AECI management

James J. Jura, CEO and general manager

James Jura was appointed general manager and chief executive officer of Associated Electric Cooperative Inc. in August 1991.

Before joining AECI, Jura was administrator of the Bonneville Power Administration. Prior to Bonneville, Jura worked for the Office of Management and Budget in Washington, D.C. He began his federal career in 1971 with the Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration and prior to this was employed by Boeing Co.

Jura is a native of Nebraska. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Washington, a master's degree in business administration from Seattle University and has completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard University's Graduate School of Business.

He currently serves on the boards of directors of the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives Inc.; Missouri Employers' Mutual Insurance; United Way of the Ozarks; and the CASA of Southwest Missouri Advisory Board.

Senior staff

David W. McNabb	chief financial officer
Shawn P. Calhoun	director, Human Resources
Ronald H. Murphy	chief information officer
Roger S. Clark	director, Engineering and Operations
Joseph E. Wilkinson	director, Member Services and Corporate Communications
Duane D. Highley	director, Power Production
Michael E. King	manager, internal audit
Patrick A. Baumhoer	general counsel

David W. McNabb, chief financial officer David McNabb joined Associated in 1997 and was selected chief financial officer in late 2006. His experience with the cooperative includes serving as acting CFO from April 2004 through March 2005 and nine years as manager of resource planning and operations, where he was responsible for managing AECI’s wholesale energy marketing; planning and acquisition of generation assets; natural gas fuel procurement; production of long-range energy and financial forecasts; and helping to evaluate power pool, regional transmission organization and strategic transmission options for AECI. His prior experience in the utility industry includes work with Central and South West Services and TU Electric and Public Service Co. of Oklahoma. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla.
Shawn P. Calhoun, director, Human Resources Shawn Calhoun joined Associated in August 2010, bringing 24 years of progressive experience in human resources, leadership development, talent acquisition, change management, labor relations, succession planning and organizational assessment. Previously, Shawn was corporate director of employee relations for Bausch & Lomb Inc. in Rochester, N.Y. During her 17 years with the firm, she was responsible for human resources leadership for three business units across all product lines within operations, commercial and corporate functions. Prior to Bausch & Lomb, Shawn worked for Baxter Healthcare's manufacturing facility in Cleveland, Miss. Shawn holds a Bachelor of Science in marketing and business administration from the University of Southwestern Louisiana, as well as certifications in human resources leadership and management development.
Ronald H. Murphy , chief information officer Ronald Murphy has more than 25 years of experience with AECI, joining the cooperative in 1980 as a temporary programming assistant. During his career, he has been promoted to several positions, including technical programmer, technical programmer supervisor, systems administrator and manager of technical services, where he was responsible for AECI's computer systems, networking, communications and IT security infrastructures. In early 2006, he was named chief information officer. Murphy holds a Bachelor of Science in physics and mathematics from Missouri State University.
Roger S. Clark , director, Engineering and Operations Roger Clark joined AECI in April 2007 as director of Member Services and Corporate Communications. In January 2008, he accepted the opportunity to serve as director of Engineering and Operations at AECI. Prior to AECI, Clark served nearly seven years as general manager and chief executive officer of Boone Electric Cooperative in Columbia, Mo. Previously, he was manager of operations and engineering with White River Valley Electric Cooperative in Branson, Mo. A graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, Clark has a bachelor’s degree in engineering and served eight years of active military duty, including service as a pilot during the first Gulf War. He later earned a master’s in business administration from Drury University in Springfield, Mo. He is a past chairman of Touchstone Energy Cooperatives, a national alliance of more than 640 cooperatives in 46 states.
Joseph E. Wilkinson , director, Member Services and Corporate Communications Joe Wilkinson joined AECI in 1998 and has served as director of Member Services and Corporate Communications since January 2008. Wilkinson joined AECI as a programmer/analyst and began supervising AECI's information systems programming staff in December 1999, progressing to senior systems analyst in November 2004. In 2005, he served as acting director of the Business and Technical Services Division. Following that assignment, he was named manager of information services, where he oversaw the software used and developed at AECI. Prior to AECI, Wilkinson worked as a senior consultant for Application Consulting Group, providing multidimensional database solutions for Fortune 500 companies. Wilkinson has a bachelor's degree in computer science from Purdue University.
Duane D. Highley, director, Power Production Duane Highley has worked for AECI since 1983, when he joined the cooperative as a planning engineer in the Engineering and Operations Division. In 1993 he was promoted to supervisor of resource planning. In 1996 he was appointed plant manager at AECI's New Madrid Power Plant, a 1,200 MW coal-based power plant with about 200 employees. In January 1999, Highley was appointed director of AECI's Power Production Division. Highley has a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering and a master's degree in engineering management from the University of Missouri-Rolla and has completed The Executive Program at the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business and the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. He is a registered Professional Engineer in Missouri.
Michael E. King, manager, internal audit Mike King joined AECI in August 1980 as an internal auditor and was selected in May 1983 as manager of the internal audit department. He holds an undergraduate degree in business administration and economics from Drury University and a master's in accountancy from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Patrick A. Baumhoer, general counsel Pat Baumhoer joined AECI in January 2000. Previously, he was a partner with the law firm of Andereck, Evans, Milne, Peace and Baumhoer for 20 years and worked on many cooperative issues. Baumhoer has a bachelor's degree in economics from Cornell University and a juris doctor's degree from the University of Missouri.