APS announces new president

Jeffrey Guldner, who was recently named president of Arizona Public Service (APS), is determined to engage with customers and employees to better serve Arizona.

Guldner has served as executive vice president of public policy, general counsel and was responsible for customer service since he joined APS in 2004.

APS is Arizona’s largest electric utility company and is the principal subsidiary of Pinnacle West Capital Corporation.

Guldner’s legal and public policy background with, and prior to, APS helped his develop a well-rounded skill set.

“One of the nice things about public policy is you get to poke around a bunch of different areas of the company,” he explained.

Guldner said he finds it beneficial to pair work experience with life experience, and then apply it to his professional work.

As he settles into his new position, he will use his vast experience to focus on internal and external priorities.

From an internal standpoint, Guldner says he will work to ensure APS is engaging with employees and “doing everything that we can to take obstacles out of their way and to make them productive and efficient.”

From an external standpoint, he also wants to engage with customers and plans to help “transition into a more advanced energy economy with our customers leading the way.”

As Arizona grows and changes, Guldner views growth as an opportunity to embrace development and use it to improve service for APS customers.

“I think growth is a tremendous opportunity because as we see growth, we’re able to lower the cost of our product because we’re serving more people and we’re being more efficient in how we provide electricity,” Guldner explained.

”We’re doing everything that we can to ensure that we’re attracting businesses and that we’re bringing folks in from out of state to help grow the Arizona economy because we think that’s good for us.”

In addition to improving service for customers, APS promotes community positivity.  

“This is a community that I think has a tremendous amount of opportunity in paving the way of what electricity is going to look like in this country over the next 50 years,” Guldner said. “I’m thrilled to be a part of that and I look forward to working with everyone.”

Guldner explained how APS employees value community engagement, including supporting the arts. He personally volunteers with performing arts theaters and believes having local arts and culture improves quality of life.

“Part of why we do that is we want to create that environment where our employees like to live, where our customers want to live and where people will move into the state,” Guldner said.