While the Board of Trustees ultimately provides oversight of CPS Energy, the continued performance and prosperity of the utility lies with the our senior executive team and staff. CPS Energy, under the leadership of the Chief Executive Officer, follows resolutions and policy decisions made by the Board and provides Trustees with timely and accurate information to allow them to make sound decisions for the utility.

Meet the Executive Team:

Doyle Beneby
President and Chief Executive Officer

President Doyle Beneby is President and Chief Executive Officer of CPS Energy, the largest municipal electric and gas utility in the nation.

A veteran of the energy industry with more than 25 years of experience, Beneby has expertise in many facets of the electric and gas utility industry including strategic planning, generation and delivery operations and asset acquisition.  More 

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Jelynne LeBlanc Burley
Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer

Jelynne LeBlanc Burley is charged with overseeing CPS Energy’s corporate support services functions including human resources, facilities, procurement, and information technology. She joined CPS Energy in 2008 after 24 years in local municipal government.  Before leaving the City of San Antonio, Burley served as Deputy City Manager, assisting in the day-to-day management of 12,000 employees and providing oversight of an operating budget and capital budget of more than $2 billion.

Paula Gold-Williams
Executive Vice President
and Chief Financial Officer

Paula Gold-Williams was named Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in 2008 after serving as chief administrative officer and controller.  She joined CPS Energy in 2004 after holding various positions in several San Antonio businesses, including regional controller for Time-Warner Cable and vice president of finance for Luby's, Inc. She is a Certified Public Accountant.

Cris Eugster
Executive Vice President
and Chief Strategy and Technology Officer

As Chief Strategy and Technology Officer, Cris Eugster is charged with helping transform CPS Energy from a successful conventional power company to a utility focused on sustainable energy development. This endeavor can be accomplished through increased use of renewable energy, energy efficiency and other programs that follow CPS Energy's Vision 2020 long-term strategic planning initiatives.

Carolyn E. Shellman
Executive Vice President
and General Counsel

Carolyn E. Shellman joined CPS Energy in 2006 and currently serves as Executive Vice President and General Counsel for CPS Energy. Before coming to CPS Energy, she was a partner with two firms in Austin and Dallas that focused on regulated industries and governmental relations. She worked for five years in various positions at the Public Utility Commission of Texas. Shellman is a member of the State Bar of Texas and the State Bar of Oklahoma.

Frederick A. James
Senior Vice President
of Energy Delivery Services

Frederick A. James, a CPS Energy employee since 1982, oversees system operations, customer reliability, electrical engineering and technical services, system planning and asset management, construction and maintenance of the electric transmission and distribution systems.  He held a variety of leadership positions in energy delivery services before being appointed Interim Senior Vice President in Dec. 2010.

Richard Peña
Senior Vice President
of Energy Development

Richard Peña oversees all of the utility's fuels, marketing, and energy market operations as well as construction of the Spruce 2 coal plant. He also is charged with maintaining CPS Energy's investment in the South Texas Project Nuclear Facility, Units 1 and 2. Peña joined CPS Energy in 1983 and has held a variety of leadership positions, including Vice President of Gas Systems and Vice President of Fossil Generation, within the organization.

Maria Koudouris
Senior Vice President
of Customer Service
and Gas Delivery

As Senior Vice President of Customer Service and Gas Delivery, Maria Koudouris oversees customer call center and customer service centers, management of commercial accounts, meter reading and field collections, and the Casa Verde SA weatherization program. She has been with CPS Energy since 1999, serving in a variety of positions specific to contract services and procurement. In 2009, she led the utility's creation of Casa Verde SA, which provides weatherization services to low-income families.

Frank T. Almaraz
Vice President of
Corporate Development
& Planning

As Vice President of Corporate Development and Planning, Frank Almaraz oversees CPS Energy's Integrated Resource Plan which forecasts the utility's long-term generation needs. His team also is responsible for the deployment of new products and programs and the evaluation of new business opportunities for the utility. Almaraz joined CPS Energy in 2011 as Senior Director of Energy Strategy and Planning after serving in various executive roles at Energy Future Holdings in Dallas.

John Benedict
Vice President of
Business Operations

As Vice President of Business Operations, John Benedict is responsible for integrating the enterprise and unit business plans with CPS Energy's corporate budget. He joined the utility in 2006 after 30 years in management of strategic planning, engineering and operations functions at BellSouth (now part of AT&T).  He also has served as Strategic Planning Manager in Financial Services and Director of Resource Planning in Energy Delivery Services.

Lisa Lewis
Vice President of
Communications
& Media Relations

Lisa Lewis is Vice President of Corporate Communications & Media Relations, internal and external communications, corporate responsibility, branding and social media. Lisa joined CPS Energy’s Marketing team in 2001, and has managed advertising, internal communications and public relations.  Before joining CPS Energy, Lisa worked in the advertising industry with service-industry clients from healthcare to transit.

Rudy Garza
Vice President of
External Relations

Rudy Garza oversees CPS Energy’s federal and state legislative agenda and provides outreach to city governments in San Antonio and suburban cities in our service territory. Before joining CPS Energy in 2012, Garza served as Assistant City Manager and as Intergovernmental Relations Director in Corpus Christi. He also worked for TXU Corporation in Dallas for 13 years.

Les Real
Vice President of
Human Resources

Les Real leads all aspects of CPS Energy’s human resources efforts, including employment, compensation, benefits, organization development and employee relations. He joined CPS Energy with 30 years of HR experience, most recently serving as senior director of labor and employee relations at Greyhound Lines. The Florida native also has served in leadership positions at ACI World Wide, Fiserv DBS, FMC Corporation and Federal Express.