n WOMEN IN Leadership
Nicole
Howard
CHIEF CUSTOMER OFFICER, CUSTOMER AND COMMUNITY SERVICES, SMUD
WHEN NICOLE HOWARD JOINED the Sacramento Munici-
pal Utility District in 2002 as a part-time customer service
representative, she didn’t anticipate being with the company
17 years later. “I’ve had the opportunity to learn and grow at
SMUD, and since my current role is the ninth position I have
held, I learn something new every day, which keeps the work
exciting and rewarding,” she says.
Howard’s been in her current role, chief customer of-
ficer, since 2015. She oversees SMUD’s $1.5 billion retail
business (customer and community services is the company’s
second-largest business) and its 550 employees that manage
the customer service operations and community programs for
SMUD’s 628,000 customers. “My business unit is the people and
the technology that support all the customer-facing aspects of
our business,” she says. That includes things like corporate
communications; marketing; public relations; customer expe-
rience and community engagement strategies; and customer
education for both residential and business customers.
Howard has witnessed what she calls “unprecedented
changes” in the energy industry as part of SMUD’s leadership
team cultivating innovation and technology tools to respond
to policy mandates, changing energy technologies, and fun-
damental shifts in how its customers source and use energy.
Howard was part of the leadership team behind the rollout
of SMUD’s new smart meters, which came online in 2011 and
2012. The smart meters provide robust data that gives SMUD
insight into its customer’s energy behavior, and gives custom-
ers the ability to better understand their usage.
“When we think about what drives the experience our cus-
tomers desire today, it really is based on giving them a sense of
control over their energy use,” says Howard. “Our strategy is
about providing energy reliably and affordably and the infor-
mation and tools in a way that makes it easy for them to engage
with SMUD.”
In 2015, Howard proposed a five-year customer expe-
rience initiative to the board of directors that would give
customers more control over their energy choices. The
initiative, implemented in 2017, offers SMUD customers per-
sonalized information, tools, services and products and allows
them to sign up for traditional products, customize billing
and shop for energy-related products through SMUD’s new
Energy Store.
Having worked in nearly every business unit in SMUD,
Howard has developed her leadership skills by working her way
up from an entry-level position to an executive post. She has
built up credibility along the way through her hard-work ethic,
and now she mentors others. At SMUD, Howard helped imple-
ment a program that offers opportunities for customer service
representatives to take temporary assignments in other parts
of the company, often leading to permanent positions. She
has also been a mentor with the Nehemiah Emerging Leaders
Program. “I’ve had so many really great mentors and coaches
along the way that have helped me, and now it’s my turn to pay
it forward and help others,” she says. n
Words of Wisdom: Don’t be afraid to be your authentic self.
76
comstocksmag.com | March 2019
– Laurie Lauletta-Boshart