For Mark Nibaur, new general manager of Austin Utilities, the most important part of his job is to uphold his five guiding principles – all of which have been carefully crafted after over two decades of experience in the utility business.

Nibaur’s principles include providing outstanding customer service, utility service reliability, operational excellence and regulatory integrity, as well as maintaining an employee commitment to integrity and safety.

“These are principles I have found to help drive me as a manager and leader,” Nibaur said.

Nibaur comes to Austin Utilities from a utility company in Sioux City, Iowa, where he was the operations manager for 22 years, and he said he is looking forward to new opportunities and new challenges both personally and professionally as he begins his work in Austin.

“My hope will be to be involved in the Chamber activities and community and city activities, as well as be involved in some of the service organizations,” Nibaur said. “I’m very interested in getting involved in the city of Austin.”

Nibaur cited differences in his utility position in Sioux City compared to what he has learned so far working in Austin. He said he thinks he will have more community contact in Austin, which was an appealing factor when considering the job offer.

He also said he is in a position now to create procedures and policies, whereas his former job did not allow for that.

“It’s a higher level of management and leadership at this position,” Nibaur said. “That was appealing.”

However, Nibaur said he’s not interested in making any procedural or policy changes quite yet.

“At this point my objective is to learn, to listen and to understand what’s going on at Austin Utilities,” he said.

While working in Sioux City, Nibaur was involved in several aspects of the community. He served as chairperson of the Red Cross board, chairperson of the Junior Achievement of Sioux Land board, vice chairperson of Sergeant Bluff Community Development Corporation and the president of Kiwanis, an organization that serves the children of the world.

“An important piece (of the job) for me would be the community involvement…and being a spokesperson for Austin Utilities,” Nibaur said.

Nibaur replaces Jerry McCarthy as general manager; McCarthy was with Austin Utilities for over two decades.

Nibaur said his wife, Lori, is still living in Sioux City until the couple can sell their home and buy another one in Austin.

“I’ve been very impressed with the community and with Austin,” Nibaur said. “I’ve felt very welcomed. I’m looking forward to eventually buying a house and being more involved in the community.”

As for now, Nibaur is simply excited about his new position and learning more about Austin Utilities and what his role will be in the company.

“One thing led to another and here I am today,” he said.