RICHARD HOLMES
by Phillip Bellury
Some people learn about the value of diversity through their early life experiences. Such was the case with Richard L. Holmes, Senior Vice President of Metro Atlanta Region and Diversity/Corporate Relations for Georgia Power. Holmes was an Army brat, and like most kids who grow up moving from one military base to another, he was exposed to a variety of cultures and ethnic groups.
“Diversity was paramount in my experience,” says Holmes, whose father was stationed at Ft. Benning, Georgia when Holmes was high school age. “Early on, I learned how to deal with different people. When I came into the work force, being able to team, partner and communicate was something I already knew how to do.”
Holmes has worked at Georgia Power for 31 years. His first exposure to the company occurred when he was still in college and worked as a summer intern in engineering. He gained a good working knowledge of the company from that experience, and he was encouraged and supported to join the company full time, but not as an engineer. He began his career at the company by first going through an accounting management training program. From there he advanced through middle management, held several vice president positions, and in 2004, served as the Corporate Compliance Officer.
In his current Senior Vice President role, Holmes has operational responsibilities for Georgia Power’s 1.1 million customers in the metropolitan Atlanta area. He also has overall corporate responsibility for the company’s Diversity and Corporate Relations organizations, as well as two company-wide employee support groups – Citizens of GPC and The Ambassadors Retiree Organization. Holmes also serves on a number of boards including the Georgia State Department of Community Health, Literacy Action, Kennesaw State University Foundation, American Association of Blacks in Energy, Atlanta Branch NAACP, and the Atlanta Police Foundation. In 1999, he became the first African-America to serve as Chairman of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce, the second largest chamber of commerce in Georgia.
Holmes did not get to a leadership position at Georgia Power by accident; he earned it. He holds a BBA from Columbus State University and an MBA from Atlanta University. He also completed the Harvard University Business School Program for Management Development. He is a graduate of Leadership Georgia, Leadership Atlanta, Leadership Cobb, Leadership Columbus and the Regional Leadership Institute. Though he credits his parents for helping him get his start, Holmes also believes that his success as a leader at Georgia Power has a lot to do with staying spiritually grounded and “treating people the way you would want to be treated.”
“It’s been a good run so far,” says Holmes, “and I’ve seen and experienced a lot of positives here. Like anyone, I’ve had ups and downs, but overall this is a great place to work and the company has always been very supportive of its people. It has been a real blessing for me to progress as I have here.”
