Mr. Les Gombik reports

CALDWELL RELEASES LANDMARK WHITEPAPER "UTILITIES AT THE EYE OF THE STORM," FEATURING INSIGHTS FROM NORTH AMERICA'S MOST INFLUENTIAL ENERGY LEADERS

The Caldwell Partners International Inc. has released Utilities at the Eye of the Storm: how future-ready leaders can guide the sector through physical, digital and economic convergence, a new, in-depth white paper written by Les Gombik, managing partner at Caldwell. The report assembles a rare collection of perspectives from senior executives across the North American utility, energy and infrastructure landscape, offering an unparalleled view into the pressures and opportunities reshaping the grid.

The publication features direct insights from leaders at organizations including Hydro One, Toronto Hydro, Capital Power, PG&E, Enmax, Superior Plus, Silfab Solar, BHE Transmission, Spark Power, Valard Construction, EllisDon, IEEE PES, PwC Canada, and EnWave -- a broad and high-profile cross-section of the industry. Together, these voices warn that utilities have entered a decade defined not by incremental change but by converging systemic disruption.

A sector undergoing its fastest transformation in generations

The white paper outlines six forces now reshaping the sector simultaneously, including artificial-intelligence-driven load growth, cyber risk escalation, climate-driven grid stress, geopolitical trade shifts, reindustrialization and accelerating decarbonization. This convergence, the report noted, means utilities can no longer operate under assumptions of stability.

Executives interviewed for the paper underscore the magnitude of the moment.

"The electricity industry is undergoing one of the most foundational transformations in its history. ... Leadership teams must be able to anticipate change, embrace complexity and evolve more quickly than ever," said Jana Mosley, president and chief executive officer of Toronto Hydro.

"The utility industry is undergoing the most significant transformation in its history. As leadership navigates these complex challenges and opportunities, the customer must be at the centre of every decision," said Ed Rihn, chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway Energy Montana, BHE Canada and BHE U.S. Transmission.

"Never before have so many megatrends been impacting the utilities sector simultaneously," said Mark Poweska, president and chief executive officer of Enmax.

"This moment requires clarity of purpose and the discipline to invest ahead of the curve. ... Reliability is becoming a new form of currency," said Allan MacDonald, president and CEO of Superior Plus.

"Extreme weather and global energy demand require us to rethink how we plan, partner and build the work force of the future," said Shay Bahramirad, vice-president, of T&D electric engineering, at PG&E and president of IEEE PES.

Across organizations and geographies, leaders point to a single unifying theme: Traditional leadership models are no longer sufficient for the pace, volatility and complexity now defining utility operations.

Why leadership readiness matters now

"Utilities are standing at the epicentre of economic transformation, technological acceleration and climate stress," said Mr. Gombik. "This paper captures what we are hearing from CEOs and boards every day: The challenges are intensifying, and the leadership profile that carried utilities through the past decade will not carry them through the next. Our goal was to bring these voices together to illuminate what future-ready leadership really looks like and where organizations must evolve to keep pace."

Mr. Gombik's work advising executives and boards across North America provides the foundation for synthesizing these wide-ranging executive perspectives with Caldwell's insights into leadership capability, governance and executive team design.

Introducing the leadership audit tool

The report debuts Caldwell's leadership audit tool, a nine-dimension framework that helps boards and executive teams evaluate their readiness across AI strategy, cyber maturity, climate resilience, capital allocation, commercial creativity and broader systemic risk fluency. The tool is designed to offer organizations a practical, structured way to identify gaps and accelerate capability-building in an era when, as the paper stated, "Systemic shocks are the norm, not the exception."

A call to action for utilities

The report concludes that the future of North American prosperity -- from digital infrastructure to industrial growth to national security -- increasingly runs through the grid.

As Carlyle Coutinho, CEO of EnWave, noted, "The industry requires a new type of energy -- one that is collaborative, adaptive and open to fresh perspectives."

With Utilities at the Eye of the Storm, Caldwell aims to accelerate that leadership evolution.

Availability

Utilities at the Eye of the Storm is available for download at the Caldwell website.

About The Caldwell Partners International Inc.

Caldwell is an elite executive search firm trusted by established and growth-focused companies alike. For more than 50 years, it has partnered with clients to design and build extraordinary teams. Its partners do not just place leaders -- they challenge assumptions, enable strategy and prioritize long-term fit. Built through repeat clients and referrals, Caldwell delivers clarity and results without arrogance or shortcuts. For clients seeking substance over scale, it is the confident voice that listens and leads.