February 2010 Vol. 237 No. 2

Business Meetings & Events

AGA President and CEO David N. Parker Announces Retirement

David N. Parker, president and CEO of the American Gas Association (AGA), announced Feb. 17 that he will retire from AGA at the end of 2010. Parker told the board that his retirement is part of a transition process that he initiated in 2007 to ensure that AGA continues to have a strong leadership team going forward.

As part of that transition, Parker announced that two AGA senior staff members are taking on new responsibilities.

Paula Gant, promoted to senior vice president, Policy and Planning, will develop and manage AGA’s policy and regulatory agenda. Laura Sheehan has been promoted to senior vice president, Public Affairs, where she will oversee AGA’s advocacy and government affairs. In addition, Kyle Rogers, AGA’s chief liaison to NARUC, has been promoted to vice president.

“It has been a wonderful 13 years,” Parker said. “I am extremely proud of all that the AGA team has accomplished. When I became president in 1997 I pledged that we would raise our voice, increase our visibility and provide outstanding value to the membership, and I believe we have succeeded in all three of those goals. On Capitol Hill and at the agencies that regulate our industry, AGA is considered an honest broker, a reliable partner and a knowledgeable source of information on all issues of importance to the natural gas utility.”

In the wake of Parker’s announcement, AGA Chairman Robert Skaggs appointed AGA First Vice Chairman John W. Somerhalder to form a search committee to identify a successor. “The AGA board is truly saddened to be losing such an outstanding leader,” Skaggs said. “Dave has made AGA a force to be reckoned with in Washington and his ability to bring different groups together to form alliances and partnerships may be his greatest legacy.”