THE Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS), has appointed Kelly Tomblin as the new president and CEO of the light and power company effective today.

The appointment comes almost four months after Damian Obiglio — who headed the utility for over five years — left office last November.

Tomblin has more than twenty years of diverse leadership experience in the regulated utility and independent energy sectors in the United States of America.

She was most recently regional vice president of GDF SUEZ Energy Resources, with responsibility for leading the company’s market, competitive and regulatory strategy in the five markets of Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware and Washington, DC.

Prior to that, she was vice president of corporate strategy, development and services at International Power, where she led corporate strategy, administrative affairs, business development, asset management and operations support groups. She has also worked in senior positions in a number of other utility companies in the US, including Monmouth County Bayshore Outfall Authority, First Energy, and GPU International.

“The appointment of Ms Tomblin is in keeping with our commitment to strengthen JPS, so that the organization can play an even more pivotal role as a partner in Jamaica’s development,” said JPS chairman, Hisatsugu Hirai. “She brings to the organisation extensive industry knowledge, strong business strategy and operations experience, as well as customer service expertise, which I am confident will be to the benefit of all our stakeholders.”