May Communications Group

"We're a relatively humble company so it's hard to brag about what you do. Folks just don't know the good things NIPSCO does in the community," says Staton. "We spend $1.5 million a year in the community and we spend $1 million a year on economic development. Our employees spend a lot of time on boards; I'm on the board of Boys and Girls Clubs of N... orthwest Indiana. "We're not always getting our message out that we're supporting these charities. We need to find out what it is that customers think about you and then we need to communicate differently. We needed to improve and we have focused our attention on that," says Staton. "We serve 800,000 gas customers and 450,000 electric customers. We know we're not going to please everyone every day." Staton's excitement about his role at NIPSCO is fueled by his anticipation of getting out into the communities more, learning about them and meeting people. "I want folks to realize and appreciate there has been a view that we're rolling CEOs through NIPSCO and that we're not focused on the area," says Staton. "I want to dispel that. Over the next 10 years, NIPSCO is investing $5 billion in its infrastructure to make it so much cleaner than it is today and provide greater service to our customers. We think that type of investment will drive economic development and improve customer service. We're excited about it. I have a huge passion around this. If we can solve the regional economic crisis, we can look back and say what a wonderful experience this was." This entry was posted in Business, Leader & CEO Profiles, Summer 2011.Read More