SJW Group (NYSE: SJW) today announced that its board of directors has appointed Thomas A. Hodge as vice president of business development, effective April 1. Hodge has also been appointed president of Texas Water Operation Services, LLC. He has been with SJW since 2002 and has led the company’s rapidly growing Texas subsidiary, The Texas Water Company (TWC), as president since 2007.
Hodge will be responsible for business development. In this role, he will lead the company’s acquisition and growth initiatives, building on SJW’s strong record of acquisitions with over 60% customer growth and nearly doubling of utility plant in the past five years.
Eric W. Thornburg, chair, president and CEO of SJW Group, stated, “Over his 21-year career at SJW and Texas Water, Tom has built a strong record of successful acquisitions and business development. As president of Texas Water, Tom has been a catalyst for our growth in Texas, quadrupling our service connections since 2007 through prudent acquisitions and organic growth. He is an accomplished leader who models our values of service while building relationships, successfully integrating acquisitions and driving results. We are eager for him to lead our business development initiatives across our national footprint.”
SJW will be launching a nationwide search for an individual to lead the regulated operations of TWC. The company serves more than 26,000 water connections and 900 wastewater connections between Austin and San Antonio, Texas, a region that includes three of the five fastest-growing counties in the United States, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Texas Water Operation Services, LLC is a nonregulated subsidiary of SJW in Texas that was formed to provide water and wastewater-related services and contract operations.
Both Hodge and his successor as president of TWC will report to Bruce A. Hauk, chief operating officer of SJW. Hodge will continue to serve as president of TWC until a successor is appointed. He will continue to be based in Texas and will be a resource for the future president of TWC to ensure a seamless transition.
Hodge has a B.S. in civil engineering from Carnegie-Mellon University and an M.S. in water resources engineering from Stanford University, and is a licensed professional civil engineer in California and Texas. He is a founding board member and current treasurer of the Texas Association of Water Companies, an affiliate of the National Association of Water Companies, and a past chair of the Canyon Lake Chamber of Commerce.
