Pinnacle West Capital Corp., the holding company for Arizona Public Service will get a new leader April 1 when the president and CEO of the Phoenix-based utility will take the helm at its parent.
The board of Pinnacle West late last week said Chairman and CEO Jeff Guldner will step down from his roles on March 31. Guldner has led Pinnacle West since November 2019. Before that, he led APS for about a year, having first joined the company in 2004 as director of federal regulatory affairs and compliance.
“[Guldner] cast a strong vision for a carbon-free future, and he initiated efforts to improve our customers’ experience and the long-term financial health of the company—the impacts of which can’t be overstated,” Pinnacle West Lead Director Paula Sims said in a statement. “Jeff’s passion for APS’s people, customers and the community has left an indelible mark.”
Preparing to take over the helm at Pinnacle West—which has assets of about $25 billion and serves roughly 1.4 million homes and businesses—is Ted Geisler, whom Guldner called “a trusted partner” and a key player in the development of the company’s long-term strategy. Geisler, 46, is a Phoenix native who joined APS in 2001 and has been involved in various areas of the company, including as chief information officer and CFO, before being named its president in 2022. He will remain APS’ president while taking on his holding-company roles.
Guldner will stay with the company in a non-executive advisory role for a year and will be paid a salary of $600,000. Geisler’s salary starting April 1 will be $1 million and he will receive $3 million worth of long-term stock incentives at that time.
“Ted brings a unique blend of operational and financial acumen and results-oriented leadership from his breadth of experience across our business,” Sims said. “He is well-positioned to build on his success as President of APS.”
Geisler will take over Pinnacle West as it is experiencing faster growth: Total sales in 2025 are expected to rise between 4% and 6%, in line with 2024 but significantly higher than the 2.7% growth average from 2021 to 2023. The company’s retail customer base is forecast to grow by 1.5% to 2.5%, which is fueling capital spending: APS’ capital plan calls for investments, which are on pace to just top $2 billion this year, to grow to $2.4 billion in 2025, $2.55 billion in 2026 and $2.65 billion in 2027.
