American Water Names Lynch Executive Vice President of Business Operations.

Bigelow Appointed President of New Jersey American Water 

VOORHEES, N.J. -- American Water, the largest water services provider in North America, announced today that Walter Lynch, previously the President of the company's Northeast Region and New Jersey American Water, has been promoted to the newly created role of Executive Vice President of Business Operations.

In this role, Lynch will be responsible for leading the recently formed Eastern Division of American Water and driving performance across all the states in the Eastern Division while enhancing external relationships nationally. The Eastern Division comprises American Water's Northeast and Southeast regions consisting of the company's operations in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky, Tennessee and New York. All State Presidents and General Managers within the newly created Eastern Division will report directly to Lynch.

John Bigelow has been promoted to succeed Lynch as President of New Jersey American Water. Bigelow most recently served as American Water's Senior Vice President of Regulatory Programs and Enterprise Risk Management. In his new role, Bigelow will reinforce and strengthen customer, regulatory and local government relationships, drive operational and financial results and be the principal external contact for American Water in New Jersey.

"Both Walter and John have exceptional leadership skills," said Don Correll, president and chief executive officer of American Water. "Their extensive industry knowledge and expertise will help us continue to deliver quality service. Both will also play an integral role in supporting American Water's commitment to having a strong local presence in every community we serve while providing maximum value for our customers."

Walter Lynch most recently served as President of American Water's Northeast Region. In this role, he oversaw more than 1,000 employees and was responsible for operations that provided more than 2 million people in New Jersey and New York with water and wastewater services.

Prior to his role in the Northeast Region, Lynch served as President of American Water Products and Services Group. In this capacity, he led and developed 10 non-regulated business lines with more than $500 million in revenue and 1,500 employees. Lynch is credited with improving the performance of these businesses and was instrumental in securing a number of long-term contracts, including design/build/operate contracts in Phoenix, Ariz., and Sioux City, Iowa.

A veteran of environmental-related businesses for the past 17 years, Lynch originally joined American Water Services in 2001 as President of the Southwest Region, overseeing a 12-state region with multiple business lines. Prior to that, he spent a number of years in the solid waste and residuals business, where he led successful start-ups and high growth organizations.

A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Lynch holds a Bachelor of Science degree in general engineering and attained the rank of Captain before his departure from the U. S. Army in 1990.

John Bigelow has successfully held a number of senior management positions during his career with American Water. He was most recently responsible for co-leading the company's national efforts to secure regulatory divestiture approvals in multiple states as American Water's Senior Vice President of Regulatory Programs and Enterprise Risk Management.

Prior to this promotion, Bigelow served as the company's Chief Financial Officer from December 2003 to February 2006 and was primarily responsible for the financial activities of the company.

Bigelow is not new to American Water's New Jersey operations. He served as Vice President and Treasurer of New Jersey American Water and Director, Vice President and Treasurer of New Jersey American Resources Company. In these positions, his overall responsibilities included leadership of accounting procurement, information services, finance, business development, customer service, rates, and contract pricing and negotiation.

Bigelow began his career with GPU System Companies, where he spent a total of 18 years in various leadership roles in the finance area.

Bigelow holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from Bloomsburg University and a master's degree in business administration from St. Joseph's University.

With headquarters in Voorhees, N.J., American Water employs approximately 7,000 dedicated professionals who provide high quality water, wastewater and other related services to more than 17 million people in 29 states and Canada. More information can be found by visiting www.amwater.com.