Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa appointed former investment banker Austin Beutner as interim general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the biggest U.S. municipal utility.
Beutner’s nomination was approved by the Board of Water and Power Commissioners on April 20. The position will last for six months.
Beutner replaces S. David Freeman, who was interim general manager from October to April. The utility has had nine general managers in the past 10 years.
“I have had the pleasure of working with Austin Beutner for the past few months in his capacity as first deputy mayor, a role to which he has brought a new vigor and great foresight,” said Lee Kanon Alpert, president of LADWP’s board. “He brings to us a wealth of experience and knowledge in finance and business that we need here at the department.”
Beutner was Villaraigosa’s first deputy mayor for economic development from January until the appointment. Before entering public service, he cofounded Evercore Partners along with Roger Altman and was the youngest partner ever at the Blackstone Group, a private-equity and investment management firm.
Beutner agreed to take a salary of just $1 for the duration of his appointment at LADWP. Villaraigosa has charged him with reforming the utility’s culture, clearing out its bureaucracy, and increasing accountability and transparency.
LADWP has been the source of hostility and tension between the mayor and the City Council. The council’s rejection of a requested rate hike for the utility last month turned into a standoff between the two sides, with Villaraigosa pushing for higher rates to fund green initiatives.
The mayor and the utility eventually accepted the council proposal, but not until a public feud between the council and LADWP threatened to undermine the city’s fragile finances.
