Paul Bowers was named president and chief executive of Georgia Power, effective December 31, 2010. The company is the largest subsidiary of Southern Company, one of the nation’s largest producers of electricity.

Bowers joined the Southern Company systems at Gulf Power in 1979 and has held executive leadership positions at multiple subsidiaries.

Prior to his current position, he was chief financial officer of Southern Company, where he was rated by Institutional Investors magazine as one of the industry’s top three CFOs in America.

In 1998, Bowers was elected president and CEO of South Western Electricity plc, Southern Company’s former U.K. subsidiary. From 2001 to 2008, he served as president of Southern Company Generation, where he was responsible for the company’s operational activities, as well as CEO of Southern Power.

He serves on the boards of Nuclear Electric Insurance Ltd., Georgia Chamber of Commerce, and e3 Partners Ministry. He is chairman of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, chair of the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education, and vice chair of the Georgia Department of Economic Development. Bowers also is a member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s energy policy council and a trustee for The Woodruff Arts Center.

A Pensacola, Florida native, Bowers holds a bachelor of science degree from the University of West Florida and a master’s degree in management from Troy University. He also is a Harvard Business School Advanced Management graduate.