Andrew R. Gere
Andrew Gere is the President and COO for San Jose Water Company (SJW), an investor-owned water utility serving one million people in California’s Silicon Valley. The company is the largest subsidiary of SJW Group, which also owns Connecticut Water, the utility that provides water to the Storrs campus. He is a 25-year veteran of the company, and he began his career as a public health regulator with the California Division of Drinking Water.
Gere is a seasoned utility executive with over 29 years of experience across all facets of the industry, including operations, engineering, asset management, rate regulation, water resources, sustainability, public health, government affairs, regulatory compliance, organizational development, and emergency management.
Gere led the SJW team on the $62 million Montevina Water Treatment Plant project, which upgraded an aging direct filtration plant to a state-of-the-art ultrafiltration facility.
He has authored papers and articles on a broad range of topics related to the water utility industry including water treatment, workforce development, treatment plant construction and water quality.
Gere earned his B.S. in Civil Engineering from UConn in 1992 and an MBA from Santa Clara University in 2002. He holds a P.E and a T4 Water Treatment Plant Operator license. He served as Chairman of the National Association of Water Companies in 2020, currently chairs the Valley Water District Retailers’ Association, and was recently appointed co-chair of the Water and Energy Committee for The Silicon Valley Organization. He is also active with the American Water Works Association and the California Water Association.