POWERGRAMS

24 GROUNDBREAKING EXECUTIVE RECOUNTS REMARKABLE STORY At the time of her retirement in 2020 as CEO of New Jersey- based American Water, Susan Story had long been recognized as a resourceful, innovative and highly effective business leader. Prior to her seven years with American Water, Story spent more than three decades rising through the ranks of the Southern Company system, culminating as president and CEO of Southern Company Services. Story was born in Kentucky, where her father, a U.S. Marine, was stationed. Both her parents were native Alabamians, so when her father left the Marine Corps, the family settled in Albertville. When Story graduated from Albertville High School, where she was president of her senior class and homecoming queen, her parents had few resources to help make her the first member of the Story family to attend college. Undeterred, Story enrolled at Snead State Community College, in Boaz. Even while working to pay her way through school, she finished the required two years of course work in 15 months. Transferring to Auburn University, she earned a degree in industrial engineering in 1982. "I give a lot of credit to my parents," Story said. "We didn't have much money when I was growing up, but they always told me I could do and be anything I wanted. They encouraged me to pursue my education. I learned my work ethic from them." Newly graduated from Auburn, Story was hired by Alabama Power, where she spent the first seven years of her career as an engineer at Farley Nuclear Plant near Dothan. She spent more than 15 years in various positions with Alabama Power, some of that between stints at Southern Company. Meanwhile, Story continued to pursue her passion for education, earning an MBA from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She also did postgraduate work in finance at the University of Alabama and spent a year attending classes at the Birmingham School of Law ("not because I wanted to be a lawyer," she said, "but because I wanted to learn more about torts and contracts"). As vice president of Real Estate for Southern Company in the mid-1990s, Story split her office time between Atlanta and Birmingham, but also traveled regularly throughout Georgia and Alabama. That reinforced her abiding affection for her home state. "I feel such a strong connection," Story said. "Alabama is a wonderful place, and the people are amazing. It's very special to me." Story's work with Alabama Power at the beginning of her career shaped her professional path. She credits the company and the people she worked with for cultivating a lasting dedication to communities and people. It helped Story view her evolving roles as more of a calling than a job. "When I came into the professional world, I wanted to work with like-minded people," Story recalled. "People who wanted to succeed, but also wanted to make a difference. Alabama Power was a place I was proud to tell people I worked for, and still am. It's a really important part of the story of my career." Story left Alabama Power for Southern Company Services in the late 1990s. In 2003, named president of Gulf Power, she became the first woman and the youngest chief executive to PROFILE By Mark Kelly

• Cover