Illinois American Water, a subsidiary of American Water, recently announced that Justin Ladner has been named president of Illinois American Water. Ladner will succeed Bruce Hauk, who has been named American Water’s president of Regulated Operations and Military Services Group.

Ladner joined American Water in Nov. 2018 as director of National Regulatory Affairs. In this national role for American Water, Ladner was responsible for developing and implementing strategies, practices and processes related to National Regulatory Affairs. He has served as the primary liaison between the company’s business units and its Regulatory Affairs teams, providing leadership and strategy to identify, develop, and implement best practices.

Before joining American Water, Ladner served as the governmental affairs and policy manager for Southern Power. In that role, he created and led the governmental affairs team with a focus on federal, regional and state legislative, and regulatory affairs. He also held several other positions at Southern Co. including project manager for the Integration Management Office, assistant to the executive vice president of Nuclear Development, and attorney for Southern Nuclear.

“Justin’s unique skill set includes legislative and regulatory experience, as well as legal, engineering, and operations expertise,” said Walter Lynch, chief operating officer at American Water. “We are confident he is the right fit and excited that he will be leading our talented Illinois team.”

Prior to joining Southern Co., Ladner was an associate attorney for Huie, Fernambucq & Stewart in Birmingham, Ala. He also worked for U.S. Steel as a metallurgical engineer. Ladner received his law degree, cum laude, from the University of Alabama School of Law, as well as a master’s and a bachelor’s degree in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering with honors from the University of Alabama.