EPB leaders
Since its creation in 1938, the Electric Power Board of Chattanooga has only had six leaders.* S. R. Finley – 1938-1963* George Parker – 1963-1964* C. B. Johnson – 1964-1971* John S. McQueen – 1971-1982* Ken Baxter – 1982-1996* Harold E. Depriest – 1996-2016
Harold DePriest, the EPB head who led the city-owned electric utility to gain global acclaim as the world’s fastest internet provider and one of the best-rated customer service utilities in America, is retiring next month.
DePriest announced today he will step down at the end of August as CEO of Chattanooga’s Electric Power Board, which he first joined as a junior engineer in 1971. The 67-year-old engineer is only the sixth leader of EPB since its creation by the city of Chattanooga in 1938 as one of TVA’s biggest power distributors.
During his two decades as head of EPB, DePriest more than doubled company revenues and expanded the utility from an electric monopoly to a competitive telecommunications provider, electricity supplier and key player in Chattanooga’s emerging innovation economy.
The EPB board has yet to designate a successor to DePriest as CEO. But David Wade, a 33-year engineer at EPB, was named president and chief operating officer in February and is expected to move into the top job at the utility this fall.