create experiences that exceed the evolving expectations of tomorrow’s natural gas customers, influence policy that enables those experiences to thrive, and share the story of the value of natural gas.
A self-described “military kid,” Sitherwood lived at a different U.S. military community about every two years of her childhood with her father, James, a chief petty officer; her mother, Mary, an artist; and her two siblings. At home, with her mother, she learned how to envision a different kind of world, albeit on canvas, and as she periodically tagged along with her father during his work, she absorbed his enthusiasm for organizing teams and equipment to complete a mission.
It was the Vietnam War era. Though the war was far away in physical distance, it felt quite close. “The Vietnam era put a lot of reality into my world as a young person,” she said. “This type of experience begins to define how you think and feel about what’s going on in the world and what your place is in it.”
Part of that might have translated into Sitherwood figuring out how she could personally make an impact. In college, as an industrial engineering major who minored in organizational design and behaviors, she got the training she needed to effectively organize people in order to create specific results and outcomes—much as her father did.
College was also when Sitherwood first connected with AGL. She attended Southern College of Technology—now Southern Polytechnic College of Engineering and Engineering Technology at Kennesaw State University—in Marietta, Georgia, on a partial scholarship, but she still needed a job to help pay the bills. So, Sitherwood joined a co-op program, working during the day and taking classes at night. She was assigned to AGL as a corrosion tech, taking cathodic protection readings at residential meters. “I showed up at Atlanta Gas Light company’s headquarters, which was basically a field operations area. I saw barbed wire fences, trucks and people in uniform, and I was right at home,” she said.
Life on a military installation is all about the people, and at AGL, Sitherwood discovered that the people are also what she enjoys most about the energy industry. “The energy industry is on a journey,” she said. “It’s continued to change, but then again, the foundational pieces remain the same. We’re still highly connected to communities and to customers. We provide the energy that warms people’s homes, drives business and growth, supports communities and their needs, and fuels the economy at the local, state and national levels. That energizes me—and it energizes the people who work here, too.”
When AGL offered her a job after graduation as a field engineer, Sitherwood accepted it and became the first woman in that role at the utility. After the success of the geospatial mapping project, Sitherwood saw her career mirror her father’s; every couple of years, she moved to a new role, along the way figuring out solutions to help grow the company and solve problems for customers.
She soon became the utility’s first female vice president of engineering, and she was the first woman to work in its construction and environmental space and serve as senior vice president of gas operations for AGL Resources. Then she was tapped as AGL’s president, a role she held for seven years. “My aspirations were not around a title,” she said. “My aspirations were about working with people, creating the right outcomes for customers and making a positive difference through collaboration with multiple stakeholders.”
When the role of CEO at Laclede Gas, now Spire, came along, it gave her another opportunity to take on a big challenge. The previous CEO was retiring, and the utility’s board of directors decided to find someone who would lead a growth strategy. They found that person in Sitherwood.
True to form, one of the first things she did as Laclede’s CEO was set up a room with a whiteboard to map out a growth plan, figuring out the strategy, the organization, the talent and the necessary technology. Most importantly, Sitherwood spoke early and often with employees across the company to discuss plans for growth, answer questions and build their belief in and enthusiasm for the “world of possibilities for serving our customers and growing our business.”
It worked. Sitherwood has more than quadrupled Spire’s market value and increased its enterprise value more than sixfold, and it is now the fifth largest publicly traded natural gas company in the United States. Along the way, it acquired four additional natural gas utilities, built a 65-mile interstate pipeline, transformed its marketing and trading business, and developed natural gas storage facilities serving the western United States. Sitherwood also rebranded the company to Spire in 2016 to create a master brand that all 3,600 employees on the team could stand behind and believe in.
The concept behind the new master brand was simple: “Energy exists to help people.” And the brand is supported by Spire’s mission to “answer every challenge, advance every community and enrich every life through the strength of our energy” and its vision to “make the breakthroughs today that will energize tomorrow.” These are words that Sitherwood embraces.
The actions behind those words include Spire being one of the first natural gas utilities to stake its claim in sustainability, publishing its first corporate social responsibility report in 2019 as part of a commitment to measure and report on its CSR efforts. Today, Spire is on track to reduce emissions by 59% by 2025 and 73% by 2035.
Under Sitherwood’s leadership, Spire created its successful “Natural Gas Champions” program, an employee education and engagement program that’s aimed at providing employees with a better understanding of the industry, the value of natural gas and its role in the nation’s energy future. The program focuses on empowering employees to proactively engage in conversations about natural gas and respond to questions about Spire and its environmental commitment. It also prepares employees to talk with all kinds of people, whether that’s someone in local government, a customer or a neighbor they run into at the ballpark.
Spire has also launched an innovation center that focuses on advancing technology and operations with a primary goal of elevating the customer experience. (The word “customer” is deliberate, as Sitherwood and her team are laser-focused on understanding customer preferences and needs. It’s an important distinction for Sitherwood, who is quick to point out that customers are much more than simply “ratepayers.”) In the same spirit of Sitherwood working to innovate geospatial informatics at AGL, Spire’s innovation center brings together teams to understand and solve customer pain points.
“It’s up to us to make the business model work for our customers. The customer doesn’t sit at home saying, ‘I wish the gas company would do X, Y and Z,’” said Sitherwood. “In the industries that are leading the way in creating exceptional customer experiences, they’ve studied and asked who I am and how I use their products, and they know my preferences around related life activities. They’ve figured out what services may make daily living easier or more enjoyable for me, and they’ve created ways to serve me even better.”
She added: “As an industry, we need to focus on the question, ‘What do exceptional customer journeys look like?’ Personalizing and facilitating experiences that create real value for our customers and paving the way for policy that supports these goals—all of this is key.”
Sitherwood has served on AGA’s board for a decade, and most recently co-chaired the Carbon Neutral Study Steering Committee that produced the groundbreaking Net-Zero Emissions Opportunities for Gas Utilities study. When asked why she’s taking on the role of board chair now, Sitherwood replied, “It’s the perfect time.” She had worked with AGA President and CEO Karen Harbert when Sitherwood was serving as a member on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and Harbert was serving as president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Energy Institute. “Karen and I work well together, I respect the AGA team immensely and I want to support our industry in a bigger way,” she said.
Sitherwood’s focus for her year as chair includes supporting the work that Harbert, her team and utility CEOs across North America are already accomplishing—helping to drive policy that supports innovative solutions for companies to deliver affordable, reliable natural gas to homes and businesses. All of that comes down to protecting the people, preserving the planet and picturing the potential, three goals that were outlined as AGA’s Bold Action for a Clean Energy Future. “It’s the right focus, and it’s the right balance,” Sitherwood said.
Fit for the Job
About three years ago, Suzanne Sitherwood decided to make fitness a priority. She lives an active lifestyle, cycling and working with a fitness trainer, and she even began doing deadlifts (and has her sights set on doing pullups by spring).
After a year and a half of dedication, she’s pleased with her progress. It’s not about the numbers, she said, but “it’s about improving my stamina, pushing boundaries and learning more and more about what it means to be healthy.”
Staying healthy is part of her responsibility to her company, she said. “Being healthy also means my husband Carl and I have plenty of energy to run around with the grandkids,” she added.