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NBU Board of Trustees announces retirement of CEO Paula J. DiFonzo

NBU NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 29, 2016

Contact: Gretchen Reuwer, NBU Public Affairs Manager, (830) 629-8486

NBU Board of Trustees announces retirement of CEO Paula J. DiFonzo

NEW BRAUNFELS—The New Braunfels Utilities Board of Trustees has announced that Paula J. DiFonzo, will retire from her position as CEO on January 31, 2017. DiFonzo will mark 35 years of service with NBU in June. She has served as CEO of the utility since 1994.

“The NBU Board of Trustees is grateful to Paula for her years of dedicated service to NBU and her commitment to creating the best municipal utility possible,” Board President Guadalupe Castillo says. “Her skilled leadership has kept NBU in a strong fiscal position that has enabled the utility to undertake long term capital programs needed to maintain the reliability of our services, provide extremely competitive rates, and to develop a strategic plan for addressing the electric, water, and wastewater needs of the New Braunfels well into the future. She has been an outstanding CEO. She has been a strong leader who has managed and grown the utility through challenges and transitions as NBU has responded to the changing needs of our community. We know that she has positioned the utility well for the transition to new leadership and a promising future.”

DiFonzo is CEO of NBU, the municipal utility managing the electric, water and wastewater systems for New Braunfels and much of Comal County, Texas. As CEO, she oversees the day-to-day operations, the hiring of employees and associated personnel issues, budget planning and capital plans to serve the needs of nearly 40,000 utility customers.

DiFonzo is a graduate of Texas State University with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Accounting. Currently, she serves as Immediate Past Chair of the American Public Power Association (APPA) Board of Directors. She is also a long-time member of the Texas Public Power Association (TPPA) Board of Directors, Chair of the Greater New Braunfels Economic Foundation, Chair of the Arrangements Committee for the Texas Legislative Conference, past Chair of Greater New Braunfels Chamber of Commerce, past President of the TPPA, and a past President of the Association of Wholesale Customers of the LCRA.

“The single most important act of a Board is to select the CEO,” Castillo says. “This process takes careful thought, must be given adequate time, and will occur only after the Board reaches consensus on the best candidate to continue leading NBU on the strategic path that has been developed. We will be enlisting the services of a search firm to find candidates for the position of CEO. We are seeking broadly and looking for the best.”

“I have been CEO for over 20 years and a part of the NBU family for nearly 35 years,” DiFonzo says. “I know this utility well and I care deeply about its future success. NBU is a great company with an enormously talented team of employees in place. I could not be more proud of our company’s successes in the areas of long term planning, strong financial status, and the dedication to improving quality of life for our customers and community. With the guidance of NBU’s Board of Trustees, I feel very confident the NBU will continue to provide outstanding electric, water, and wastewater service to our customers well into the future.”