JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The JEA board removed "interim" from CEO Vickie Cavey's title in a change that shelved any move to launch a national search and also made some history by giving the permanent CEO title to a woman for the first time at JEA.
Board Chairman Joe DiSalvo said Cavey has done a solid job as interim CEO since April and it is time to remove the interim tag so it's clear to JEA employees, rating agencies and others that she is in charge of running the utility.
He said the interim CEO title "compromises Vickie's ability" in making changes at the city-owned utility.
"For some disgruntled types, they can adopt a wait her out mentality because Vickie is 'just a temp,'" DiSalvo said. "I don't think this attitude is dominant but I'm confident it exists to some extent. My perspective is you're either in charge or not. The interim title, in my opinion, negatively impacts initiative and innovation."
Cavey was the second woman to be interim CEO, following Melissa Dykes who held that position when she was at JEA. Cavey is the first woman to be CEO without interim being in the title.
The board voted 5-2 in favor of the change in Cavey's job title. Board members Kawanza Humphrey and Zachary Faison Jr. cast the "no" votes. Humphrey said she agrees with the praise other board members gave Cavey but wanted to invite more people to apply through a national search.
"I think it's prudent for us as a board to conduct a search and open up the process to be certain that we have a fair and equitable and defensible, if it ever came down to it, process," she said. "Not to take away from the great work that has been done. I think we would welcome and encourage Vickie and others to apply for the position."
The board named Cavey interim CEO on April 15 when Jay Stowe stepped down from that post in what DiSalvo called a mutual decision by Stowe and the board. The board had hired Stowe in November 2020 after a national search.
Board member John Baker said if the utility were to do a national search now and "choose someone other than Vickie, you might get a good person and you might not. And I think Vickie has shown incredible leadership. She has gotten in and made significant changes that most interims would not have touched."
He said Cavey has "streamlined the workforce and done so in a way that did not cause uproar and dissatisfaction among the employees."
Looking past Cavey's tenure as CEO, several board members said they want to see JEA focus on "homegrown talent" by promoting from within to senior leadership positions.
"That has been the history of the JEA," board member Rick Morales said. "Most of the leadership has come from within and I think that's something we really need to get back to cultivating. The best part of JEA is the staff and all the employees that work here."
Cavey is steeped in JEA culture though she had not been in a senior leadership position until she became interim CEO.
She started at JEA as a mechanical engineer and worked 32 years at the utility before retiring in 2016. She returned in 2020 to work for interim CEO Paul McElroy while JEA did the national search that hired Stowe. She came out of retirement a second time in March to be an adviser and staff liaison for the board. The board then made her interim CEO when Stowe stepped down.
