Camden-based American Water Works Company announced that M. Susan Hardwick retired, effective May 14. She will be succeeded by John Griffith, currently president of American Water.
Hardwick joined American Water as CFO in 2019 as one of the utility industry’s most seasoned and respected financial experts. In February 2022, she was named President and CEO.
“On behalf of the American Water Board of Directors, I thank Susan for her tremendous leadership over the past six years,” Karl Kurz, chair of the American Water Board of Directors said. “Under her leadership as CEO, the company solidified its position as a top tier performer on earnings and dividend growth, increased its ten-year capital plan to $42 billion to support decades of needed infrastructure renewal, and led American Water’s efforts to help our country address water and wastewater challenges, closing over 100 acquisitions across 12 regulated states. She did all this while always living up to the company’s values.”
“John is an exceptional choice as CEO and he and the management team have the full confidence of the Board. John will continue American Water’s strong record of industry leadership and high performance,” Kurz continued. “Today’s news is a true reflection of our Board’s commitment to a robust succession plan to ensure American Water has a deeply experienced and strong leadership team for decades to come. The full leadership team is highly regarded, well experienced and will continue to serve all of American Water’s stakeholders well.”
Griffith was named president of American Water in July of 2024. He served as executive vice president and chief financial officer of American Water since 2022. In his role, Griffith was responsible for all aspects of financial management and strategy, including finance strategy and planning, treasury, accounting, enterprise risk and internal audit, supply chain, control functions, and business development.
Prior to joining American Water, Griffith served as a managing director in Bank of America Securities’ Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) group, leading the firm’s M&A practice for regulated utilities and renewable energy. Before joining Bank of America Securities in 2014, Griffith served as CEO of HighWave Energy, a start-up renewable fuels company. He also held multiple positions during a fourteen-year career with Merrill Lynch & Co., culminating as a Managing Director in M&A.
