Our Leadership
Strong leadership is important to our company and to the communities we serve. Our leaders are the key to Mississippi Power's goal of providing electricity reliably and safely to our customers throughout the state of Mississippi.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Anthony Wilson is chairman and CEO of Mississippi Power, which provides clean, safe, reliable, and affordable electricity to southeast Mississippi. It is a subsidiary of Southern Company — one of the nation's largest energy companies.
Wilson has worked more than 40 years for Mississippi Power and the Southern Company system, starting in 1984 as an engineering cooperative education student in Biloxi. He moved to Georgia Power in 2002 and held several executive leadership positions before returning to Mississippi Power in 2015.
He is a statewide advocate for economic development, workforce development and education. During his term as chair of the Mississippi Economic Council, the MEC’s “It’s Time” campaign in 2020 garnered more than 1,000 businesses and individuals in support of the legislature’s historic votes to change the divisive state flag that had flown since 1894. It was replaced with an inclusive design that has changed perceptions about the state and enhanced its image globally.
Wilson recently served as chair of the Mississippi Aquarium Foundation to support and open the state-of-the-art facility, one of the state’s major tourism attractions. In another statewide leadership role, Gov. Tate Reeves appointed him to lead the Energy Impact Committee for the Restart Mississippi Commission on Economic Recovery related to COVID-19. He was also appointed chair of the Economic Development Committee for the governor’s Gulf Coast Advisory Committee.
He recently concluded a three-year term as chair of the Mississippi State University Foundation and is currently on the Bagley College of Engineering Advisory Council. He is the chair of the Mississippi Partnership for Economic Development and the past chair and a current board member of both the Mississippi Economic Council and the Gulf Coast Business Council. He also serves on the board of the William Carey University and the Mississippi Energy Institute.
Wilson has been recognized for his community service with the Distinguished Citizen Award by the Pine Burr Area Council and the Pat Santucci Spirit of the Coast Award from the Mississippi Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce. He is an active supporter of the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association, previously filling the role of chair of the Gulf Coast Heart Walk. He is a board member for the Home of Grace, a faith-based addiction recovery center.
He earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Mississippi State University and an MBA from the University of Southern Mississippi. He is also a graduate of the Oxford University Advanced Management Program as well as Leadership Mississippi.
A native of D'Iberville, Wilson and his wife Tonya have three daughters – Meghan, Katie and Natalie – and three grandsons – Leo, Max and Henry.
Pedro Cherry
President
Pedro Cherry was named president of Mississippi Power in March 2025 with leadership oversight of all aspects in providing clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy to more than 192,000 customers in southeast Mississippi.
Cherry has worked in the energy industry for 30 years and has been a part of the Southern Company system for nearly 25 years, including executive roles in electric and gas subsidiaries. From August 2020 until March 2025, Cherry served as president and CEO of Atlanta Gas Light and Chattanooga Gas, natural gas utilities that serve approximately 1.8 million customers across two states.
He previously worked at Georgia Power as executive vice president of Customer Service and Operations, where he led a team of 5,000-plus employees that served 2.6 million customers. He was responsible for the company’s Customer Service, Power Delivery, Sales, Pricing and Planning, Regional External Affairs, Renewable Development and Corporate Services. Prior to this role, Cherry was senior vice president of the Metro Atlanta Region, with responsibility for the company’s Operations, Sales, Customer Service, Economic and Community Development and External Affairs activities for 1.2 million customers across the area. He earlier held positions as vice president of Community and Economic Development and manager of the Metro West Region.
Cherry started his career in energy as an engineering and business analyst at Carolina Power & Light. He began his career with Southern Company in 1997 at Southern Energy Inc., the subsidiary that later became Mirant Corp., where he held positions of increasing responsibility, including chief financial officer of the International Division, vice president of International Finance and vice president of Planning and Performance Management. He returned to Southern Company in 2006, serving as finance manager for Southern Generation/Southern Power and then as assistant to the chief financial officer of Southern Company.
He has been an active community leader, volunteering his time on numerous boards in the Atlanta area, including chairman of the Georgia Chamber in 2024. He has been recognized on lists of 100 Most Influential Georgians by Georgia Trend Magazine and Most Admired CEOs by the Atlanta Business Chronicle.
Cherry holds an NACD Directorship Certification and is a CFA Charter holder and member of the CFA Institute. In addition, Cherry is a member of Auburn University’s Alumni Engineering Advisory Council.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering and an MBA in operations management and finance from Auburn University. He is a graduate of Leadership Atlanta, Leadership Georgia and the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Regional Leadership Institute.
A native of Windsor, North Carolina, Cherry and his wife, Tomeka, have two children, Peyton and Preston.
Management Council
Matthew Grice
Vice President, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer
Gifford Ormes
Vice President, External Affairs and Customer Growth
Brady Powers
Vice President,
Human Resources
Melvin Roland
Vice President, Power Delivery and Division Operations
Shawn Shurden
Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary and Chief Compliance Officer
Michael Smith
Vice President and Senior Production Officer
Board of Directors
Anthony Wilson
Chairman, President and CEO
Mississippi Power
Gulfport, Mississippi
Elected 2016
Augustus Leon Collins
Major General, U.S Army (Ret.),
CEO of MINACT Inc.
Jackson, Mississippi
Elected 2021
Thomas Duff
Co-owner, Duff Capital Investors
Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Elected 2018
Dr. Mary Graham
President, Mississippi Gulf
Coast Community College
Perkinston, Mississippi
Elected 2020
David B. Hall
President & CEO
Hall Timberlands
Meridian, Mississippi
Elected 2024
Dr. Mark E. Keenum
President, Mississippi State University
Starkville, Mississippi
Elected 2013
Kari Wilkinson
President, Ingalls Shipbuilding,
Executive Vice President, HII
Pascagoula, Mississippi
Elected 2022
Camille Scales Young
Principal, Cornerstone Government Affairs
Jackson, Mississippi
Elected 2018
