Alliant Energy Corporation announced on November 18 that chief operating officer Eliot Protsch will be retiring from the company effective January 2, 2010, after more than 31 years with the company.
Protsch served in various financial roles, including assistant treasurer at Wisconsin Power and Light Company, an Alliant Energy company, between 1978 and 1985. From 1985 through the merger that formed Alliant Energy in 1998, Protsch held various operational positions, ultimately serving as senior vice president for customer operations, engineering and sales. Upon closing the merger in 1998, Protsch was named president of Interstate Power and Light Company, an Alliant Energy company, and executive vice president for energy delivery of Alliant Energy. In 2003, Protsch was named senior executive VP and chief financial officer of Alliant Energy, a post he held through early 2009 when he became chief operating officer.
"Eliot has placed his mark on Alliant Energy over his many years of service," said Bill Harvey, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Alliant Energy. "He has always been a champion of our customers and employees. He was instrumental in the successful consummation of our three-way merger and related integration of the companies that today comprise Alliant Energy."
"During his years as CFO," Harvey continued, "he and his finance team added great value to our shareowners as we transitioned the business and balance sheet to what it is today. On behalf of our customers, employees and shareowners, I thank Eliot for his considerable contributions."
"I am thankful for the opportunities that Alliant Energy has afforded me over the years," Protsch remarked. "It is difficult to express my deep pride in the talented and dedicated employees that I have been privileged to work with during my career with the company. While I very much look forward to this new chapter of my life, I know that I will miss the fine people at Alliant Energy, and have great confidence in the company's leadership going forward."
Alliant Energy is an energy-services provider with subsidiaries serving approximately 1 million electric and over 400,000 natural gas customers. Providing its customers in the Midwest with regulated electric and natural gas service is the company's primary focus. Alliant Energy, headquartered in Madison, Wis., is a Fortune 1000 company.