Terry Bassham, Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer, Great Plains Energy and KCP&L

Terry Bassham was appointed president and chief executive officer of Great Plains Energy and KCP&L, effective June 2012.  This responsibility includes championing innovation and driving continuous improvement and process efficiency throughout the organization. He also oversees regulatory compliance with Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) rules, standards and requirements and serves on the Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Company’s board of directors.

Prior to being named to his current position, Mr. Bassham served as president and chief operating officer, where he focused on achieving Tier 1 performance in safety, operations and customer service.

Mr. Bassham served originally as KCP&L's executive vice president of finance & strategic development and chief financial officer and more recently as executive vice president - utility operations. He was instrumental in leading KCP&L through its comprehensive energy plan, an ambitious initiative that included building 100 megawatts of wind power, installing environmental retrofits at several generating facilities and constructing Iatan 2, an 850-megawatt coal-fired power plant. Mr. Bassham also helped transform KCP&L’s business through the sale of Strategic Energy and the acquisition of Aquila, which doubled the company's workforce and significantly increased its service territory.
 
Before joining KCP&L in March 2005, Mr. Bassham was executive vice president, chief financial officer and chief administrative officer for El Paso Electric Company (EPE) in Texas, where he oversaw the financial, treasury, and regulatory and administrative functions. He joined EPE in 1996 as general counsel with responsibility for legislative affairs, regulatory affairs and corporate governance.

Active in the Kansas City area community, Mr. Bassham serves as a board member of the Missouri Energy Development Association, Kansas City Symphony, the Guadalupe Center and United Way of Greater Kansas City. He is also a member of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, the Civic Council of Greater Kansas City, University of Missouri-Kansas City Bloch School of Business and Public Administration advisory council and Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art Business Council steering committee. In addition, he serves on the Commerce Bank advisory board.

Mr. Bassham holds a Bachelor of business administration degree in accounting from the University of Texas-Arlington and a Juris Doctor degree from St. Mary’s University Law School in San Antonio, Texas.