H2O America names Nicholas Whitley VP of business development

H2O America (NASDAQ: HTO) appointed Nicholas Whitley as vice president of business development, effective December 22. Whitley will lead the company's business development initiatives, including identifying and executing strategic growth opportunities to expand H2O America's water and wastewater operations.

Whitley brings more than 20 years of experience in corporate development, mergers and acquisitions, and infrastructure investing across utility, energy and industrial sectors. He most recently served as managing director of business development at NW Natural Holdings, where he led more than 30 acquisitions and helped transform the company from a single-asset utility into a diversified infrastructure holding company operating across multiple states.

Previously, Whitley held senior business development and M&A roles at GE Oil & Gas and served as separation management officer for the carve-out from Schlumberger that became Wellbore Integrity Solutions. Earlier in his career, he worked in investment banking and restructuring at Nomura International and Houlihan Lokey.

"Nick brings deep transaction expertise, strategic discipline and a proven ability to scale infrastructure platforms," said Andrew Walters, chief executive officer of H2O America. "His leadership and experience across complex, multi-jurisdictional acquisitions will be instrumental as we continue to grow responsibly and serve more communities across the country."

Whitley holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with a concentration in finance and has completed executive education at Harvard Business School.

H2O America operates approximately 407,000 water and wastewater service connections through four regional utilities: Connecticut Water, Maine Water, San Jose Water and Texas Water, serving more than 1.6 million people nationwide, according to the company's press release.

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