Leadership Team

NADINE LESLIE serves as Chair, President and CEO of Middlesex Water Company (NASADAQ:MSEX), a publicly-traded investor-owned water and wastewater utility company established in 1897. Middlesex Water is one of eight remaining U.S. based publicly traded water utilities in the country.

Ms. Leslie is an accomplished leader with more than 25 years of domestic and international experience in the Water Industry. She was appointed President and CEO of Middlesex Water effective March 1, 2024. She previously served as Chief Executive Officer of SUEZ North America from 2019 to 2022. In this capacity, she was responsible for overseeing one of North America’s leading environmental companies, with revenues over $1.1 billion, providing water and recycling and recovery services to 6.6 million people in the United States and Canada. The scope of her responsibilities included 15 regulated water utilities, 65 municipal contracts through innovative public-private partnerships and the long-term asset management contracts for water storage facilities, serving more than 4,000 municipal and industrial clients.

Ms. Leslie holds a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from the Faculte des Sciences in Haiti and completed an internship/scholarship program in urban planning at La Cambre University in Belgium.

MOHAMMED G. (RALLY) ZERHOUNI is an accomplished finance leader with over 20 years of experience primarily in the regulated utility sector. Mr. Zerhouni was appointed as Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer & Treasurer of Middlesex Water Company effective June 24, 2024. He was most recently the Senior Vice President of Finance and Principal Accounting Officer of H2O America, where he led a team of more than 55 professionals in key accounting and finance areas.

Prior to joining H2O America, he was the Chief Financial Officer for Veolia North America regulated utility business where he led the development and execution of the finance transformation roadmap. In addition, he led audit engagement teams at PwC, which included engagements with large investor-owned utilities. Mr. Zerhouni was also an adjunct faculty at Franklin University teaching accounting courses.

Mr. Zerhouni is a Certified Public Accountant. He attended Franklin University, where he received a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and a Master of Business Administration.

GREGORY SORENSEN serves as Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Middlesex Water Company, a role he assumed on December 16, 2024. With extensive experience in the utility sector, Sorensen oversees the company’s operational performance, including direct oversight of Engineering and Operations, environmental compliance, safety, and other essential functions. His responsibilities also include water and wastewater operations, capital program planning and delivery, safety and security, sustainability, and growth initiatives.

Prior to joining Middlesex Water, Sorensen served as President, West Region at Liberty Utilities, where he led a team of 800 professionals responsible for delivering water, sewer, and electric services to approximately 200,000 customers across Arizona, California, and Texas, as well as 240,000 customers in Chile. He had direct oversight of operations, engineering, and finance, managing regulated utility revenue of over $400 million. With a career defined by operational excellence, regulatory compliance, and employee development, Sorensen is dedicated to fostering a strong culture of safety and environmental stewardship at Middlesex Water. Sorensen, a Certified Public Accountant, received his Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Wake Forest University in North Carolina.

ROBERT K. FULLAGAR, P.E. has 30 yeaars of experience in water and wastewater utility management, system operations, infrastructure improvement and capital program implementation, change management, worker safety, physical/cyber security, operational resiliency and emergency management. Mr. Fullagar joined the Company in 1997 as Director of Distribution and held positions of increasing responsibility before being named Vice President of Operations in January 2019. He oversees all departments and subsidiary operating units responsible for water and wastewater treatment, production, construction, distribution and collection. He chairs both the Emergency Management & Security and the Safety Committees which includes all subsidiary operating/business units. Mr. Fullagar earned his B.S. Degree in Civil Engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology and holds professional engineer and system operator’s licenses in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He is the sector chair for the New Jersey Infrastructure Advisory Committee where he represents investor and municipally owned water and wastewater utilities throughout the State in matters pertaining to resiliency. He is also a member of the New Jersey Domestic Security Preparedness Task Force – Water and Wastewater Sector Security and Resiliency Working Group, the Civil Engineering National Honor Society, the American Water Works Association, the American Society of Civil Engineers, the National Fire Protection Association, the New Jersey Utility Association and ASIS International.

LORRIE B. GINEGAW, SHRM-SCP, has extensive experience in human resource management. She joined Tidewater Utilities, a Middlesex Water affiliate in 2004. In May 2007, Ms. Ginegaw was promoted to Director of Human Resources for Middlesex and effective March 1, 2012, Ms. Ginegaw was appointed Vice President-Human Resources. Ms. Ginegaw is responsible for all Human Resources throughout the Company. Prior to joining the Company, Ms. Ginegaw worked in human resources positions in the healthcare and transportation/logistics industries. She earned a B.A. from Wichita State University and a M.B.A. from Wilmington University. She serves on the Board of the New Jersey Utilities Association.

JAY L. KOOPER serves as Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Middlesex Water Company. In this role, he is the company’s chief legal officer, advising the Board of Directors and senior management on corporate governance, regulatory strategy, mergers and acquisitions, risk management, and enterprise-wise legal matters. Mr. Kooper’s responsibilities include oversight of state public utility commission matters, infrastructure and utility asset transactions, subsidiary governance, and executive-level compliance obligations. He plays a key role in supporting the Company’s regulated operations and long term infrastructure and growth strategies.

Mr. Kooper was appointed Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary on March 17, 2014, and has more than 25 years of experience as a public utilities attorney, having represented clients across every public utility sector. Mr. Kooper is a Past Chair and serves on the Board of Consultors of the New Jersey State Bar Association’s Public Utilities Law Section. He is also a past member of the Board of Directors and current New Jersey Chair of the National Association of Water Companies. Mr. Kooper has received industry and professional recognition for his leadership and governance work, including being named NJBIZ General Counsel of the Year in 2019 and NJBIZ Leader in Law, in 2024, finalist recognition for the New Jersey Law Journal In House Impact Award and the New York Stock Exchange’s Distinguished General Counsel Award, and honors from Governance Intelligence’s Corporate Governance Awards for compliance and ethics excellence. He is also the President of Temple B’nai Abraham in Livingston, New Jersey, where he has served on its Board of Trustees since 2016.

Mr. Kooper is a licensed attorney in New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut. He received his Juris Doctor from George Washington University Law School and his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and History from Emory University.

BRUCE E. PATRICK, a licensed professional engineer, joined Tidewater in February 2002 as Vice President of Engineering. He was promoted to Vice President and General Manager in April 2012, Executive Vice President in April 2023, and President in December 2023. Mr. Patrick has extensive experience in regulatory compliance, permitting, planning and design. Prior to joining Tidewater, he served as Kent County, Delaware Public Works Director and County Engineer where he had overall responsibility for the County’s regional wastewater facilities. Mr. Patrick also held prior positions with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control as well as the Delaware Division of Public Health.

GEORGIA M. SIMPSON is Vice President – Information Technology & Chief Technology Officer for the Middlesex Water Enterprise. She joined the company as Director of Information Technology in 2009. Ms. Simpson has over 24 years of experience in the Computer Science and Information Technology sector and has gained an extensive array of technical and business computer certifications. Ms. Simpson provides leadership for the continued development of an innovative, versatile, agile and secure technology environment for the Middlesex Water family of companies. She has extensive experience in cultivating and motiving team members to exceed personal and professional goals. Ms. Simpson graduated summa cum laude from Monroe University. She is a member of the New Jersey Project Management Institute, the Society for Information Management and the Association for Computing Machinery.