The CEO, aka the highest paid executive in New Mexico (who lives in Colorado), needs to go. Leadership starts at the top and Pat Vincent-Collawn is absent from PNM and interested in one thing: selling the company to an out of state utility conglomerate, in exchange for a massive retirement payout of $10,000,000+. In 2023, Ms. Collawn earned almost $7.7 million in total compensation, up from $6.6 million in 2022. That's right, you could hire almost 70 full time employees, who earn an average of $112,000 per year at PNM, in place of her massive compensation last year alone. And, it's not just Ms Collawn that receives a 7 figure compensation each year. So do other top level execs at PNM, and sadly they are all part of a tired, worn out, out of touch group of 60+ year old individuals who couldn't care less about their customers, let alone their employees. The employee morale is so low and toxic around the place, and the only thing the top floor cares about is improving their stock prices or earnings for their next investor call so that Pat Vincent-Collawn doesn't have to tell them the same lies she always does about why the company isn't performing. Good leaders negotiate with dollars, not people, but Collawn has mastered the old trick of threatening hiring freezes and layoffs if her rate hike cases don't get approved. Want proof? Just read the articles or watch the news coverage anytime rates or mergers at PNM make their way into the news. Bottom line is that Ms. Collawn needs to go and needs to be replaced by someone with both talent and people skills, both characterstics that seem to be lacking on the top floor. Don Tarry, thought to be PVC's replacement, earned $2.3 million in 2023. Patrick Apodaca earned $1.7 million. Lisa Eden earned $1.2 million. Another $2 million is spent to pay each of their 8 board members about $240,000 per year. This is New Mexico and no other organization compensates this many people that much money. So, you'd think the leaders of PNM would be the best of the best. You would expect that they'd be able to be effective at managing a tight ship, but one that their employees were proud of and happy to show up to. You'd expect their customers to be satisfied with their services and perceive there to be value in the service they receive for the price that they pay. But no, it's anything but that. In recent years the company has lost a massive number of long-time fixtures in the company, including department managers, VPs, supervisors, regulatory specialists, development managers, customer service pros, admin support, HR, and the list goes on and on and on. Ask anyone privately and they'll tell you how bad the leadership is, how bad their hiring/firing/promoting practices are, how unappreciated they really feel, and many are actively seeking new jobs elsewhere. It's a tough industry and only made tougher when the ship is being guided by a bunch of over the hill people with blinders on, and that haven't dipped so much as their toe in the water since the early or mid 2000s.
