The Alabama Power Company board of directors today announced it has named a new president and CEO.

The appointment of Jeff Peoples, the 12th person to lead the company, is effective immediately, according to a news release. Peoples also joins the board of directors as chairman.

Peoples, 63, succeeds Mark Crosswhite, who retired in December after eight years as the company’s leader.

“Alabama Power has been committed to serving our state for more than a century,” said Peoples. “It is an honor to lead this team and build upon its legacy of powering Alabama.”

The appointment of Peoples is just one of several Southern Company leadership changes announced today.

• Chris Womack, 64, has been appointed president of Southern Company and elected as a member of the Board of Directors — increasing the number of board members from 13 to 14, effective March 31.
• Thomas A. Fanning, 65, Southern Company’s current chairman of the Board, CEO and president, will become Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors upon Womack’s move into the role of CEO.
• Kimberly S. Greene, 56, has been named chair of the Board of Directors, CEO and president of Georgia Power.
• James Y. Kerr II, 58, has been named chairman of the Board of Directors, CEO and president of Southern Company Gas.
• Peter P. Sena III, 59, has been named president of Southern Company’s Southern Nuclear and remains as Chief Nuclear Officer.

With the exception of Peoples, all of the leadership changes take effect March 31.

“Each of Kim, Jeff, Jim and Pete has emerged as a proven leader with a strong track record of success and demonstrated skill working across the company. I expect each will flourish in their new position, further strengthening Southern Company’s deep management bench and bringing a fresh perspective to each of these businesses,” Fanning said in a news statement.

Peoples began his career with Alabama Power in 1984 as a chemical technician at Plant Miller.

He served in several positions of increasing responsibility in compliance, human resources, training, workforce development and technical field services. He served as executive vice president and chief administrative officer of Southern Company Gas and senior vice president of Operations Services for Southern Company Services.

Most recently, Peoples served as Alabama Power’s executive vice president of Customer and Employee Services, overseeing customer services, marketing and economic development strategy and operations, as well as the company’s six geographic business divisions.

In addition, he was responsible for the company’s labor relations, human resources, safety, wellness, health and disability management functions.

Peoples holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and biological science from Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee. He and his wife, Rhoda, have two daughters.

“It is an important time in our industry as the energy landscape continues to rapidly evolve and customers’ needs continue to change, and Southern Company is at the forefront of that evolution,” Womack said in the news statement.

“We’re building the future of energy, and I’m excited to continue playing a role in this new capacity. It is an honor to lead teams working in states across the country that are wholeheartedly dedicated to innovating and delivering both world class customer service and reliability to our customers. We’ve got a lot of important work ahead of us.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.