Zpryme announced today that CPS Energy’s President & CEO, Paula Gold-Williams, has been selected as 2018’s “ETS Thought Leader of the Year.” Gold-Williams was chosen for the honor among a group of peers following voting by approximately 2,100 ETS alumni and participants. She will be recognized during a ceremony at Zpryme’s ETS18 on March 29, 2018, at 11:45 am at the W Hotel in Austin, Texas.

The “ETS Thought Leader of the Year” award honors an individual among the ETS community of thought leaders with an inventive, brave vision to inspire the global energy ecosystem. The award was presented to ComEd President and CEO, Anne Pramaggiore, last year; former CPS Energy President & CEO, Doyle Beneby, in 2016; and University of Minnesota Professor and IEEE Chairman, Dr. Massoud Amin, in 2015, the award’s inaugural year.

Gold-Williams, along with a group of other industry peer nominees, were first identified by the ETS18 Advisory Committee and Zpryme staff before the voters made the ultimate decision.

“I am beyond honored,” said Gold-Williams. “To be part of this group of ETS winners and to be voted by industry peers, humbles and excites me for the future of CPS Energy, the dynamic energy industry we operate in, and the great San Antonio metropolitan community we serve. Our team works 24/7/365 to ensure reliability and enhanced customer experiences for all. This award is a testament to the “People First” philosophy that’s embraced by all the 3,100 women and men who work every day to enable our customers to achieve their dreams.”

Gold-Williams leads CPS Energy, which is in the top tier of all energy utilities in the nation, serving 804,000 electric and 343,000 natural gas customers in Greater San Antonio. She joined the company in 2004 after holding various positions in several San Antonio businesses, including Regional Controller for Time Warner Cable and Vice President of Finance for Luby’s, Inc. Prior to her current appointment in 2016, she served as CPS Energy’s Group Executive Vice President – Financial & Administrative Services, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) & Treasurer since 2008. She also served in other capacities such as Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and Controller.

Under Gold-Williams’ leadership, CPS Energy is among the top public power wind energy buyers in the nation and number one in Texas for solar generation. It has maintained its AA+ credit rating, one of the best in the industry. The company was also named “Residential Customer Champion” (electric and gas utilities) for all combined utilities in the Southern U.S., as well as ranked 1st as the Most Trusted Brand for a combined utility in the U.S. Southern Region in 2017 by Market Strategies International (MSI).

CPS Energy has significantly invested in a wide-range of conservation and energy efficiency programs for its customers, believing that constant innovation and expansion of value-added products enables customers to control and manage their energy usage. Its Save Tomorrow Energy Plan (STEP) looks to reduce its community’s demand for electricity by 771 megawatts (MW) – the output of a large power plant – by 2020. Additionally, as part of San Antonio’s New Energy Economy (NEE), it’s investing in innovative technologies that will help customers use energy more wisely and lower their bills, create jobs and educational investments, leverage valuable economic development opportunities for its community’s future and protect the environment. CPS Energy is further evolving its business model and strategies to prepare for more complexities such as a deeper penetration of distributed generation, electric vehicles, energy storage and customized smart city solutions.

“The impact Paula and CPS Energy have on San Antonio is changing the national conversation about how utilities, cities and communities must collaborate to achieve long-term and shared prosperity,” said Zpryme’s Co-Founder and CEO Jason Rodriguez. “Zpryme and the broader ETS community could not have chosen a better champion and thought leader for bold energy transformation.”

ETS18 will take place March 26 – 29 at Austin’s ACL Moody Theatre. For more information, to purchase badges or see a list of participating thought leaders, please visit www.ets18.co.

About ETS18

What’s less human than digital, but what’s more human than dreaming? These contradictions come together as we dream of a world blanketed by sensors, communications, data and autonomous systems to deliver greater reliability, efficiency and sustainability. But what will it take to really make this dream happen? And when will we arrive? Furthermore, what do these changes mean for humans? For energy? Is it good? And what do they mean for relationships between customers and their utilities?

Join us on March 26 – 29 in Austin, Texas to celebrate five years of ETS as we explore the human journey to make the world digital, as well as the digital transformation that utilities and their leaders are embarking on. For more information, visit www.ets18.co.

About Zpryme

Based in Austin, Texas, Zpryme is a research-based firm with agency-geared services focused on energy. Based on the creative direction of our associates, Zpryme produces influential research and events that challenge the status quo and marketing solutions for fully-immersive brand experiences. For more information, visit www.zpryme.com.