For more information, contact: Deb Mirasola at (608) 787-1378

La Crosse, WI— Dairyland Power Cooperative’s Board of Directors has named Brent Ridge as the organization’s next President and CEO. He will succeed Barbara Nick who is retiring July 17 and has led Dairyland for the past 5 ½ years.

“The Board is confident that Brent will be an asset to Dairyland’s cooperative membership as we continue to work for safe, sustainable and reliable power in our four-state service area,” said Ed Gullickson, Chair, Dairyland Board of Directors. “Brent is well-respected as an ethical and transparent leader. He will bring broad strategic, financial and operational expertise gained by working with cooperatives and public power utilities throughout his career.”

Brent comes to Dairyland with extensive leadership and utility operations experience from Energy Northwest (Richland, Wash.), where he worked since 2002. In his most recent role as Vice President, Corporate Services, and Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, his responsibilities included finance, treasury, enterprise risk management, asset management, human resources, supply chain, information services and energy services and development. He also served as Vice Chairman of the Corporate Nuclear Safety Review Board for Columbia Generating Station (Richland, Wash.)

“My family and I are excited to join the Dairyland family,” said Brent. “I’m honored by the opportunity to join such a strong member-based organization that has a great reputation for excellence and integrity. The community is a perfect fit for our family. I look forward to working with the entire team as we look to the future.”

Brent holds a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Idaho and an MBA from Regis University (Denver, Colo.) He also completed the Reactor Technology Course for Utility Executives at MIT, the Utility Executive Course at the University of Idaho and the Advanced Management Program at Harvard University.

Earlier in his career at Energy Northwest, Brent served as Asset Manager, Controller and Chief Risk Officer. He was also the manager of Construction and Maintenance Services, responsible for power plant modifications, outage and online major maintenance, facilities and commercial engineering.

Before joining Energy Northwest, Brent was a manager for a construction company specializing in municipal water treatment plants and industrial installations at U.S. military facilities.

Brent has been a very active community leader. He is a member of the Chancellors Advisory Council for Washington State University. He is a past member of the Tri-City Development Council Board of Directors, March of Dimes Board, United Way Board and former Chairman of the Board of Columbia Industries.

About Dairyland Power Cooperative: Dairyland, a Touchstone Energy Cooperative, was formed in December 1941. Headquartered in La Crosse, Wis., Dairyland provides the wholesale electrical requirements for 24 distribution cooperatives and 17 municipal utilities. These cooperatives and municipals, in turn, supply the energy needs of more than a half-million people in the four-state service area.

Today, the cooperative’s generating resources include coal, natural gas, hydro, wind, solar and biogas. Dairyland delivers electricity via 3,200 miles of transmission lines and 420 substations located throughout the system’s 44,500 square mile service area. Visit www.DairylandPower.com.