Meet Our Leadership
When you combine the spirit of public service with private enterprise, you create a powerful force. Our members are helping to shape the future of water management by their actions, and a unique aspect of our industry is the cooperation between companies. One of our association's strengths is our ability to leverage members' professional relationships and national experience to solve challenges.
To sustain a resolute vision for the association, the NAWC is led by a president chosen each year by peers on our Board of Directors. And to set priorities for the year, the president works closely with NAWC's executive director, president-elect and vice president.
 NAWC President
Robert J. Sprowls
President and CEO
American States Water Company
Bob Sprowls has nearly 30 years of experience working for public utilities, utility holding companies and diversified affiliates of utility holding companies. He was appointed to his present position as President and CEO of American States Water Company (AWR) and each of its subsidiaries effective January 1, 2009. AWR provides water service to 256,000 customers throughout 10 counties in California through subsidiary Golden State Water Company and provides water and wastewater services at nine military bases in six states through subsidiary American States Utility Services. Sprowls joined AWR in 2004 as Senior Vice President of Finance and CFO.
Prior to joining AWR, Sprowls was with CILCORP Inc. for 21 years where he held various management positions including President of subsidiary Central Illinois Light Company, an electric and gas utility serving approximately 250,000 customers. He left CILCORP following its sale to Ameren Corporation.
Sprowls holds a bachelor’s degree from Knox College and his MBA from Bradley University. He is a member of the Southern California Leadership Council and is past chairman of the Illinois Energy Association.
 NAWC President Elect
Dennis W. Doll
Chairman, President and CEO
Middlesex Water Company
Dennis Doll serves as Chairman, President and CEO of Middlesex Water Company (MSEX), a company providing regulated water and wastewater utility services, plus contract operations services, primarily in New Jersey and Delaware. Doll joined Middlesex Water in 2004 as Executive Vice President and in 2006, he joined the Middlesex Board of Directors and was named President and CEO. Doll was elected Chairman of the Middlesex Board of Directors in May 2010. Under his leadership, Middlesex Water has received numerous honors in the areas of environmental stewardship, corporate governance and operational excellence.
Dennis has more than 25 years of experience in both regulated utility and utility contract operations and capital management. Prior to joining Middlesex, he served as Vice President & Controller of E’town Corporation, a publicly-traded company engaged in water utility operations. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting and Economics from Upsala College, and is a Certified Public Accountant.
In addition to his leadership role with the NAWC, Dennis is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Water Research Foundation and serves on the executive commitees of the New Jersey Utilities Association and Raritan Bay Medical Center. Doll is the immediate past Chairman of the Board of the New Jersey Utilities Association, comprised of the leaders of the state’s 16 major electric, gas, water and telecommunications companies.
NAWC Vice President
Walter Lynch
COO of Regulated Operations
American Water
Walter Lynch is president and chief operating officer of regulated operations for American Water. He previously served as the president of regulated operations, and assumed this new, expanded role in March 2010. In his current role,
Mr. Lynch is responsible for the successful performance of American Water’s 16 regulated states, serving approximately 1,100 communities, and for leading other operations such as engineering, maintenance, SCADA, the central lab, procurement and operational risk management. In addition, Mr. Lynch leads the company’s two national customer call centers, as well as the company’s business transformation effort. Mr. Lynch previously served as the executive vice president of Business Operations for the company’s Eastern Division. The division encompasses eight states stretching from Tennessee to New York and has approximately 2,600 employees. Prior to that, he was president of American Water’s Northeast Region. In this role, he oversaw more than 1,000 employees and was responsible for operations that provided more than 2 million people in New Jersey and New York with water and wastewater services. Mr. Lynch also served as president of American Water Products and Services Group. In this capacity, he led and developed 10 non-regulated business lines with more than $500 million in revenue and 1,500 employees.
A veteran of environment-related businesses for the past 20 years, Mr. Lynch originally joined American Water Services in 2001 as president of the Southwest Region, overseeing a 12-state region with multiple business lines.
Mr. Lynch has a broad range of expertise which includes engineering, operations, sales and marketing, regulatory compliance and business development. A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, he holds a bachelor’s in general engineering and attained the rank of Captain before his departure from the U.S. Army in 1990.ies.
|