Southern Co. CEO Ratcliffe to retire, to be replaced by chief operating officer Fanning

Southern Co. CEO Ratcliffe to retire

ATLANTA — The utility Southern Co. said CEO David M. Ratcliffe will retire on Dec. 1, the company said Tuesday.

Chief Operating Officer Thomas A. Fanning, 53, will take over and become president on Sunday. He will also take over as chairman when Ratcliffe retires.

Ratcliffe, 61, has run the company as chairman, president, and CEO since 2004. He joined the company as a biologist with Georgia Power in 1971. He was CEO of Georgia Power, the company’s largest subsidiary, from 1999 to 2004.

Fanning joined the company in 1980 as a financial analyst. He is currently responsible for Southern Company Generation, Southern Power, and Southern Company Transmission. He has also been president and CEO of the company’s Gulf Power, and chief financial officer for Southern Co., and subsidiaries Georgia Power, and Mississippi Power.

Ratcliffe said in a statement that Fanning “has demonstrated the technical and financial capabilities and the strategic vision needed to guide this company during a period of unprecedented capital expansion and growth.”

The company also said W. Paul Bowers, who has been chief financial officer, will become chief operating officer of its subsidiary Georgia Power. The company named Art P. Beattie as chief financial officer.