Global Water Resources, a pure-play water resource management company, has appointed noted utility industry leader, Chris Krygier, to the new position of chief operations officer. He previously served as the company’s chief strategy officer since June 2020.
As COO, Krygier will be responsible for Global Water’s regulated water and wastewater utility operations across its expanding footprint in Arizona, including continuing to oversee the company’s business development and regulatory affairs.
Krygier will also continue to lead the company’s acquisition and growth initiatives, building on Global Water’s record of successful acquisitions of 12 utilities acquired in Maricopa, Pinal and Pima County since 2017.
Over the last three years, he has helped the company acquire seven of those utilities in Pima County and one in Pinal County. The company announced earlier this month that has completed the acquisition of Farmers Water which added 3,300 active water service connections in Pima County.
"Chris has been a valued member of our executive team, helping us grow the company with a thoughtful and disciplined approach to utility consolidation, including a broader regulatory strategy,” stated company president and CEO, Ron Fleming. “His knowledge and expertise have helped us remain at the forefront of the water management industry. We look forward to his future contributions in his new role as we continue to improve and grow our core asset base in Arizona, with potential expansion throughout the southwest U.S.”
Krygier brings to the position more than 15 years of experience in operations management, regulatory strategy, and capital deployment for large projects and transactions, along with multi-state experience and industry knowledge. He has extensive experience regulatory experience representing utilities in over 10 states, including electric, natural gas, water and wastewater companies. He has also represented utilities before the Arizona Corporation Commission.
“I see great potential for further utility consolidation as well as additional opportunities for new utility solutions to support the booming Arizona economy,” commented Krygier. “This includes opportunities in the Inland Port Arizona mega-site where we are working to provide water, wastewater and recycled water services to numerous new manufacturing facilities. As COO, I will continue to advance these initiatives and further our mission of providing safe, high-quality water services to the communities we have the privilege to serve.”
Before joining Global Water, Krygier served as director of operations for a water and wastewater utility division of an investor-owned, publicly traded, multi-national renewable energy, and regulated utility conglomerate. He oversaw 75,000 water and wastewater active connections in Arizona and Texas. He also served as its director of rates, regulatory and governmental affairs, and in other positions for a division that served hundreds of thousands of customer connections throughout the mid-western United States. He played an integral role in the acquisition and integration of multiple billion-dollar transactions related to wind power generation and distribution.
Earlier in his career, Krygier held several positions of increasing responsibility at American Water, the United States' largest water and wastewater investor-owned utility. He has also served on numerous utility industry and volunteer boards and committees, including the Southern Gas Utilities Association and Water Utilities Association of Arizona.
He earned his Bachelor of Science in Economics and MBA in Finance from Arizona State University’s W. P. Carey School of Business. He also previously served as a board member of ASU’s Hispanic Business Alumni Association. He is also a Certified Management Accountant as designated by the Institute of Management Accountants and is a CFA charter holder.
