Sullivan assumes leadership of Grand River Dam Authority


On Thursday, December 1, former state Rep. Dan Sullivan of Tulsa officially stepped into the leadership role at the Grand River Dam Authority. He is chief executive Officer/director of investments. He will be paid $225,000 a year, the same as his predecessor’s annual compensation. 

The GRDA Board of Directors selected Sullivan for the post following an extensive candidate search which drew over 80 applicants. He replaces former GRDA CEO Kevin Easley, who resigned August 1.

“I want to thank the GRDA Board for giving me the opportunity,” said Sullivan, “I am strongly committed to leading the GRDA and appreciate the trust the board has put in me.”

Sullivan was born in Tulsa and graduated from Wagoner High School. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Northeastern State University in 1985 and his Juris Doctorate from the University Of Tulsa College Of Law in 1988. He had been a member of the state legislature since his 2004 election. On two separate occasions, 2006 and 2011, he also served as majority floor leader in the Oklahoma House. Since 2005, he has served as Of Counsel to Pierce, Couch, Hendrickson, Baysinger & Green LLP (Tulsa).

At GRDA, he will lead an organization of nearly 500 employees charged with broad responsibilities ranging from electric generation and transmission to lake management. His tenure begins at a time when GRDA, like all other electric utilities, is operating in an environment of rapidly changing regulations that can affect many areas of the organization.

“While we all recognize that the regulatory environment is changing the operations of GRDA, I feel confident that GRDA’s team can work together to find the best solutions,” said Sullivan. “The ability to provide our customers and partners with low cost electricity, while striving to be good stewards of the natural resources under our control, are the primary missions we will continue to achieve.”

Headquartered in Vinita, GRDA is a non-appropriated state agency, funded by revenues from the sale of electricity and water. GRDA generates, transmits and sells electricity to Oklahoma municipalities, electric cooperatives and industrial customers, as well as off-system customers across a four-state region.

GRDA also manages nearly 70,000 surface acres of lake waters in Oklahoma (Grand Lake, Lake Hudson, W.R. Holway Reservoir).