US utility company NW Natural Holdings has promoted Megan Berge to be its next general counsel, replacing MardiLyn Saathoff, who is retiring next year.
Berge joined NW Natural Holdings as deputy GC and GC of its NW Natural Gas business back in March. She will take up her new role as GC on 1 January and will also serve as chief compliance officer.
Portland-based NW Natural Holdings owns several utility companies, including NW Natural Gas, NW Natural Water and NW Natural Renewables.
Justin Palfreyman, president and CEO of NW Natural Holdings, said: “Megan is highly respected in the industry and a valued strategic partner among the leaders at our company. Megan’s addition to our team reflects our legacy of thoughtful succession planning that I believe sets us apart and positions us well across our growing businesses.”
Berge originally joined NW Natural from Baker Botts, where she spent more than 18 years as an environmental attorney, latterly as a partner.
Saathoff, meanwhile, is retiring from the role after more than 17 years at the company. She initially joined in 2008 as chief governance officer and corporate secretary before taking on GC duties in 2015.
She will stay on at the company until April next year, serving out her tenure as chief legal officer and maintaining responsibility for regulation, business continuity and corporate security until her departure.
Palfreyman said: “MardiLyn has been a steadfast and trusted leader of the NW Natural companies for nearly two decades. She has had a tremendous impact on our organisation and played a critical role guiding the business through its evolution from a natural gas utility in the Pacific Northwest to what is now a diversified company with four distinct businesses operating across seven states.”
He added: “We are fortunate to have benefited from MardiLyn’s counsel and breadth of legal, business and regulatory expertise for so many years.”
In other US energy-related in-house moves, back in October, NuScale Power hired James Canafax as its second CLO in less than four months, while in September The Nuclear Company hired former Tesla lawyer Robert Harmon as its first CLO. And in May, US nuclear reactor business Terrestrial Energy hired Brian Romanzo as GC from REP’M Group ahead of its transition to become a publicly-listed company.
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