Thomas A. (Tom) Fanning is chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Southern Company, America’s premier energy company. Elected by the board of directors in July 2010, Fanning became president of Southern Company in August 2010 and assumed the additional responsibilities of CEO and chairman in December 2010.
Fanning has worked for Southern Company for more than 35 years and has held 15 different positions in eight different business units, including numerous officer positions with a variety of Southern Company subsidiaries in the areas of finance, strategy, international business development, and technology. Most recently, Fanning served as chief operating officer, where he was responsible for Southern Company’s generation and transmission, engineering and construction services, research and environmental affairs, system planning, and competitive generation business units. Fanning also was responsible for leading Southern Company’s efforts on business strategy and served as a director of Southern Nuclear, Southern Company’s nuclear plant operating company.
Fanning previously was the company’s chief financial officer, where he was responsible for the accounting, finance, tax, investor relations, treasury, and risk management functions. In this role, he served as the chief risk officer and had responsibility for corporate strategy. Prior to assuming the role of chief financial officer, Fanning was president and CEO of Gulf Power.
Fanning serves as chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and chairman of the Edison Electric Institute. He is on the Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business advisory board, the board of trustees for the Georgia Tech Foundation, the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations board of directors and the World Association of Nuclear Operators - Atlanta Centre governing board. He also serves on the board of directors for Vulcan Materials Company, and is a member of the Business Roundtable.
Fanning is a co-chair of the Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council, which serves as the principal liaison between the federal government and the electric power sector to protect the electric grid from threats that could impact national security. Fanning also is a member of the international advisory board of the Atlantic Council, which promotes constructive leadership and engagement in international affairs. Fanning earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in industrial management and also was awarded an honorary doctor of philosophy degree from Georgia Tech. His executive education includes programs at the International Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland, the Harvard University School of Business and the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.