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Worked at Louisville Water since 2023
Imagine you’ve had your job for just a little more than a year and you have to give an important presentation that your boss, who is out of the office, would normally give.
Oh, and you have to give this presentation to the Board of Water Works, Louisville Water’s governing body!
That’s the situation Carlos Felix found himself in when he presented an IT update at the Board’s August meeting. He told the members about the company’s digital strategy and data classifications and then focused on the status of Louisville Water’s business systems.
But even though he hasn’t been with Louisville Water a long time, Felix walked into the board room with a great deal of IT experience, including earning a Computer Science degree from Kentucky State University and serving in IT roles for the last two decades in various state government agencies.
He worked as a Network Analyst for the Department of Education and as an Information Systems Manager for the Commonwealth of Kentucky Department of Technology. He was Director of Information Technology for the Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts and even served as an adjunct instructor for ITT Technical institute.
So what brought him to Louisville Water?
“It was an opportunity to work directly under and learn from the head of IT, see how private companies interact with a board, and learn how I can help Louisville Water provide clean water to a million people,” Felix said.
As the company’s Director of Information Systems, he helps lead a team responsible for setting strategic priorities and managing daily IT operations. He said the most significant challenge he’s encountered “has been assessing the gaps in our processes, policies, and purpose – and developing a solution that aligns with the business’s needs,” but he added that “interacting with the other departments to see how we can best align has also been the most rewarding part.”
During his time with Louisville Water, he also represented the company on a panel at the American Water Works Association/Water Environment Federation (AWWA/WEF) Utility Management Conference in Portland, Oregon.
“After the panel presentation, we broke into groups and had some great discussions,” he said. “I learned more about the utility industry and met some great people.”
So how did that presentation to the Board of Water Works go?
“Everyone says it was fine, but when I pressed for feedback, it was all about being more concise. Stream of consciousness is my default delivery,” he explained. “As far as next steps, we will continue on our IT roadmap, and next time [Jeff Knott, Vice President and Chief Information Officer] is out, I’ll be more than happy to step in for him again, but I’ll be more concise.”
When he’s not working, Felix enjoys family time with his wife and five-year-old daughter.
“My wife and I enjoy visiting distilleries, camping, and taking our daughter to dance class and gymnastics,” he said “My daughter is full of energy, so I need to go to the gym often to keep up with her!”
