Michael Chesser, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Great Plains Energy and KCP&L

Michael Chesser joined the company in October 2003 as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer after a distinguished career in the utility industry that began at Baltimore Gas and Electric. He subsequently served as President and Chief Operating Officer at Atlantic Energy, Inc.; Chairman and CEO at Itron, Inc.; and President and CEO at GPU Energy, an electric utility serving New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Prior to joining Great Plains Energy, he was Chairman and CEO of United Water, which owns and operates several regulated water utilities along with its contract operations.

He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Tech; a Master of Business Administration in Finance from Loyola College, Baltimore; and is a graduate of the Advanced Management Program at Harvard University. He is a member of the Academy of Distinguished Engineering Alumni of Georgia Tech.

Mr. Chesser has taken a national role in the research and development of energy technologies as past chairman of the Electric Power Research Institute’s (EPRI) Board of Directors. He is currently a member of the board of directors of the Edison Electric Institute (EEI).

Mr. Chesser is very involved in the business community, serving as trustee of the Midwest Research Institute (MRI), and of the Committee for Economic Development (CED) in Washington, D.C. He also serves the CED as co-chair of the CED’s Subcommittee on Education and as a member of its Executive Committee, Policy and Impact Committee and Early Childhood Education Subcommittee.

Also active in the Kansas City area community, Mr. Chesser serves on the board of the Civic Council of Kansas City and the executive committee of the Economic Development Corporation. He is chairman of the Partnership for Children and a trustee of the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He also serves on the Early Learning Leadership Board of the Mid-America Regional Council, and is a member of the Kansas Business Education Partnership.