RICHMOND, Va., April 27, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Dominion (NYSE: D)
has chosen longtime Questar Corp. (NYSE: STR) executive
Craig C. Wagstaff to lead its
western U.S. natural gas operations once the previously announced
combination of Dominion and Questar is completed.
Wagstaff, currently president of Questar Gas Co., will become
president of Dominion Questar. He will be responsible for all
current Questar operating companies, including what are now the
Questar Gas local utility, Questar Pipeline and Wexpro natural gas
development business.
Dominion Questar will be based at the current Questar corporate
headquarters in Salt Lake
City.
Two other Dominion Questar executive appointments also have been
announced. Colleen Larkin Bell,
Questar vice president and general counsel, will become Dominion
Questar vice president and general manager of Dominion Questar Gas.
Brady B. Rasmussen, executive vice
president and chief operating officer of Wexpro, will become
Dominion Questar vice president and general manager of Dominion
Wexpro. They will report to Wagstaff.
Wagstaff also will become a senior vice president of Dominion
and report to David A. Christian,
chief executive officer–Dominion Energy Infrastructure Group and
chief executive officer–Dominion Virginia Power. Christian is
responsible for all Dominion electric and natural gas local
distribution and transmission businesses.
"Craig, Colleen and Brady have shown outstanding judgment and
have a commitment to excellence and deep roots in the community,
making them ideal leaders for Dominion Questar," said Dominion
Chairman, President and CEO Thomas F.
Farrell II. "We look forward to them continuing Questar's
traditions of cost-effective service and a focus on safety."
Dominion made the announcements after Ronald W. Jibson, Questar chairman, president
and CEO, made public his plans to retire once the Dominion-Questar
transaction is completed.
"We believe it is important for customers, employees and other
stakeholders of Questar to know the leadership team in place
following Ron's retirement will be fully aware of important local
issues and have an innate understanding of the operations to ensure
a smooth transition under the combined banner," Farrell said. "We
look forward to announcing the rest of the leadership team
soon."
In his 32-year career at Questar, Wagstaff has held various
management positions in customer service, economic development,
marketing, regional operations, and public and community relations.
He became a vice president and general manager of Questar Gas in
2010, with promotions to senior vice president in 2011
and to executive vice president and chief operating officer in
2012. He was named president of Questar Gas in March 2015. Wagstaff also serves as executive
vice president of Questar Corp.
Wagstaff serves on various industry and community boards,
including Western Energy Institute (WEI), the American Gas
Association's (AGA) leadership council, Utah Clean Cities, and
United Way of Salt Lake. He is chairman of Junior Achievement of
Utah and past chair of the
American Red Cross of Salt Lake, AGA/Edison Electric Institute
(EEI) customer-service committee, and WEI's customer-connections
executive committee.
Wagstaff attended Weber State
University and the University of
Utah, completing undergraduate degrees in business and
marketing; he has a master's degree in organizational leadership
from Gonzaga University.
Bell has been employed by Questar for 26 years. She became
general counsel of Questar Gas in 2008, assistant general counsel
of Questar Corp. in 2010, and vice president and general counsel in
2011. She assumed her current position in March 2015.
She serves on the AGA legal committee, the board of trustees of
the Legal Aid Society, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Salt
Lake, the Pioneer Theatre Company, and the Utah Foundation, and the
Gorgoza Water Co. board. She has a bachelor's degree and law degree
from the University of Utah.
Rasmussen joined Questar 21 years ago. He was named general
manager–Accounting for Wexpro in 2011 and promoted to vice
president–Administration at Wexpro in 2013. He was promoted to his
current position in June 2015.
Rasmussen has a bachelor's degree in accounting from
Utah State University.
Dominion and Questar announced on Feb. 1,
2016, an agreement for the companies to combine in an
all-cash transaction in which Dominion has agreed to pay Questar
shareholders $25 per share – about
$4.4 billion – and assume Questar's
outstanding debt.
The pending merger would create an integrated energy company
serving about 2.5 million electric utility customers and 2.3
million gas utility customers in seven states. The combined company
also would operate more than 15,500 miles of natural gas
transmission, gathering and storage pipelines, one of the nation's
largest natural gas storage systems, and approximately 24,300
megawatts of electric generation.
The companies expect the transaction to close in 2016, following
approval by regulators and Questar shareholders.
About Dominion
Dominion is one of the nation's
largest producers and transporters of energy, with a portfolio of
approximately 24,300 megawatts of generation, 12,200 miles of
natural gas transmission, gathering and storage pipeline, and 6,500
miles of electric transmission lines. Dominion operates one of the
nation's largest natural gas storage systems with 933 billion cubic
feet of storage capacity and serves utility and retail energy
customers in 14 states. For more information about Dominion visit
the company's website at www.dom.com.
About Questar
Questar Corp. is a Rockies-based
integrated natural gas company operating through three principal
subsidiaries: Questar Gas provides retail natural gas distribution
in Utah, Wyoming and Idaho; Wexpro develops and produces natural
gas on behalf of Questar Gas; and Questar Pipeline operates
interstate natural gas pipelines and storage facilities in the
Western U.S. For more information, visit Questar's website at:
www.questar.com.
This news release includes certain "forward-looking
information." Examples include information as to Dominion's
expectations, beliefs, plans, goals, objectives and future
financial or other performance or assumptions concerning matters
discussed in this release. Factors that could cause actual results
to differ from those in the forward-looking statements may
accompany the statements themselves. In addition, Dominion's
business is influenced by many factors that are difficult to
predict, involve uncertainties that may materially affect actual
results and are often beyond our ability to control or estimate
precisely, such as the ability to obtain the required approval of
Questar's shareholders; the risk that Dominion or Questar may be
unable to obtain necessary regulatory approvals for the transaction
or required regulatory approvals may delay the transaction or cause
the parties to abandon the transaction; the risk that conditions to
the closing of the transaction or the committed debt financing may
not be satisfied; and the risk that an unsolicited offer for the
assets or capital stock of Questar may interfere with the
transaction. We have identified and will in the future identify a
number of these factors in our SEC Reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q.
We refer you to those discussions for further information. Any
forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is
made, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking
statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on
which it is made.
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SOURCE Dominion