President & CEO
Buddy was born and raised in Iowa. He enlisted in the United States Navy in 1986 as a submarine reactor operator and was selected for the Navy’s Nuclear Enlisted Commissioning Program (NECP). He attended Auburn University and completed his Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering. Buddy was assigned to nuclear submarines and shore assignments over a 20-year career.
Buddy retired from the Navy in 2007 and returned to Iowa, where he served as the regional director of generation for Iowa-based power plants at Alliant Energy.
Buddy then joined Associated Electric Cooperative, Inc. of Springfield, Missouri in 2011 and served as vice president of engineering and construction until coming to Arkansas.
Buddy became the President and CEO of Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation and Arkansas Electric Cooperatives, Inc. in October 2019. His hobbies are Reliability, Affordability and Responsibility.