SJW Group Appoints Kay R. New as Chief Human Resources Officer

Rhea-AI Summary

SJW Group (NASDAQ: SJW) has appointed Kay R. New as Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO), effective immediately. New will lead enterprise-wide initiatives in talent development, organizational effectiveness, and employee engagement.

New joins SJW Group from Avangrid, where she served as vice president of rewards and employee experience, overseeing services for over 3 million customers across 24 states. During her tenure, she managed comprehensive employee programs and implemented enterprise-wide HR technologies like Workday and ServiceNow. Her leadership contributed to Avangrid's recognition as a Top Employer in the U.S. by Top Employers Institute.

Prior to Avangrid, New worked at SGS North America and US Bank. She holds a BS in Business Administration from Indiana Wesleyan University and completed the Energising Leadership Programme at ESADE Business School.

Positive

• Appointment of experienced HR executive with proven track record in implementing enterprise-wide HR technologies
• New CHRO brings expertise from managing HR operations for a larger utility company serving 3+ million customers
• Successfully led initiatives resulting in Top Employer recognition at previous company

Negative

• None.

SAN JOSE, Calif., April 21, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SJW Group (NASDAQ: SJW), a leading national investor-owned pure-play water and wastewater utility, today announced that its board of directors has appointed Kay R. New as chief human resources officer (CHRO), effective immediately. In her new role, New will oversee enterprise-wide efforts related to talent development, organizational effectiveness, employee engagement and performance.

“Kay is an outstanding utility executive whose experience uniting teams, building high-performance cultures, and leading employee-focused initiatives at a national scale makes her an ideal fit for SJW Group,” stated Eric W. Thornburg, chair, president and chief executive officer. “Her deep expertise in human resources strategy, business acumen, and purposeful leadership will further strengthen our ability to empower teams, enhance performance, and deliver on our mission to provide high-quality water and exceptional service to our communities.”

New most recently served as vice president of rewards and employee experience at Avangrid, a leading energy company serving more than 3 million customers across 24 states. She also held the role of vice president of people operations and employee experience. During her tenure at Avangrid, she shaped the full employee journey—from onboarding, compensation and benefits, retirement programs, to policy and compliance, global mobility, budgets and analytics. Her leadership in designing equitable and innovative programs to attract, engage, and retain top talent – while fostering a culture of inclusion, growth, and excellence - played a key role in the company’s recognition as a Top Employer in the U.S. by Top Employers Institute. Additionally, she spearheaded the successful implementation of enterprise-wide HR technologies, including Workday and ServiceNow, to modernize and streamline the employee experience.

Prior to joining Avangrid, New held key talent acquisition and recruitment roles at SGS North America, the world's leading testing, inspection and certification company, and with local business enterprises. She began her career as a supervisor at US Bank, the fifth-largest commercial banking company in the United States. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration – HR Management from the DeVoe School of Business at Indiana Wesleyan University and completed the Energising Leadership Programme at ESADE Business School, headquartered in Madrid, Spain. She also serves as Advisory Board Chair for Trust for Public Land in Connecticut, a nonprofit organization that works to connect everyone to the outdoors.

About SJW Group

SJW Group is among the largest investor-owned pure-play water and wastewater utilities in the United States, providing life-sustaining and high-quality water service to 1.6 million people. SJW Group’s locally led and operated water utilities - San Jose Water Company in California, The Connecticut Water Company in Connecticut, The Maine Water Company in Maine, and SJWTX, Inc. (dba The Texas Water Company) in Texas - possess the financial strength, operational expertise, and technological innovation to safeguard the environment, deliver outstanding service to customers, and provide opportunities to employees. SJW Group remains focused on investing in its operations, remaining actively engaged in its local communities, and delivering continued sustainable value to its stockholders. For more information about SJW Group, please visit www.sjwgroup.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws relating to future events and future results of SJW Group and its subsidiaries that are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts, and projections about SJW Group and its subsidiaries and the industries in which SJW Group and its subsidiaries operate and the beliefs and assumptions of the management of SJW Group. Some of these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as “believes,” “expects,” “estimates,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “seeks,” “plans,” “projects,” “may,” “should,” “will,” "approximately," "strategy," or the negative of those words or other comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements are only predictions and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual results may differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statements.

The accuracy of such statements is subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions including, but not limited to, the following factors: (1) the effect of water, utility, environmental and other governmental policies and regulations, including regulatory actions concerning rates, authorized return on equity, authorized capital structures, capital expenditures, PFAS and other decisions; (2) changes in demand for water and other services; (3) unanticipated weather conditions and changes in seasonality including those affecting water supply and customer usage; (4) the effect of the impact of climate change; (5) unexpected costs, charges or expenses; (6) our ability to successfully evaluate investments in new business and growth initiatives; (7) contamination of our water supplies and damage or failure of our water equipment and infrastructure; (8) the risk of work stoppages, strikes and other labor-related actions; (9) catastrophic events such as fires, earthquakes, explosions, floods, ice storms, tornadoes, hurricanes, terrorist acts, physical attacks, cyber-attacks, epidemic, or similar occurrences; (10) changes in general economic, political, business and financial market conditions; (11) the ability to obtain financing on favorable terms, which can be affected by various factors, including credit ratings, changes in interest rates, compliance with regulatory requirements, compliance with the terms and conditions of our outstanding indebtedness, and general market and economic conditions; and (12) legislative, and general market and economic developments. The risks, uncertainties and other factors may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of SJW Group to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

Results for a quarter are not indicative of results for a full year due to seasonality and other factors. In addition, actual results, performance or achievements are subject to other risks and uncertainties that relate more broadly to our overall business, including those more fully described in our filings with the SEC, including our most recent reports on Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and Form 8-K. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and speak only as of the date made, and SJW Group undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.

SJW Group Contact

Nazan Riahei
Vice President of Communications
(408) 731-0890
Nazan.Riahei@sjwater.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b53aae53-26d1-4629-854e-cb0a52a7c967

FAQ

What is Kay R. New's role and responsibilities at SJW Group?

Kay R. New has been appointed as Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) at SJW Group, overseeing enterprise-wide efforts in talent development, organizational effectiveness, employee engagement and performance.

What was Kay R. New's previous experience before joining SJW Group?

She was vice president of rewards and employee experience at Avangrid, serving over 3 million customers across 24 states. She also held positions at SGS North America and US Bank.

What major HR initiatives did Kay R. New implement at Avangrid?

She implemented enterprise-wide HR technologies including Workday and ServiceNow, and designed programs for employee attraction, engagement, and retention that helped Avangrid achieve Top Employer recognition.

What are Kay R. New's educational qualifications?

She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration - HR Management from Indiana Wesleyan University and completed the Energising Leadership Programme at ESADE Business School.