Nicholas DeBenedictis was elected Chairman of Aqua America, Inc. (formerly Philadelphia Suburban Corporation) in May 1993, 10 months after joining the corporation as its president and chief executive officer, and chairman of its principal subsidiary, Aqua Pennsylvania (formerly Philadelphia Suburban Water Company).
Prior to joining Aqua America, DeBenedictis spent three years (1989-1992) as senior vice president of corporate and public affairs for PECO Energy, a $4 billion nuclear utility. He was responsible for government relations, economic development and environmental policies, plus implementation of the utility's public policy positions.
From 1986 to 1989, DeBenedictis was president of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce. He successfully designed and implemented various economic and business development programs to service the Chamber's growing membership, which dramatically increased to more than 5,500 businesses, putting it among the five largest in the nation.
DeBenedictis served in two cabinet positions in Pennsylvania government: Secretary of the Department of Environmental Resources (1983-1986) and Director of the Office of Economic Development (1981-1983). Before joining the cabinet, he spent eight years (1973-1981) with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, first as the Assistant Regional Administrator for Region 3, based in Philadelphia, before being transferred to serve in Washington, D.C. from 1980-1981.
DeBenedictis received a Bachelor's degree in business administration from Drexel University in 1968, and a Master's degree in environmental engineering and science from Drexel in 1969. He served in the Army Corps of Engineers between 1970 and 1973 reaching the rank of Captain.
DeBenedictis was elected Chairman of the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau's (PCVB) Board of Directors in July 2004 and chaired former Philadelphia Mayor John Street's 21st Century Review Forum Regional Cooperation Committee. He currently serves on the policy committee of the Pennsylvania Business Council and is a former Chairman of the Council (formerly the Pennsylvania Business Roundtable). DeBenedictis is a member of the Executive Committee of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce. He also serves on the Board of Directors for many regional businesses, economic and environmental organizations. These include: Drexel University, Exelon Corporation, PNC Bank - Southeast Pennsylvania Advisory, Glatfelter and Independence Blue Cross. He is a past president of the National Association of Water Companies. DeBenedictis has received numerous awards for public service and civic leadership. They include:
? 2010 Ellipse Award for Improvement of Quality of Life Through Infrastructure, Pennoni Associates
? 2009 "Heart of Philadelphia Award", Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association
? 2008 Man of the Year Award, Boys Town of Italy
? 2008 Anthony J. Drexel Award, Drexel University
? 2007 Greater Philadelphia Area Leadership Award, Roman Catholic High School
? 2007 - Knighted as a Cavaliere Ufficiale in the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
? 2007 Entrepreneur of the Year Award (Philadelphia Region); Finalist, 2007 Entrepreneur of the Year Award, National Competition, Ernst & Young
? 2007 Vision for Philadelphia Award, Philadelphia Hospitality, Inc.
? 2005 William Penn Award, Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce
? 2005 Hope Award, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Greater Delaware Valley Chapter
? 2001 Ambassador Award, The Philadelphia Boys Choir and Chorale
? 2000 Humanitarian Award, Magee Rehabilitation Hospital
? 2000 Community Leadership Award, Riverbend Environmental Center
? 1998 Business Leader of the Year Award, Drexel University
? 1996 CEO of the Year, Chester County Chamber of Commerce and Industry
? 1995 Distinguished Citizen of the Year Award, Cradle of Liberty Council of the Boy Scouts of America
DeBenedictis has received an Honorary Doctorate of Science degree from Widener University and an Honorary Doctorate of Letters degree from Drexel University.
Regional President, Midwest and Southern Operations Senior Vice President, Public Affairs
Aqua America Incorporated (NYSE: WTR)
Christopher Franklin was promoted to regional president, Midwest and Southern operations at Aqua America, Inc. in December 2009 adding the company's Midwestern operations in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana and Missouri to his earlier responsibility of managing the company's southern operation (Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia). In his current position, Franklin has operating responsibility for water and wastewater service to approximately 1.2 million people (400,000 accounts). Franklin continues serve as senior vice president of the company's corporate and public affairs, which includes responsibility for the company's federal, state and municipal legislative affairs, investor relations, and communications.
Prior to his current position and since February 2007, Franklin was regional president for the company's southern operations as well as senior vice president of its customer operations department, which included the company's national customer call centers, national meter operations, and company-wide billing and collections.
Since joining Aqua America in December 1992 as director, corporate and public affairs, Franklin headed several successful projects, including leading the effort to get favorable utility legislation passed in several states, attaining national print and broadcast media coverage for the company, changing the name of the company and its subsidiaries, and expanding its investor relations outreach to increase analyst coverage of the company. One of the largest, more recent projects was the consolidation of the company's customer service operations.
Prior to joining Aqua America, Franklin worked at PECO Energy Company (an Exelon Company) where he was regional, civic and economic development officer, responsible for the review, recommendation and promotion of economic development initiatives in the Philadelphia region.
Franklin earned his BS from West Chester University and his MBA from Villanova University.
Franklin serves on the Board of Directors of Aqua Pennsylvania. He is the past president of the Board of Trustees of the West Chester University Foundation. In addition, he serves on the Board of Magee Rehabilitation Hospital, and is chairman of the Chester County Chamber of Business and Industry. Franklin is the past Chairman of the Legislative Committee of the Pennsylvania Business Roundtable in Harrisburg. Franklin chairs the Legislative Committee of the National Association of Water Companies.
Karl M. Kyriss was named president of Aqua Pennsylvania, Inc., the largest operating subsidiary, in June 2003. In June 2005, Mr. Kyriss was promoted to Regional President of Aqua Mid-Atlantic expanding his role to include Aqua New Jersey and Aqua New York. In his capacity Kyriss is responsible for the overall operations of all three companies including production, network, and capital programs. In December 2009, Kyriss' responsibilities increased to include Maine and the division was renamed from Mid-Atlantic to Northeastern to reflect the expanded service territory, which employs 700 and provides water and wastewater service to approximately 1.7 million people.
Prior to joining Aqua America, Kyriss spent 10 years at American Water Works Company, where he served first as director of engineering design and subsequently as vice president, operations, northeast region. Kyriss previously worked for Aqua Pennsylvania between 1981 and 1989 as manager, treatment and quality control. Kyriss also has held various positions with consulting firms and began his career with the Philadelphia Water Department.
Kyriss has a B.S. in chemical engineering and an M.S. in chemical and biochemical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and is a professional engineer in Pennsylvania. He currently serves as a trustee on the Water Research Foundation.
Vice President, Chief Accounting Officer and Controller
Robert A. Rubin was appointed vice president, controller and chief accounting officer (CAO) of Aqua America in May 2005 after having served a chief accounting officer since March 2004 and as controller for the previous five years.
As CAO, Rubin is responsible for Aqua America's external and internal financial reporting, including that required by the Securities Exchange Commission and Sarbanes Oxley regulations. He is also responsible for taxes, coordinating external audits, corporate accounting and maintaining compliance with accounting standards and principles throughout the company.
Rubin, a Certified Public Accountant with a B.S. in accounting from Penn State University, joined Aqua America in 1989 as an accounting manager after having been employed by KPMG LLP. He was later promoted to manager, budgets and finance before being appointed assistant controller in 1994. His professional associations include the Pennsylvania and American Institutes of Certified Public Accountants and the National Association of Water Companies – Taxation Committee.
David P. Smeltzer was named Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer for Aqua America, Inc. (NYSE: WTR) in 1999 after serving as Vice President, Rates and Regulatory Affairs for Aqua America's largest subsidiary Aqua Pennsylvania, Inc., since 1991. Prior to then, he spent over four years as Aqua Pennsylvania's Vice President-Controller.
Smeltzer joined Aqua Pennsylvania in 1986 after having been employed as Audit manager by the accounting firm of KPMG LLP.
Smeltzer earned his B.S. in Business Administration from LaSalle University in 1980 as an accounting major. In 1982 he became a licensed Certified Public Accountant in Pennsylvania.
Smeltzer is a member of the Pennsylvania and American Institutes of Certified Public Accountants; is a past Chairman of the PA Chapter of the National Association of Water Companies and its Rates and Revenue Committee.
Chief Administrative Officer, General Counsel and Secretary
Roy H. Stahl was named Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of Aqua America, Inc. in February 2007. As CAO, Stahl is responsible for the administrative functions of the corporation including human resources, information services, legal, security, and risk management. Stahl served as executive vice president from 2000 to 2007.
He has retained his position as General Counsel to which he was appointed in 1991, following a seven year history with the company in which he served as corporate counsel; vice president, administration and corporate counsel; and vice president, administration and general counsel.
Before he joined Aqua America in 1984, Stahl spent two years with two of its former subsidiaries, Philadelphia Services Group, Inc. (PSG) as Director of Group Legal Services, and Terraqua Resources Corporation as Vice President of Administration. Prior to this time, Stahl served as Assistant General Counsel at Gilbert Associates, Inc., engineering and consulting firm in Reading, PA.
In 1974, Stahl graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Pre Law from Pennsylvania State University. Three years later, he received his JD from Villanova University School of Law. Stahl, a Phi Beta Kappa, is a member of the American Bar Association, the Pennsylvania Bar Association and the American Corporate Counsel Association.
Shareholder Briefcase
Printed Materials
Email Alerts
Download Library
RSS News Feeds
hide all
Nicholas DeBenedictisChairman, President and CEO