Archie Collins is president and chief executive officer of Tampa Electric.

Archie has more than 30 years of experience in the energy industry. He began his career at Nova Scotia Power in 1990, and he has held increasingly senior roles since then. Prior to joining Tampa Electric, he served in leadership roles at Nova Scotia Power and Emera Energy, as president and chief executive officer of Grand Bahama Power Co., and as president and chief operating officer of Emera Caribbean. Before becoming CEO at TECO, he served as chief operating officer from January 2018 until January 2021.

Archie is a professional chemical engineer, and he holds a Bachelor of Engineering from St. Francis Xavier University and a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering from Dalhousie University.

He serves on the boards of the Florida State Fair Authority, Florida Council of 100, Florida Chamber of Commerce and Tampa Bay Economic Development Council. He also serves on the Tampa Medical and Research District Advisory Committee and the boards of The Association of Edison Illuminating Companies and Tampa Theatre. He chaired the 2023 Tampa Bay Heart Walk for the American Heart Association.

Carlos Aldazabal is vice president of Energy Supply for Tampa Electric.

Since joining Tampa Electric in 1999, he has held multiple leadership positions in areas ranging from Accounting, Regulatory Affairs for Tampa Electric and Peoples Gas, Investor Relations, and Transmission Engineering and Operations. Most recently, he served as the director of Transmission Engineering and Operations, as well as Support Services.

Aldazabal received both his Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Master of Accountancy from the University of South Florida. He is a Certified Public Accountant.

He serves on the board of The Florida Aquarium and on the board of trustees of the National Hispanic Energy Council.

Greg Blunden is senior vice president of Finance and Accounting and chief financial officer (CFO) of TECO Energy and CFO of Emera Inc.

Blunden joined Emera in 2000 and has held financial leadership roles at Emera Inc., Emera Maine and Nova Scotia Power. He has gained valuable experience and industry insight into all aspects of Emera's business, including corporate finance, business development, utility operations, customer service, renewable energy and regulatory policy.

Most recently, he was Emera's vice president of Corporate Strategy & Planning and before that held the position of executive vice president of Customer, Business & Financial Services at Nova Scotia Power.

Blunden is a Chartered Professional Accountant and a graduate of Mount Allison University.

Marian Cacciatore is vice president of Human Resources for Tampa Electric.

Cacciatore joined TECO after a lengthy career in human resources. Before joining TECO in 2020, she served as vice president of Human Resources for a satellite communications company. Her background also includes HR leadership roles in manufacturing, financial services and high-tech organizations.

She has a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of South Florida, and a master’s degree in Human Resource Management from Rollins College.

She has served as a mentor with the University of South Florida’s Corporate Mentoring program.

Jeff Chronister is vice president of Finance, where he leads a team of professionals responsible for accounting, financial reporting and business planning for Tampa Electric and TECO Energy.

Chronister has served in several leadership roles in his more than 30 years at TECO, including as Tampa Electric's controller.

A Certified Public Accountant since 1983, Chronister has a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from Stetson University. He is a member of the American Institute of CPAs and the Florida Institute of CPAs.

Chronister has served many community organizations, including the Shriners Hospital for Children and local Little League organizations. He is also an alumnus of both Tampa Connection and Leadership Tampa.

Chris Heck is vice president of Information Technology (IT) and chief Information officer (CIO) for TECO Energy, in addition to his role as chief digital officer for Emera Inc., TECO’s parent company.

Heck is an accomplished utility sector IT leader with a career spanning more than 35 years. Throughout his career, he has led digital transformations and built strong cyber-security programs. He is experienced in many aspects of the utility industry, including creating competitive advantage, merger and acquisition planning and integration, lean process improvement, automation, data analytics, product and services sourcing and workforce strategy.

Heck earned his Master of Computer Science from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He also attended Appalachian State University and Darden School of Business.

David M. Nicholson is vice president of Legal, general counsel and chief ethics and compliance officer. He is responsible for legal affairs, federal governmental affairs, real estate and ethics and compliance.

Prior to joining TECO in 1999, Nicholson was a shareholder at the Tampa law firm of Macfarlane Ferguson & McMullen. While at the firm, he represented Peoples Gas before it was acquired by TECO in 1997.

Nicholson received his Bachelor of Science and graduated with honors from the University of Florida College of Law. Upon graduation, he was inducted into the Order of the Coif. While in law school he also attended the University of Glasgow, Scotland, for a year on a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship.

Nicholson serves on the board of the Hillsborough County Bar Foundation, where he is past president. He also serves on the boards of the Tampa Bay History Center and the University Club of Tampa.

Penelope Rusk is Tampa Electric’s vice president of Regulatory Affairs. 

Rusk joined TECO in 1997 as an economist and has significant experience with regulatory activities. Rusk has played a leadership role in rate cases, strategic growth and solar initiatives. Most recently, she served as senior director of Regulatory Affairs.

Rusk has a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of New Orleans and a master’s degree in economics from the University of South Florida.

Mike Sewell is vice president of Federal Affairs for Tampa Electric and Peoples Gas, New Mexico Gas Co. and Emera. He represents the companies’ interests in Washington, D.C., with the U.S. Congress, administration and federal agencies.

Sewell is a seasoned professional in the utility industry with more than 20 years of experience and an extensive knowledge of federal affairs. He joined TECO in 2020 after working at another utility. Prior to that, he worked on Capitol Hill with the Florida congressional delegation.

He has a bachelor’s degree in History from the University of Virginia.

Sewell is a board member of the National Energy Resources Organization. He serves as a volunteer youth golf coach with the First Tee of Washington, D.C., and basketball coach with the Catholic Youth Organization.

Stephanie Smith is vice president of State and Regional Affairs for Tampa Electric and Peoples Gas.

Smith is a seasoned professional with more than 20 years of experience in public affairs and governmental relations, including developing strategies to advance legislation and navigate regulatory issues on behalf of Fortune 500 companies. She joined TECO in 2022. Previously, she worked for two Florida gubernatorial administrations, among other notable positions.

She has a Bachelor of Science in Political Science from Florida State University.

Smith serves as the chair of CareerSource Florida’s board of directors. She also is a board member of Associated Industries of Florida, the Volunteer Florida Foundation, PACE Center for Girls, the Florida Alliance Against Human Trafficking and the Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce.

Karen Sparkman is vice president of Customer Experience for both Tampa Electric and Peoples Gas.

She joined the company in June 2017 as director of Customer Experience Operations at Tampa Electric and Peoples Gas and has played a key role in the transformation of the broader Customer Experience organization across Contact Centers, Customer Billing, Credit & Collections and Payment Operations partnering with IT, Electric Delivery and Regulatory senior leadership teams to optimize business process integration on priorities such as Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) solutions and Customer Relationship & Billing (CRB) system utilization and improvements.

Before joining TECO, Sparkman was a Customer Experience leader at Snohomish County Public Utility District (PUD) in Everett, Wash., and prior to worked at Colorado Springs Utilities. She has a bachelor's degree in business management from the University of Phoenix and a master's degree in business administration from Colorado Technical University.

Kris Stryker is Tampa Electric’s vice president of Clean Energy and Emerging Technology.

Stryker oversees the company’s continued solar expansion and the exploration of emerging renewable technologies, such as battery storage and carbon capture and sequestration.

Stryker joined TECO in 1999 as a mechanical engineer. He has extensive experience in project development and management. He has successfully led multiple strategic projects, including the Big Bend Modernization project. Most recently he served as senior director of Decarbonization and Major Projects.

He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Florida. He is a licensed professional engineer in the state of Florida.

Heidi Whidden serves as Tampa Electric’s vice president of Safety and Security.

Whidden is an established safety professional with more than two decades of leadership experience in the utility industry. She joined TECO in 2023. Previously, she served as the senior director of Fleet Safety Operations at the Calpine Corporation in Houston, Texas.
 
Whidden earned a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture (emphasis in Environmental Economics and Policy) from the University of Florida. She also received the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) Safety Management Certification and has completed multiple safety management programs.

Chip Whitworth serves as Tampa Electric’s vice president of Electric Delivery. Whitworth brings more than two decades of leadership experience to this role.

Whitworth began his career at Tampa Electric as a tree trimming contractor and later as a cooperative student. He began his full-time career with the company in 2000 in Electric Delivery, where he worked in several departments before transitioning to management. He later worked in Energy Supply, where he served as director of Big Bend Power Station and as senior director of Bayside and Big Bend Station. He most recently served as the vice president of Safety and Security.

Whitworth received his Bachelor of Civil/Structural Engineering and his Master of Business Administration from the University of South Florida.