American Water Names Cheryl Norton Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer

American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE: AWK), the largest publicly traded U.S. water and wastewater utility company, announced today that Cheryl Norton has been named Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer and Bruce Hauk has been named Deputy Chief Operating Officer effective Mar. 1, 2021.

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Cheryl Norton, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (Photo: Business Wire)

“We are so pleased to have Cheryl and Bruce take on these key leadership roles for American Water," said Walter Lynch, president and chief executive officer of American Water. "Building a strong talent pipeline within our organization is a key part of American Water’s success and both Cheryl and Bruce are the results of our succession efforts. Both have deep utility experience, a strong commitment to safety, a passion for excellent customer care and a collaborative approach to building high performing teams.”

As COO, Norton will be responsible for the successful performance of American Water’s regulated states, serving approximately 12 million people in more than 1,600 communities. She will also lead customer service across the company’s footprint, including two national customer service centers, as well as systemwide engineering, health and safety, and environmental and regulatory compliance.

Norton currently serves as senior vice president and Chief Environmental Officer of American Water and president of New Jersey American Water. American Water anticipates naming Norton’s successors as president of New Jersey American and Chief Environmental Officer in the near future.

As president of New Jersey American Water, Norton led a team of 800 employees serving approximately 2.7 million people. In this role, she reinforced and strengthened customer, regulatory and local government relationships and drove operational and financial results for New Jersey. Additionally, she served as senior vice president of the company’s Eastern Division, which included New Jersey, New York, Virginia and Maryland.

In December 2019, Norton expanded her role and was named American Water’s Chief Environmental Officer, overseeing environmental leadership and compliance across American Water’s regulated and market-based businesses.

Norton previously served as president of Missouri American Water for three years, and in the same role for Kentucky American Water for five years. Norton started her career with American Water in 1988 as a microbiology research technician at the company’s central laboratory in Belleville, Ill. She also served as the laboratory’s director and as Vice President of Operations for Illinois American Water.