DULUTH, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) Chief Risk Officer and Senior Vice President of Energy-Centric Businesses Bob Adams has been promoted to ALLETE Chief Financial Officer effective March 4, 2017. He will replace current CFO Steve DeVinck, who recently announced his intention to retire in the spring of 2017.

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Bob Adams promoted to ALLETE CFO (Photo: ALLETE, Inc.)

Adams joined the Duluth-based company in 1987 as a financial analyst. He was involved in several successful startups, including Enventis Telecommunications and Split Rock Energy. He also led Reach-All Manufacturing for a period in the early 1990s. He was named chief risk officer and vice president of business development in 2008, promoted to vice president of energy-centric businesses in 2014 and added the title of senior vice president of energy-centric businesses in 2015. The role of CFO is familiar to Adams, having served in that capacity in the past for Minnesota Power and Split Rock Energy.

In announcing the promotion, ALLETE Chairman, President and CEO Al Hodnik cited Adams’ recent success in leading the U.S. Water Services acquisition and the honing of ALLETE Clean Energy; Superior Water, Light and Power; and BNI Energy strategies.

“Bob has spearheaded ALLETE business development initiatives, and his understanding of regulated and non-regulated business units, strategic outlook and financial expertise will play a vital role in ensuring the continued success of ALLETE and its growth strategy,” Hodnik said. “I look forward to working alongside Bob in sharing ALLETE’s compelling investor relations story.”

In his role, Adams will be responsible for all aspects of accounting and financial reporting, investor/rating agency relationships, treasury/finance, risk, internal audit, and controls and information technology solutions. He will continue to have broad oversight of energy-centric businesses.

Adams said it is an exciting and transformational time for the energy and water industries driven by changing regulation, societal expectations, environmental challenges and emerging technology.

“I am excited to lead in this era and believe we are one of the best-positioned businesses in our industry to take advantage of sustainability trends thanks to a world-class team and key positioning moves we have made over the past decade,” he said.

Adams holds an undergraduate accounting degree and an MBA with finance concentration from the University of Minnesota. He also is a certified public accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He has served on a multitude of boards including the Leech Lake Watershed Foundation and Lakeshore Assisted Living.

ALLETE is an energy company headquartered in Duluth, Minn. In addition to its electric utilities, Minnesota Power and Superior Water, Light and Power of Wisconsin, ALLETE owns ALLETE Clean Energy, based in Duluth, U.S. Water Services headquartered in St. Michael, Minn., BNI Energy in Center, N.D., and has an eight percent equity interest in the American Transmission Co. More information about ALLETE is available at www.allete.com. ALE-CORP

The statements contained in this release and statements that ALLETE may make orally in connection with this release that are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and investors are directed to the risks discussed in documents filed by ALLETE with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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