The Municipal Light Commission formally interviewed two candidates for the position of General Director at the Marblehead Municipal Light Department (MMLD), after reviewing more than 90 resumes.
Another important milestone in the town’s upgrading of the electrical substation should be completed July 18. Five large sections of electrical switchgear will be placed at the Village 13 substation.
MMLD General Manager Joe Kowalik said that the new substation will have a 50% larger capacity, as existing equipment is “ready for replacement.”
John Blair, the first candidate for the position of General Director at the MMLD, is a North Shore native and former Navy submarine officer, now Managing Consultant at Energy and Environmental Economics Inc. in Cambridge.
Appreciation for the region has brought him back here, he said.
Blair obtained his Bachelor’s in Nuclear Engineering at Purdue University and later graduated from Boston University Questrom School of Business.
Up to 2023, he was the General Manager of Ipswich Utilities in Massachusetts, tackling challenges in the energy industry with the “360-degree perspective” gained in his varying positions over the years.
“I am a man motivated by missions that matter, that’s why I’ve spent the majority of my career in public service,” he said. “Public power gets under your skin. I am a big believer in it.”
As a North Shore native, he shares his dedication to service in the area.
“These areas are marked by great wealth and great beauty, but also have this sometimes overlooked element of need,” Blair said. “What we do matters in delivering safe, reliable, affordable electricity to the folks we serve.”
He aims to get a grasp of the “hyper local knowledge” necessary for a General Manager, after having worked in a similar system in Ipswich, adjacent, in many ways, to Marblehead.
In a management position, Blair puts forward the need for collaboration at all levels, for a feedback loop to be set in motion, leading to more and more actionable results.
A strategic plan is also necessary, he added, as a streamlining that “sets the tone” for balancing long-term goals and operational activities on the ground. He also suggests a regular Safety Brief for all workers, to foster a culture where safety is always addressed upfront.
“Being a leader for the staff is removing obstacles, providing the right resources, and trying to coordinate between all activities, to ensure that the people doing the hard work are empowered to do the best job they can,” Blair said.
Nathan Mitchell, the second interviewee, is an electrical engineer from Virginia with over 30 years of experience in the electricity industry, overseeing engineering operations and national policy development.
Mitchell started as Operations Manager for electric distribution in Naperville, Illinois, before working as Senior Director of Operations at the American Public Power Association in Washington, D.C., up to 2022. There, he developed municipal programs.
He is now an executive engineer at MPR Associates, a way to “get back into engineering” after coming out of the policy field, by running risk analyses for municipal utilities.
His previous positions having focused on federal mandates in the energy sector, Mitchell notes his need to “come up to speed” with state requirements and local specificities.
Mitchell was enthusiastic about Marblehead’s renewable energy initiatives and proposed leveraging his experience to advance them.
In a management position, Mitchell said his role is to oversee the long-term projects and to stand firm in the decision-making process.
He suggested the implementation of an eSafety Tracker to help utilities document all safety-related events. To him, “having an integrated safety culture is paramount.”
“If I have the right team and if I can develop trust with that team, ensure that they have the right resources to be successful, I can let the operations sweat the near-term results,” Mitchell said.
The Commission said the results should be shared with the candidates on Tuesday, July 22.