Alison Zimlich joined SouthWest Water Company as Chief Financial Officer in May 2021. In this role, she leads the company’s accounting, tax, strategic planning and finance functions, in addition to its ESG, strategic framework and risk management initiatives. Alison is a key contributor to the company’s growth activities and investor relations.
Alison brings 25 years of experience in the power and utilities sector to her role. Before joining SouthWest Water Company, she served as Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer of GridLiance, a regulated electric transmission company founded in partnership with Blackstone Energy Partners. Alison led the integration of GridLiance into NextEra Energy Transmission during Blackstone’s successful exit from GridLiance in March 2021. Prior to GridLiance, she was the Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer of Panda Power Funds, a private equity firm with $6 billion in power generation assets.
She began her career in the utility industry at The AES Corporation. During her 17-year tenure, Alison served in a variety of finance and business development roles before rising to the rank of Chief Financial Officer of the company’s $2 billion North America Generation division. She was also previously employed as a tax consultant at EY.
Alison earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration at Texas State University and a master’s degree in taxation from The American University in Washington, D.C. She also holds a certificate in senior executive leadership from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. Alison is a certified public accountant and a chartered global management accountant.
