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Aaron Musgrave, CPA – Vice President, Investor Relations
Jack Quinn, CPA – Senior Manager, Investor Relations
Janelle McNally – Senior Manager, Investor Relations and ESG
Kelley Uyeda – Analyst, Investor Relations and ESG

856-566-4005
ir@amwater.com

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M. Susan Hardwick, President and Chief Executive Officer

Susan Hardwick is President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE: AWK), the largest publicly traded U.S. water and wastewater utility company. Ms. Hardwick leads a team of 6,400 dedicated professionals who provide service to 14 million people in 24 states.

American Water’s regulated businesses operate in approximately 1,700 communities across the U.S. and provide water and wastewater utility services to residential, commercial, industrial, and other customers. The company's regulated-like business includes its Military Services Group that provides water and wastewater services to 17 military installations across the U.S.

Ms. Hardwick joined American Water in June 2019 and became CFO in July of that same year. In this role, she was responsible for all aspects of financial management and strategy, including treasury, financial planning, accounting, investor relations, internal audit, risk management, supply chain, regulatory services, and control functions. In February 2022, she was named President and CEO, and was elected to serve on the Board of Directors at American Water.

Prior to joining American Water, Ms. Hardwick served as Executive Vice President and CFO of Vectren Corporation. In this role, Ms. Hardwick was a member of the executive leadership team responsible for development and execution of business and financial strategy for both the regulated utility businesses, as well as the market-based subsidiaries. She also led the development and execution of the company’s regulatory strategy and investor relations and was responsible for numerous financing transactions.

Vectren was acquired by CenterPoint Energy Company in February 2019. Ms. Hardwick led the execution of the definitive agreement with CenterPoint Energy for the 2019 sale of Vectren for $8.5 billion, the second highest multiple paid for a natural gas distribution company at the time.

Ms. Hardwick was elected to the Board of Directors of New Jersey Resources, Inc. in September 2020. She currently serves on the National Board of Directors and as Treasurer of Family Promise, Inc, sits on the Board of the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, and has also served in leadership positions on a variety of community boards over the course of her career. Appointed by the Governor, Ms. Hardwick served two terms as an Arts Commissioner for the state of Indiana. She was also the recipient of the Athena Award in 2009 by the Chamber of Commerce of Southwestern Indiana, the Sara B. Davies Leadership Award in 2016 presented by Leadership Evansville, and the Torchbearer Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016 presented by the Indiana Commission on Women. Also, in 2016, she was named CFO of the Year Honoree by the Indianapolis Business Journal and by the Philadelphia Business Journal in 2020. Ms. Hardwick was recognized as a 2021 Top 50 Financial Leader by the National Diversity Council and was inducted into the Evansville Regional Business Hall of Fame in December 2021.

She has also held numerous leadership and committee roles with the American Gas Association and the Edison Electric Institute, is a CPA and holds an accounting degree from Indiana University.

Cheryl Norton, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer

Cheryl Norton serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for American Water. Ms. Norton is responsible for the successful performance of American Water’s regulated state subsidiaries. She also leads customer service across the company’s footprint, as well as systemwide Engineering, Health and Safety, and Environmental and Regulatory Compliance.

Previously, Ms. Norton served as president of New Jersey American Water, where she was the principal external contact for American Water in New Jersey, serving approximately 2.8 million people. Additionally, she served as senior vice president of the company’s Eastern Division, which was comprised of New Jersey, New York, Virginia, and Maryland. Ms. Norton was also the company’s Chief Environmental Officer, overseeing environmental leadership and compliance across American Water’s national footprint.

Ms. Norton has also served as president of Missouri American Water for three years, and in the same role for Kentucky American Water for five years. A native of Missouri, Ms. Norton started her career with American Water in 1988 as a microbiology research technician at the company’s central laboratory in Belleville, Ill., which provides services for American Water subsidiaries across the country. From 2000 to 2007, she served as the laboratory’s director overseeing companywide chemical compliance testing. In 2007, Ms. Norton was appointed Vice President of Operations for Illinois American Water.

Ms. Norton serves on the boards of the Cooper Health System and The Water Research Foundation.

Ms. Norton received a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree in environmental studies from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville.

John C. Griffith, Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer

John Griffith is Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of American Water, the largest publicly traded U.S. water and wastewater utility company. In his role, Mr. Griffith has responsibility for all aspects of financial management and strategy, including finance strategy and planning, treasury, accounting, enterprise risk and internal audit, supply chain, control functions, and business development.

Mr. Griffith most recently served as a Managing Director in Bank of America Securities’ Mergers & Acquisitions group, leading the firm’s M&A practice for regulated utilities and renewable energy. In this role, he served as lead investment banker on major U.S. and international utility transactions, including transaction origination, structuring, financing solutions, valuation and financial impact analysis, as well as team development. He also advised on many public and private renewable energy transactions globally.

Prior to joining Bank of America Securities in 2014, Mr. Griffith served as CEO of HighWave Energy, a start-up renewable fuels company. As CEO, Mr. Griffith built the senior executive team and led the capital development and deployment strategy. He also held multiple positions during a fourteen-year career with Merrill Lynch & Co., culminating as a Managing Director in Mergers & Acquisitions.

Passionate about mentoring and coaching, Mr. Griffith is a Partner with Student Partner Alliance, a non-profit organization focused on mentoring high school students.

Mr. Griffith earned a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Davidson College and an MBA in Finance from Columbia Business School, where he graduated with honors.

James H. Gallegos, Executive Vice President & General Counsel

James Gallegos serves as Executive Vice President and General Counsel for American Water. In his role, Gallegos serves as American Water’s chief legal officer, providing oversight, guidance and direction regarding corporate governance and board matters, as well as providing legal advice and overseeing the legal team responsible for all aspects of legal affairs for the company.

Gallegos most recently served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Alliant Energy Corporation, which provides regulated electric and natural gas service to approximately 975,000 electric and approximately 420,000 natural gas customers in the Midwest.

Prior to joining Alliant Energy in 2010, Gallegos served as the Vice President and Corporate General Counsel for Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Corporation, one of North America’s leading freight transportation companies. Prior to that role, Gallegos served as Vice President Legal Affairs for U S WEST Communications Corporation which merged with Qwest Communications International, Inc. He also held multiple other roles at Qwest and U S WEST prior to his vice president role.

Gallegos started his legal career as a trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice and law clerk for a Federal District Court Judge. He currently serves as Chair on the Clean Lakes Alliance Board of Directors. He has also served on the Board of Urban League and on the Board of Edgewood College.

Gallegos received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business from the University of Colorado and a law degree from the University of Minnesota Law Center, where he graduated Cum Laude.

Melanie M. Kennedy, Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer

Melanie Kennedy serves as executive vice president, chief human resources officer for American Water, the largest publicly traded U.S. water and wastewater utility company. In this role, Kennedy is responsible for overall human resources strategy, talent acquisition, leadership development, organizational design and cultural development, compensation and benefits, HR operations and technology, employee and labor relations, and employee education and development. She also serves as the executive sponsor of the company’s Inclusion and Diversity council. As a member of the executive leadership team, Kennedy contributes directly to the long and short term strategic objectives of the company. She was named SVP, HR in March 2017 and made chief human resources officer in December 2020.

Previously, Kennedy served as the vice president of Human Resources. In this position, she had responsibility for all field human resources as well as labor relations, managing the relationships with 17 national union groups and over 70 local collective bargaining agreements. Kennedy also served in human resource director roles for corporate and for the largest division of the company, which included New Jersey and New York. During this time, she led the transformation of the human resources team to develop centers of expertise in talent management, talent acquisition and labor. Kennedy also led the hire to retire team for the company’s business transformation as it implemented SAP.
Since joining the company in 2007, as associate employment and labor counsel, Kennedy quickly progressed to the chief employment and labor counsel role. Prior to joining American Water, Kennedy spent nine years as a labor and employment attorney in large law firms in New Jersey and Philadelphia. She is licensed to practice law in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

Kennedy holds a JD from Rutgers University School of Law, N.J., and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Rhode Island. Kennedy formerly served as a trustee for the Medford Education Foundation, a nonprofit, all-volunteer organization that raises money to support the Medford Township school district teachers through grants and related support. Kennedy enjoys spending her free time at the shore or travelling with her husband and three children.
In addition, Kennedy is on the board of the Cooper Health System Finance Committee, as well as the Board for the Health Transformation Alliance, and is a member of the CHRO Council for Consumer Engagement.

Ms. Kennedy was also selected by the Philadelphia Business Journal as one of the 2019 Women of Distinction.

Maureen Duffy, Senior Vice President, Communications and External Affairs

Maureen Duffy is the senior vice president of communications and external affairs for American Water. She is responsible for external and internal communications, Federal affairs, national regulatory affairs, investor relations, government affairs and community development as well as positioning American Water for industry leadership. She is also serves as the chair of the American Water Charitable Foundation Board.

Ms. Duffy recently served as the vice president of Corporate Communications and External Affairs. Prior to that, she served as the director of Corporate Communications and External Affairs, where she led internal and external communications, as well as corporate responsibility. She also served as the director of External Communications and led all aspects of American Water's external communication efforts, including national media relations. She acts as a key partner in increasing American Water's visibility and promoting its reputation. She also works closely with all other functions and operations across the business to align and integrate company messaging, as well as further position American Water as an industry leader on both a national and local scale.

Ms. Duffy is a results-oriented team leader with more than 25 years of experience in the communications field. She has served as director of Internal Communications for American Water. In this position, Ms. Duffy realigned American Water's internal communications team and drove its strategic direction thus ensuring consistent communications with all internal audiences. Ms. Duffy also served in the communications function for New Jersey American Water and Long Island American Water, where she was responsible for internal and external communications, as well as government affairs.

Ms. Duffy serves on the Board of the National Association of Water Companies and on NJ PBS Board of Trustees.

Prior to working for American Water, Ms. Duffy produced and reported news for WNJN/WNET-TV, with audiences in New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia. She is a graduate of the University of Delaware, where she received a bachelor's in communications.

Kevin Kirwan, Senior Vice President and Chief Operational Excellence Officer

Kevin Kirwan is Senior Vice President and Chief Operational Excellence Officer for American Water, the largest publicly traded U.S. water and wastewater utility company.

Kirwan began his career with American Water in 1985 and has held several key operational positions ranging from water production superintendent, regional operations manager, director of maintenance services, senior director of operations for coastal New Jersey and vice president of Operations for New Jersey American Water. Most recently, he held the role of vice president of operational excellence for American Water.

Prior to joining American Water, Kirwan was a supervisor of Research and Development for the Worthington Pump Corporation.

Kirwan earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the State University of New York and holds multiple environmental licenses in water treatment, water distribution and industrial water treatment.

In his 34 years with the company, Kirwan has served as a leader and member for many teams and projects at American Water, including leading the National Union Benefits negotiations for 3,000 union employees, Hurricane Sandy Barrier Island Restoration project, several technology initiatives and Business Development teams.

Jim Merante, Vice President and Treasurer

Jim Merante is vice president and treasurer for American Water, the largest publicly traded U.S. water and wastewater utility company.

Prior to his current role, Merante was vice president, Internal Audit, and served as divisional chief financial officer for the company's Mid-Atlantic Division. Merante began his career in public accounting with “Big 4” accounting firm KPMG and held various executive positions in the media industry including vice president of operations and director of finance at a large publicly traded media company.

Merante earned a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Susquehanna University and is licensed as a Certified Public Accountant in Pennsylvania.

Jeffrey M. Taylor, Vice President, Chief SEC Counsel and Secretary

Jeffrey M. Taylor is vice president, chief SEC counsel and secretary for American Water. In this role, Mr. Taylor is responsible for all aspects of American Water’s securities law, corporate governance, and corporate law compliance, and oversees the corporate secretary function.

He is also responsible for preparing or assisting in the preparation of American Water’s SEC filings and other public disclosures, corporate governance matters, legal compliance for debt and equity financings and other securities offerings as well as loan, credit and hedging transactions, overseeing compliance with New York Stock Exchange listing rules, and general corporate law matters.

As corporate secretary for American Water and several of its subsidiaries, Mr. Taylor oversees board matters and subsidiary management functions for these entities. He also serves as a counselor and legal advisor to various constituencies and functional units within American Water, including the board of directors, accounting, treasury, investor relations, corporate communications, risk management and insurance, human resources, and business development.

Prior to joining American Water in June 2015, Mr. Taylor was an associate general counsel and assistant secretary at Pepco Holdings, Inc., one of the largest energy delivery companies in the mid-Atlantic region. Prior to joining Pepco Holdings, he was a partner in the Public Companies and Capital Formation practice group in the Philadelphia office of international law firm Blank Rome LLP and devoted over 17 years in private practice to the representation of domestic and foreign clients in a wide array of industries in securities, mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and capital raising, corporate governance, executive compensation and business and corporate law matters.

Mr. Taylor received his law degree, with honors, from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 1995 and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Northwestern University in 1992.

Mr. Taylor currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Society for Corporate Governance and is Chair of its Audit and Finance Committee. He is also a three-term Past President and a member of the advisory committee of the Middle Atlantic Chapter of the Society.

He also served as Vice/Co-Chair of the Securities Regulation Committee of the Business Law Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association from May 2009 to July 2011. Mr. Taylor is a member of the American Bar Association and the Association of Corporate Counsel and is licensed to practice law in the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia and Pennsylvania, and as in-house counsel in New Jersey.

Melissa K. Wikle, Chief Accounting Officer

Melissa K. Wikle is chief accounting officer at American Water, the largest publicly traded U.S. water and wastewater utility company. In this role, Ms. Wikle leads the company’s corporate accounting, external financial reporting, Securities and Exchange Commission compliance, tax, payroll and accounts payable functions.

Ms. Wikle has deep experience in both market-based and utility industries. She has almost 30 years of finance and accounting experience, most recently as corporate controller and chief accounting officer at Columbus McKinnon Corp., a public company and a global manufacturer. Previously, she was the vice president of SEC reporting at MetLife, one of the largest insurance and financial services companies in the U.S.

Ms. Wikle has a wealth of utility experience as well. She worked for Pacific Gas & Electric Co. for more than 10 years, holding a variety of financial and accounting positions including director of regulatory relations. She also served as director of corporate accounting at Pacific Gas & Electric, where she led the department responsible for external reporting, technical accounting research and operational accounting. Prior to that, she was with Northwest Natural Gas in Portland, Ore.

Early in her career, Ms. Wikle was an auditor with Deloitte. She has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Alabama. She is a certified public accountant and certified internal auditor.