VOORHEES, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- American Water Works Company Inc. (NYSE: AWK), the largest publicly traded U.S. water and wastewater utility company, has announced that effective April 1, 2013, Susan N. Story will become its chief financial officer. Story is succeeding Ellen Wolf, who announced her retirement in January 2013.<br /><br />"American Water is very pleased to have someone with Susan's talent and diverse background joining our company as CFO," said Jeff Sterba, president and CEO of American Water. "As the chief executive officer of both a well-respected energy company and a large support services organization, Susan has managed both the revenue and cost elements of a utility income statement for many years. Her depth of knowledge and experience overseeing complex financial systems, optimizing cost structures and strengthening internal controls will benefit our company and her strong customer-focused business approach will increase the capacity of American Water's management team."<br /><br />Story brings more than 30 years of utility experience and knowledge to American Water. She is currently executive vice president of Southern Company, one of America's largest generators of electricity serving both regulated and competitive markets across the southeastern United States. In this capacity, she sits on the company's management council and is president and CEO of Southern Company Services Inc., with responsibilities for functional support of all of Southern Company's subsidiaries. Previously, Story served as president and CEO of Gulf Power Company, a Florida subsidiary of Southern Company. She is also an independent director of Raymond James Financial, a diversified financial services company.<br /><br />"Susan is one of the energy sector's most seasoned and respected leaders," said Tom Fanning, president and CEO of Southern Company. "She has risen to the highest ranks of our company, due to her sharp focus on finance, operations and customer service. At Southern Company, we call these the ‘what's.' But equally important are the ‘how's' and Susan Story is world class at both. We wish her well."<br /><br />Story has also served as Southern Company's executive vice president of Engineering and Construction Services, where she had oversight for budgets and schedules of numerous combined cycle power plants and large environmental retrofit projects. Story began her career at Southern Company as a nuclear power plant engineer and had increasing responsibilities in operations, human resources, customer service, corporate real estate and supply chain.<br /><br />Story is actively involved in community and economic development efforts. She currently serves as the national chair for the Center for Energy Workforce Development (CEWD), and is on the boards of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Alliance to Save Energy (ASE). While in Florida, she was appointed to the Federal Judiciary Nominating Commission, the Florida Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) advisory council and the Task Force on Healthcare Accessibility and Affordability. Story was a political appointment to the Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission, required by Florida law. Members are tasked with reviewing the state's budget and expenditure processes, revenue needs and tax structure of the state. In addition, she was appointed chair of the Finance and Taxation Committee, which had responsibility for assessing the effects and appropriateness of financial structures of the state and its local governments.<br /><br />Story attended executive education programs at Duke University and Oxford University in England, and completed international business studies at Cambridge University and leadership studies at Harvard. She earned a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from Auburn University and an MBA from the University of Alabama in Birmingham. She completed additional post-graduate coursework in the Master of Finance program at the University of Alabama focusing on financial derivatives, and at the Birmingham School of Law focusing on torts and contracts.