Atlanta Spotlight | Mark Crosswhite

By Staff Writer Atlanta Trend

• Jun 01, 2012

Southern Company CEO Tom Fanning has announced a number of changes within the company's management team, effective July 1.

Mark Crosswhite will become executive vice president and chief operating officer for Southern Company. He will be responsible for the company's operations, which includes generation, transmission, engineering and construction services, system planning, research and environmental affairs, Southern Power and Southern Wholesale Energy.

Crosswhite will assume the role vacated by Anthony Topazi, who has announced plans to retire.

Crosswhite joined Southern Company in 2004 as senior vice president and general counsel for Southern Company Generation. Prior to joining Southern Company, he was a partner in the law firm of Balch & Bingham LLP in Birmingham, Ala., where he practiced in the Energy Section for 17 years.

Crosswhite joined Alabama Power in 2006 as senior vice president and counsel, where he oversaw the company’s legal matters. In 2008, Crosswhite was named executive vice president for External Affairs at Alabama Power, where he directed regulatory affairs, economic and community development, public relations, environmental affairs, and governmental affairs.

He serves on the board of directors for the Florida Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise Florida, James Madison Institute and the University of Alabama Law School Foundation. In addition, he is a member of the Florida Council of 100, a vice chair of the Electricity Committee of the Public Utility, Communications and Transportation section of the American Bar Association, a member of the Edison Electric Institute Legal Committee and a graduate of Leadership Alabama.

A native of Decatur, Ala., Crosswhite earned a bachelor’s degree in 1984 from the University of Alabama at Huntsville, and a J.D. degree in 1987 from the University of Alabama School of Law.

Crosswhite and his wife, Jane Emily, have two sons.