Charles MacFarlane, S., President and Chief Executive Officer
On April 13, 2015, Chuck MacFarlane was named President and Chief Executive Officer of Otter Tail Corporation. As the company's highest-ranking executive, Chuck guides corporate strategy. He brings his wide-ranging management experience, insights into the corporation’s culture, appreciation for its diversified business model, and drive for results to the role.
For the year prior to this appointment, Chuck was the corporation’s President and Chief Operating Officer. In this role, he advanced growth and profitability strategies at the corporation’s electric utility and manufacturing businesses under Varistar.
Until 2014 Chuck was President and Chief Executive Officer of the corporation’s electric utility, Otter Tail Power Company, serving in those roles since 2003 and 2007 respectively. He served on Otter Tail Corporation’s executive team as Senior Vice President of its electric platform during that time.
Chuck joined Otter Tail Power Company in 2001 as Director of Financial Analysis and Planning and was named Vice President of Finance and Business Planning in May 2002 and Interim President in August 2002. Previously he worked for Xcel Energy.
During his tenure with Otter Tail Power Company, the utility attained industry-leading customer satisfaction levels and safety records. Chuck transitioned the organization toward an increasingly balanced portfolio of power generation, moving early into cost-effective wind generation, and he secured significant transmission-expansion investments.
Chuck earned his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, and his master's degree in business administration from the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota. He also is a graduate of the Minnesota Executive Program at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management. Chuck serves on Boards of Directors for Otter Tail Corporation, the University of North Dakota, Edison Electric Institute, and Lake Region Healthcare.