Tom Kuhn: Michael Yackira

In honoring Kuhn with Public Utilities Fortnightly's highest award, named for the extraordinary industry leader of a hundred years ago — Owen Young — we salute the man behind the transformational "Power by Association." We do this not alone. What follows are the voices of a dozen of the industry's top leaders of the twenty-first century, about Kuhn's accomplishments, and the man himself. Including four utility Executive Chairs, three utility CEOs, four retired utility CEOs, and Kuhn's longtime key associate at EEI, David Owens.

PUF's Steve Mitnick: When in your career did you begin working with Tom Kuhn and his team at EEI? Talk about some of those experiences as you started interacting with him.

Michael Yackira: I remember meeting Tom. I was formally introduced to him by Walt Higgins in 2005. I had known of Tom when I was peripherally involved with EEI, when I was at FPL. I say peripherally because I was not involved in leadership at all.

I'd go to conferences, but I didn't interact with any of Tom's group until I became CFO of NV Energy in 2003. That's when I first started knowing Tom in the way that I ultimately knew him.