ALISO VIEJO, Calif. -- IHI Power Services Corp. (IPSC), an owner and operator of power plants across the U.S., announced a changing of the guard as experienced power industry executive John R. Keller was named chief operating officer for the company. Current chief executive officer and president, Stephen Gross, has made the decision to step down with plans to retire this fall. Keller has been called upon to serve as IPSC’s COO in the interim and will assume the role of CEO in the coming months, once Gross has fully transitioned out of his current position.
With 30-plus years in the electric power, renewable energy and gas pipeline sectors, Keller has led organizations like Brightmark, InventivEnergy, North American Energy Alliance, among others, to success in a variety of C-suite roles. In addition to his proven track record of success in leadership positions, Keller has deep-rooted category experience in power project development, construction, operations and maintenance, asset management and executive management with oversight of asset technologies in wind, hydro, solar, biomass, natural gas simple/combined cycle and cogeneration.
“While my decision to retire is bittersweet when I look back at everything I’ve put into this company and what a great team I will leave behind, I’m honored to announce John as my replacement,” said Gross. “John couldn’t be a better fit for the role. His experience is tried and true and he is well-known throughout the industry as a results-driven change agent. He understands what we’re doing at IPSC very well and I have no doubt that with John at the helm, IPSC will continue to innovate, grow, evolve and keep its position as a leader in the power generation sector.”
Effective immediately, Keller will take on the title of chief operating officer during which time he will immerse himself into all facets of the organization in order to be ready to achieve maximum impact when Gross steps down in the fall. Upon Steve’s transition out of the company, Keller will seamlessly move into the role of chief executive officer.
“The opportunity to oversee a forward-thinking organization like IPSC is very exciting,” said Keller. “When I was approached about becoming COO and eventually CEO, I looked at IPSC’s diverse portfolio, its laundry list of strategic partnerships, its impressive growth trajectory and its world-class team and knew I wanted to take a seat at this table. I look forward to learning from the team over the next few months and am committed to ensuring IPSC continues with its formidable forward momentum.”