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Smestad named general counsel at OTP [UPDATED]
Published 9:25am Monday, March 4, 2013 Updated 11:28am Monday, March 4, 2013Otter Tail Power Company President and CEO Chuck MacFarlane has announced that, effective March 1, Otter Tail Corporation Senior Associate General Counsel Jennifer Smestad will join Otter Tail Power Company as General Counsel.
Smestad will participate as a member of the executive team, coordinate legal resources for the utility, and serve as legal liaison between Otter Tail Power Company and Otter Tail Corporation.
She will retain the role of Assistant Secretary for Otter Tail Corporation’s Board of Directors.
“As we continue to move on complex projects such as the Big Stone Plant Air Quality Control System, environmental compliance at Hoot Lake Plant, and multiple transmission projects, it’s important that Jennifer is part of the company for which she does her work,” said MacFarlane. “While she’s been a member of our broader corporate legal team for years, we look forward to having her on the power company staff.”
“This is a much-deserved promotion for Jennifer, who has served Otter Tail Corporation well in various roles since 2001,” said Otter Tail Corporation Senior Vice President and General Counsel George Koeck.
Born in Massachusetts, Smestad earned her bachelor of science degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, and her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Texas School of Law.
Prior to joining Otter Tail Corporation she was associate attorney and partner at the Pemberton Law Firm in Fergus Falls. Smestad is a member of the North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota Bar Associations, the American Corporate Counsel Association, and the American Bar Association. She lives in rural Fergus Falls with husband, Richard, and their four daughters.
