Sibert named to Board of Directors Network Honor Roll

Friday, Jan. 2, 2009 — Leslie Sibert, Georgia Power vice president of Transmission, has been named to the Board of Directors Network (BDN) Leadership Honor Roll for the important leadership role she has played in Georgia Power and in the lives of the young women she mentors.

The honor roll is awarded annually to three to five Georgia-based women leaders to highlight BDN's mission to increase the number of women in executive leadership and on corporate boards. In addition to showing significant leadership within their organizations, honorees serve as role model of career achievement and have the credentials needed to serve on corporate board memberships.

According to the U.S. Deptartment of Labor, 68 million women were employed in the United States in 2007, making up 46 percent of the total work force. Women accounted for 51 percent of all workers in high-paying managerial and professional fields. However, just 10 percent of Georgia's vacant or new board seats in 2007 were filled by women, according to BDN's 2008 annual study of women in boardrooms of Georgia public companies.

"I think it's important to have women on corporate boards because they bring different perspectives,' said Sibert. "If you look at the statistics on who is making the buying decisions on most consumer products, you will find that over 85 percent of those decisions are made by women. Women are also acquiring over 60 percent of the undergraduate degrees from colleges, so their role will continue to grow in corporate America."

When Sibert came into her current role in 2001, there were no female managers reporting to the vice president of Transmission. Now, two of the six managers reporting to Sibert are women. She focuses on developing women for leadership roles in operations, but admits it is difficult since there are few women in the operations side of the business.

"The key is for these women to reach out and mentor other women to help them successfully navigate the challenges they face being the only female or one of few females at their workplace," said Sibert.

Sibert established a mentoring program with the Women in Engineering organization at Georgia Tech and TWIG (Technological Women in Georgia), an affinity group for women in engineering and craft positions, in which Sibert serves as the executive sponsor. The program targets upper classmen and is intended to prepare these women for what to expect in the workforce when they graduate and enter predominantly male fields. It has now been expanded to include women in the dual-degree engineering program at Spelman College.

Knowing that balance is important to being successful as a wife, mother and career woman, Sibert has worked to provide flexibility and support to working parents within Georgia Power, including developing and presenting the business case for the company's two new childcare facilities. She also supports flexible and alternative work schedules and serves as an advocate for women-owned businesses.

"It's a tremendous honor to be recognized by such a prestigious organization as BDN," said Sibert. "The recognition that you have achieved success in your career and identified as someone who can provide value to a company by serving on their board is a wonderful honor."

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