Craven Crowell Former Chairman of the TVA

Biography of Craven Crowell

Craven Crowell served for eight years as Chairman of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). He was appointed to the TVA Board of Directors by President Clinton, who designed him as TVA's 11th Chairman following his confirmation by the U. S. Senate in 1993. Crowell retired from TVA in April 2001 after 25 years of federal government service.

He is now a Director at Oliver Wyman, an international consulting firm with offices in 18 countries. Crowell specializes in energy and water resource consulting.

Crowell is a former Chairman of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) of Palo Alto, California, and has served as a member of the EPRI Advisory Council and as a director of EPRI Worldwide. Crowell also served on the Board and Executive Committee of the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI).

In 2002, Crowell was appointed International Economic Advisor to the People's Government of the Hebei Province, China, by Governor Niu Maosheng. He was named honorary president of Hohai University, Nanjing, China, in 1997, becoming the first non-Chinese citizen to receive such an honor.

During his service at the Tennessee Valley Authority, Crowell focused primarily on upgrading the organization's operational systems and strengthening TVA's financial position, including capping and reducing TVA's substantial debt after 35 years of continuous increases. At the time he retired, TVA's five nuclear units had achieved a reputation of excellence in the industry and were among the top performers in the U.S. All five had received the prestigious INPO 1 rating, the highest possible rating from the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations. Production costs for TVA's combined fossil, nuclear, and hydro units were among the best in the nation.

Crowell promoted TVA's international activities with global bond issues in Europe and Asia and business partnerships in China. In 1996, along with the State of Tennessee, TVA sponsored the Economic Opportunities through Water and Energy Conference in Beijing. TVA began sharing its expertise on several large projects in China relating to river management, hydroelectric dams, and upgrading of electric power systems after Crowell signed three Memorandums of Understanding with the Chinese Ministries of Water Resources and Electric Power. In 2001, Crowell keynoted and TVA co-sponsored with the Ministry of Water Resources a conference in Beijing on the South-to-North Water Diversion Project.

In speeches at Harvard University, Stanford University, the City Club of Cleveland, the Orange County World Affairs Council, and the Institute of Economic Affairs European Electricity Conference in Brussels, Crowell emerged as an industry expect on the importance of promoting public power's continuing role in a deregulated electric utility industry.

He also has lectured at the Hohai University and was a keynote speaker at the first International Yellow River forum in Zhengzhou, China.

Crowell had more than 17 years of experience with the TVA, having served previously as a vice president and member of the senior management team. Prior to becoming Chairman of TVA, he was chief of staff to U. S. Senator Jim Sasser, who was Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and later served as Ambassador to the People's Republic of China. Early in his career, Crowell was an award-winning reporter and city editor at the Nashville Tennessean.

He is a native of Nashville, Tennessee, and received his bachelor's degree from Lipscomb University. He was named Alumnus of the Year in 1995. Crowell served in the U.S. Marine Corps and was a commissioned officer in the Naval Reserve. Crowell and his wife, Freddie, have one daughter.

Craven Crowell can be contacted by telephone (865-671-3398); by fax (865-671-3399); or by e-mail (cravencrowell@aol.com).