Meridian Cooperative Names New CEO

(US and Canada) Meridian Cooperative announced that Christopher D. Haas will succeed Riley "RB" Sloan as Meridian's Chief Executive Officer, effective May 16, 2022.  Sloan, who has served as President and CEO of Meridian since 2013, is retiring. 

Haas is currently Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at ACES, an energy risk management service provider headquartered in Carmel, Indiana. At ACES, Haas has overseen physical and cyber security, telecommunications, software development, data analytics, project management and customer integration, North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) compliance, analytical portfolio modeling, physical fuels trading, meteorology services and operational forecasting for solar and hydro generation, battery storage, power and natural gas prices, and demand across ACES' four offices.

"Utilities are facing change at a more rapid pace than ever. Meridian is committed to anticipating these changes and delivering innovation that transforms the utility customer experience. Chris' background and experience across many facets of our industry give him a deep expertise that will undoubtedly help guide Meridian into a new era," said Meridian's Board Chairman, Tom Stackhouse. "He has a long history of serving electric cooperatives and public power entities. Just as importantly, Chris embodies the cooperative spirit and shares our company values," he adds.

"The future of Meridian is bright," shares Haas. "As we continue to practice the stewardship modeled by RB, we will rely on our innovative team to imagine the future and elevate our customer experience."

ACES' President and CEO, Mike Steffes, commented, "Chris Haas joined ACES in 2000 as one of the first Information Technology employees at ACES. He was integral in creating ACES' foundation of people and systems, and providing an engine for our company's growth and success. Chris established himself as an effective leader early in his tenure at ACES and has been a tremendous asset to the company. The structures and systems he established and people he has mentored and helped develop has been instrumental in setting ACES up for success in serving our members and customers. We wish him the best as he begins this new chapter in his career.”