Barcelo&Company
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Walt Bussells
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Walt Bussells has been an innovative leader and CEO in the Jacksonville community both in the business and public sector. Formerly the CEO of the JEA, he was for a year simultaneously the City's Chief Financial Officer re-tooling the financial practices of city government in Jacksonville. He has also served as a Managing Principal of Ergon Capital, leading investment research in the energy, transportation and retailing industries for this new U.S. equities, long/short hedge fund.
For the nine years ending in August of 2004 Walt led the JEA - Jacksonville's billion annual revenue utility for electric, water, and sewer services. As the CEO and Managing Director, Walt led strategy development and execution for North Florida's crown jewel utility system which grew at three times the national utility average growth rate for customers and sales with utility industry top decile productivity and customer satisfaction.
During his tenure,
he merged the City of Jacksonville’s water and sewer department in 1997 into the formerly all electric JEA and - through multiple acquisitions of other area water/sewer utilities while doubling the size of JEA’s water/sewer business and upgrading its bond ratings;
he led the building of seven new electric generating units costing $1.3 billion, including two units selected as “power plant of the year’ for the United States for 2003 by leading industry publications;
he kept the JEA's electric utility rates among the very lowest for public utilities in the United States;
he drove a billion-dollar entity that set records for customer satisfaction, workplace safety, productivity, and profitability;
he served as Chairman and Board member of national electric utility trade associations with extensive Federal and State legislative and regulatory involvement on industry issues;
he served as Chairman of the Large Public Power Council - a national consortium of the CEOs of the largest community-owned and operated electricity providers in the nation working the US Department of Energy and the US Environmental Protection Agency to streamline and modernize Federal regulations that serve as barriers to providing efficient and affordable electric power to all American consumers,
and in 1997 he founded and was elected by industry peers to be the first Chairman of The Energy Authority, a new public corporation providing wholesale electric and natural gas trading services in the Southeast and Midwest (which has grown profitably every year into a current $500 million annual revenue business.)
Prior to becoming the Managing Director, Walt served as Deputy Managing Director, Chief Financial and Administrative Officer, and held positions in Internal Auditing and Accounting.
He led the development and continuing refinement of innovative utility debt and investment strategy which has produced over $ 200 million in savings to date compared to traditional utility debt and investment management strategy; and
he led a $ 200 million acquisition of an ownership interest in an existing electric generating plant, which was immediately accretive to earnings.
Walt has been active in the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce, serving as Chair of the important Cornerstone economic development initiative and as the Chair of the United Way Board of Trustees and of the YMCA of Florida's First Coast. A native of Jacksonville, he graduated from the University of North Florida in 1973 with Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting after which he earned a designation as a Certified Public Accountant.
He has been honored as Leadership Jacksonville’s 2003 Distinguished Community Trustee and received JaxPride's 2003 Leadership Award and the University of North Florida Business School’s Distinguished Alumni Prime Osborne Award. In 1999 he received the West Jacksonville Rotary Club's Robert T. Shircliff Award for Outstanding service to the community.
Walt and his bride live in the historic Avondale area of Jacksonville and have a daughter Aimee.
Walt's community service has included the following:
Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce - Chair, Cornerstone economic development recruitment initiative
Chair, Education and Workforce Development
United Way of Northeast Florida - Chair
YMCA of Florida's First Coast - Chair
City of Jacksonville’s Task Force for Budgetary Efficiency - Chair
City of Jacksonville - Chair of Mayor John Peyton’s Transition Committee
Jacksonville University Board of Trustees - Member
Walt's professional affiliations include:
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