Tidewater Utilities announces employee promotions

Tidewater Utilities Inc. announced the promotion of several key employees as part of its ongoing succession-planning initiatives.

Kirsten E. Higgins, with more than 20 years of experience in water and wastewater utility operations and management, has been named vice president, development and contract administration.

Higgins joined Tidewater in 1999 with responsibilities for capital project management. In 2006, she was named director of water planning and development, where her duties included managing Tidewater’s contract administration functions, land rights, and water and wastewater franchise expansion plans as well as serving as a liaison to the state’s regulators and developers.

Higgins serves on the board of the Delaware Chapter of the National Association of Water Companies.

Alexis Virdin-Gede, with Tidewater for 17 years, has been named director of water quality. Virdin-Gede previously managed water sampling and Tidewater’s in-house microbiology laboratory. In her new role, she will also be involved in all aspects of water-quality compliance, systems and capital planning.

John Eckeard, with the company for 20 years, was named director of distribution. In this role, he is responsible for managing new customer service installations, water distribution and fire-protection system repairs and maintenance, in addition to capital budgeting and ongoing improvement plans for various company systems.

Paul Peris has assumed additional operational managerial responsibilities as director of production and maintenance. In his 19th year with the company, Peris manages the day-to-day operations and maintenance of more than 80 treatment plants, safety plans, and transportation fleet vehicles, as well as capital budgeting and improvement plans.

“Our growing customer base and increasingly complex regulatory environment requires that we continue filling key roles with highly qualified and experienced professionals,” said Bruce O’Connor, president of Tidewater. “We congratulate Kirsten, Alexis, John and Paul on their additional roles and appreciate their ongoing leadership in ensuring high-quality utilities service for Delaware residents and businesses.”