Rod West is group president of utility operations for Entergy Corporation, where he is responsible for the operational and financial performance of Entergy’s five utility companies, including electric and natural gas distribution and customer service operations. He also oversees the company’s engagement with state and local regulators, economic development and customer centricity.
West leads Entergy’s grid modernization program to improve service reliability, automate system operations and transform the way the company serves its customers while reducing costs. By the end of 2021, Entergy is projected to complete the installation of advanced meters for its three million utility customers. The estimated $900 million investment is aimed at facilitating operational efficiencies and enabling faster outage response for customers.
Prior to his role as utility group president, West served as chief administrative officer and oversaw the company’s shared services functions supporting utility, nuclear and wholesale operations. He also led the development and execution of the company’s environmental strategy.
West joined Entergy in 1999 as senior regulatory counsel. He went on to serve as director of regulatory affairs and director of electric distribution operations of Entergy New Orleans. West was named president and CEO of Entergy New Orleans in 2007, where he led the company out of its post-Hurricane Katrina bankruptcy. He also oversaw the replacement of nearly 850 miles of damaged underground pipe, an initiative that was recognized by the Platts Global Energy Awards as the 2009 Global Infrastructure Project of the Year.
A member of the State Bar of Louisiana, West’s career prior to Entergy includes time as an attorney at Vial, Hamilton, Koch & Knox, LLP and Jones, Walker, Waechter, Poitevent, Carrere & Denegre, LLP.
West serves on the boards of directors for the Edison Electric Institute and the University of Notre Dame Hesburgh board of trustees. He currently serves on the College Football Playoff selection committee, previously served on the Louisiana State University System board of supervisors and is a past president of the Allstate Sugar Bowl Committee.
He earned his Juris Doctor from the Tulane University School of Law and received an MBA from Tulane University A. B. Freeman School of Business. West has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame, where he lettered three years for Coach Lou Holtz and the Fighting Irish’s 1988 National Championship football team.
Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company engaged in electric power production, transmission and retail distribution operations. Entergy delivers electricity to 3 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy owns and operates one of the cleanest large-scale U.S. power generating fleets with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, including 7,000 megawatts of nuclear power. Headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, Entergy has annual revenues of $10 billion and approximately 12,500 employees.
