AE general manager search begins

City Manager Marc Ott announced his pick for interim Austin Energy general manager and kicked off a nationwide search for a new, permanent manager in one fell swoop Thursday. Ott has appointed Mark Dombroski, AE senior vice president and CFO, as the interim general manager to replace outgoing GM Larry Weis. He has also brought on Mycoff, Fry & Prouse to lead the executive search to fill the vacancy, with preliminary plans to screen the first round of applicants in early March. In a memo to City Council and Mayor Steve Adler, Ott explained, “Since we have developed a strong leadership team at Austin Energy, I have decided that the Interim General Manager should come from within the Austin Energy team. With an ‘in-house’ Interim GM we will maintain as much continuity during this transition period as possible. That being said, I believe that any one of the remaining members of the AE executive team could step in to temporarily fill the General Manager role. I’ve considered each executive for this interim position. Each would bring a different perspective and focus. As you know, during this transition period we will be focused on a cost of service study and, along a parallel path, preparing an associated budget reflecting potential rate changes resulting from the study.”