Susan Kennedy  |  Executive Chair, Board of Directors 

Ms. Kennedy has led a distinguished career as a policymaker and entrepreneur, a top advisor to two California Governors, former Commissioner of the California Public Utilities Commission, and founder and chief executive of a distributed energy company.  Ms. Kennedy joined the Board of Directors of Cadiz, Inc. in March 2021 and currently serves as Executive Chair of the water solutions company, which is headquartered in LA and has infrastructure assets in San Bernardino, LA and Kern County.

Prior to entering the private sector, Ms. Kennedy served for two decades at the highest levels of California government, including chief of staff to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and cabinet secretary to Governor Gray Davis. From 2003 to 2006, Ms. Kennedy served as Commissioner of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), which regulates the state’s investor-owned utilities. In this role, she oversaw the CPUC’s efforts to ensure water utilities deliver clean, safe, and reliable water to their customers at reasonable rates.

In her leadership role for two California Governors, Ms. Kennedy was responsible for negotiating some of the largest agreements among agricultural interests, environmentalists, rural and urban water users for multi-billion-dollar investments in water supply, storage and conveyance facilities, as well as conservation and environmental restoration projects including the $8 billion,10-year restoration of the San Francisco Bay Delta ecosystem and the early plans to restore the Salton Sea.

Keith Brackpool

Keith Brackpool is a co-founder of Cadiz and was first appointed to the Board of Directors in 1986. He previously served as CEO from 1991 – 2013, and Board Chair from 2001 until February 2022.

Mr. Brackpool is currently a principal of 1334 Partners L.P., a partnership that owns and develops a portfolio of destination hospitality properties in California.  Mr. Brackpool also has extensive public policy experience, particularly in California, and served as Chairman of the California Horse Racing Board from 2010 – 2013, after which he went on to serve as the Chairman of west coast operations for The Stronach Group, an entertainment and real estate company in North America focused on Thoroughbred horse racing and pari-mutual wagering from 2013 – 2018. From 2001- 2002, Mr. Brackpool acted as Co-Chairman of the California Commission on Building for the 21st Century, a diverse panel that developed long-term policy proposals to meet the state’s future water, housing, technology and transportation needs.  Earlier in his career, Mr. Brackpool served as director and chief executive officer of North American Operations for Albert Fisher Group, a multi-billion dollar food company.

Stephen E. Courter

Steve Courter was appointed a director of the Company effective October 9, 2008 and is an independent director. Mr. Courter is the Chair of the Company’s Audit & Risk Committee and is a member of the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee.

Mr. Courter is currently on the faculty of the McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin where he teaches MBA courses in strategy and new venture creation.   He also serves as a director of Upland Software, a business process software company.  Mr. Courter has over 30 years of experience in management positions in the technology/telecommunications industry, serving most recently as CEO of Broadwing Communications from 2006 to 2007 and CEO of NEON Communications from 2000 to 2006. Mr. Courter has also previously served as a director on several corporate boards, including NEON Communications from 2001-2006, Broadwing Communications from 2006-2007, and GLOBIX from 2006-2007.  Mr. Courter began his career as an officer in the U.S. Army and has also held various executive positions, both in the U.S. and Europe, at several major corporations including KPMG, IBM and Sprint.

Maria Echaveste

Director Maria Echaveste, a committee member,  has a distinguished career working as a community leader, public policy advisor, lecturer, senior White House official, and attorney. She is presently President and CEO of the Opportunity Institute, a California-based non-profit working to increase economic and social mobility focused on equity for the most vulnerable students and communities, and also serves on the board of directors of the Leadership Council of Tipping Point (philanthropic organization focused on eliminating poverty in the Bay Area) Mi Familia Vota (increasing Latino civic participation) and UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals. Director Echaveste has held various roles at University of California at Berkeley, including as a lecturer and policy director of the Law School’s Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Law and Social Policy.  Previously, Director Echaveste served as Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for President Bill Clinton focused on issues relating to immigration, civil rights, education, finance, Mexico and Latin America, and as a special representative to Bolivia for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.  Director Echaveste also served as vice-chair of the California International Trade and Investment Advisory Committee, an appointment by Governor Brown.

Director Echaveste added about the new ESEJ Committee: “To achieve a more equitable society we must increase opportunities so that all have access to the basic needs of society, including clean water, safe infrastructure, and adequate housing. Immigrant communities suffer disproportionately when drought, fire or other systemic crises occur, which are increasing dramatically. I am pleased to be a member of Cadiz’s efforts to be part of the solution to the State’s resource challenges with equity front and center.”

Geoffrey Grant

Geoffrey Grant was appointed a director of the Company effective January 22, 2007 and is an independent director. Mr. Grant is a member of the Company’s Compensation and Audit and Risk Committees.

Mr. Grant is presently a private investor.  In 2012, Mr. Grant retired from Grant Capital Partners, an asset management firm founded by Mr. Grant in 2008, where he was the Managing Partner and the Chief Investment Officer.  Prior to founding Grant Capital Partners, Mr. Grant was a Managing Partner and the Chief Investment Officer of Peloton Partners LLP, a global asset management firm.  Mr. Grant co-founded Peloton Partners LLP in 2005.  Mr. Grant’s career in financial markets spans 35 years beginning at Morgan Stanley in 1982 in foreign exchange options and currency derivatives, then with Goldman Sachs from 1989 to 2004 where he ultimately served as Head of Global Foreign Exchange and Co-head of the Proprietary Trading Group in London.

Winston Hickox

Winston Hickox was appointed a director of the Company in October 2006 and is the Company’s lead independent director.  Mr. Hickox is Chair of the Company’s Compensation Committee and a member of the Audit and Risk Committee.

Mr. Hickox is currently a partner at the public policy consulting firm California Strategies, a position he has held since 2006, Mr. Hickox also currently serves on the West Coast Infrastructure Exchange Advisory Council and is a Member of the Strategic Advisory Group of Paladin Capital Group.  Previously, from 2007 until 2012, Mr. Hickox chaired the FTSE Environmental Markets Committee responsible for bi-annual reset of the FTSE Environmental Markets Index Series.  From 2004 – 2006, Mr. Hickox served as Senior Portfolio Manager with the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), designing its environmentally-oriented impact investment initiatives for the fund’s now $277 billion investment portfolio.  Prior to CalPers, from 1999 – 2003, Mr. Hickox served as Secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) and a member of the Governor’s cabinet.   Earlier in his career, Mr. Hickox’s additional private sector experience includes head of Portfolio Management, Managing Director and Partner at Lasalle Investment Management from 1987 to 1998, where he managed a $2B real estate portfolio, and President of his own securities brokerage firm, the Hickox Financial Corporation.   Mr. Hickox has also served on numerous corporate boards, including Thomas Properties Group, a publicly traded full service real estate investment firm, and GRIDiant Corporation, a privately held corporation in the energy technology sector.  Mr. Hickox’s prior government service includes the Board of the $5 billion Sacramento County Employees’ Retirement System (SCERS) from 1998 – 2012, Chair of the Market Advisory Committee, which helped prepare for the implementation of AB 32 California’s sweeping effort to address climate change, and seven years as a Special Assistant to the Governor for Environmental Affairs as well as a Deputy Secretary for Environmental Affairs.  From April 1997 to January 1999, Hickox also served as one of the California Assembly Speaker’s appointees to the California Coastal Commission.  Mr. Hickox holds an MBA from Golden Gate University and a BS from California State University.

Ken Lombard

Ken Lombard was appointed a director of the Company in April 2022.  Mr. Lombard is a member of the Audit and Risk Committee.

Ken Lombard is presently President & CEO of BRIDGE Housing, a leading nonprofit developer, owner, and manager of affordable housing. He joined BRIDGE in November 2021. Previously, from 2018-2021, Mr. Lombard held positions at Seritage Growth Properties (NYSE: SRG), most recently as Special Advisor, and previously as Seritage’s EVP and COO. Earlier, from 2016-2018, Mr. Lombard was President, Vice Chairman and Partner of MacFarlane Partners, an investment management firm that acquires, develops, and manages real estate assets on behalf of pensions and institutional investors. From 2009-2016, Mr. Lombard served as head of investments for Capri Capital Partners, and President of the Capri Urban Fund, which has invested over $1 billion in commercial, residential, and mixed-use development, redevelopment, and repositioning projects in densely populated urban markets of the U.S.  From 2004 to 2008, Mr. Lombard served as President of Starbucks Entertainment, where he managed the collaboration with Concord Music to form a new Starbucks music label. In 1992, Mr. Lombard and Earvin “Magic” Johnson co-founded the Johnson Development Corporation focused on economic improvement in underserved communities; Lombard served as President and Partner of Johnson Development Corporation until 2004.

Mr. Lombard has held several positions on public agency boards and commissions, including the Los Angeles Fire Department Commission, the Los Angeles Charter Reform Commission, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Board of Commissioners, and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California Board of Directors, among others. Mr. Lombard holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from the University of Washington.

Senator Richard Polanco (ret.)

Senator Richard Polanco (ret.) was appointed a director of the Company in July 2022. Sen. Polanco is a member of the Compensation Committee and the Equity, Sustainability and Environmental Justice Committee.

Sen. Polanco is an esteemed California political and business leader, and champion for the state’s disadvantaged communities. He brings to the Board 40 years of high-level experience in elected office and the public and private sectors with frontline expertise in public policy, economic development, risk management and community empowerment, among other areas. Sen. Polanco is presently managing director of Tres Es Inc., a boutique government affairs firm.

Senator Polanco began his career in public service in 1975 and has served on the staff of several local and state officials including Los Angeles County Supervisor Ed Edelman in (1975 – 1978), California Governor Jerry Brown (1978 – 1982) and Assemblyman Richard Alatorre (1982 – 1986).

In 1986, Senator Polanco was elected to the California State Assembly where he served until 1994 when he was elected to the California State Senate. Senator Polanco served in the Senate from 1994 until his retirement in 2002, including four years as the Senate Majority Leader from 1998 – 2002. During his 16 years in the State Legislature Sen. Polanco rose to some of the most powerful positions in Sacramento, including as Senate Majority Leader (1998-2002) and Chair of the Latino Legislative Caucus (1990 – 2002), while authoring landmark bills across a wide range of policy areas, from clean drinking water to voting rights.

In October 2002, Senator Polanco established the California Latino Caucus Institute for Public Policy, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization that supports innovative leadership programs to enhance the quality of life for all Californians. The Institute was created as a non-partisan effort by the California Latino Legislative Caucus. Senator Polanco served as the Institute’s first Chairman of the Board.

Previously, Senator Polanco served as the Executive Director to the Maravilla Neighborhood Project Area Committee, a $24m community redevelopment program in East Los Angeles, and as a Community Organizer for the Maravilla Public Housing Project.

Senator Polanco has also served on a variety of public and private sector boards and commissions, including California Delta Dental Plan (Board Director), Meruelo Maddux Construction Inc. (Board Director), California Public Utility Commission Low Income Oversight Board (Board Director), Sylvatex Inc. (Advisory Board), Farmworker Institute for Education & Leadership Development- Cesar Chavez Adult Charter School (Advisory Board) and the UCLA Luskin School of Urban Affairs (Advisor).

Senator Polanco resides in Los Angeles with his wife Olivia where he continues to serve his community.

He received his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration following study at the University of Redlands and Universidad de Mexico.

Scott S. Slater | Chief Executive Officer, President

Scott S. Slater is the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer, appointed to the role of President in April 2011 and Chief Executive Officer effective February 1, 2013. Mr. Slater has been a member of the Company’s Board of Directors since February 2012.

Mr. Slater is an accomplished water rights transactional attorney and litigator and, in addition to his role at the Company, is a shareholder in Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP, the nation’s leading water law firm.  Since 1984, Mr. Slater has practiced law focused on negotiation of agreements and enacting policy related to the acquisition, distribution, and treatment of water. He has served as lead negotiator on a number of important water transactions, including the negotiation of the largest conservation-based water transfer in U.S. history on behalf of the San Diego County Water Authority from 1997-2003 and since 2000 has continued to act as the Court-approved counsel for the Chino Basin Watermaster, which governs a 225 square mile watershed in the Inland Empire. Mr. Slater serves as Vice-Chair of the Limoneira Company Board of Directors (NASDAQ: LMNR) and sits on its Executive and Compensation Committees. Mr. Slater has an extensive background in state, federal and international water policy and is the author of California Water Law and Policy first published in 1994 and updated annually, as frequently produces law review articles and legal commentary. He has taught water law and policy courses at University of California, Santa Barbara, Pepperdine University, and the University of Western Australia, (China) between 1990-2010. He is presently advising the nation of Tunisia on sustainable groundwater management strategies.

Carolyn Webb de Macías

Carolyn Webb de Macías was elected as a director at the Company’s 2019 Annual Meeting and is an independent director.  Ms. Webb de Macías is a member of the Company’s Compensation and Corporate Governance and Nominating Committees.

Ms. Webb de Macías is a community leader with an extensive career in public policy and higher education. Ms. Webb de Macías currently serves as Board Chair for the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools, a non-profit organization that manages 19 schools through a Memorandum Of Understanding with the Los Angeles Unified School District, and as Member of the Board of the Community Coalition of South Los Angeles, a community education and advocacy organization. Previously Ms. Webb de Macías served in the office of Elementary and Secondary Education in the US Department of Education as an appointee of President Barack Obama from 2010-2012. From 1997 – 2008, Ms. Webb de Macías served in various roles at the University of Southern California including adjunct faculty member in the USC Rossier School of Education, associate provost from 1997 – 2002 and vice president for external relations from 2002 – 2008. Upon retirement from USC in 2008, Ms. Webb de Macías was granted the title of Vice President Emeritus.  From 1991 – 1997 Ms. Webb de Macías served as chief of staff for Los Angeles City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas. Ms. Webb de Macías’ strong record of community service includes roles as founding member of the Board for the Alliance for Regional Collaboration to Heighten Educational Success (ARCHES), member of the Boards of the Los Angeles African American Women’s Public Policy Institute and the International Black Women’s Public Policy Institute, member of the Central City Association Executive Committee, and founding president of the Education Consortium of Central Los Angeles. Ms. Webb de Macías has been honored for her work as a founding member of Young Black Scholars of Los Angeles and named a Black Woman of Achievement by the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund.