The Westar Energy board of directors named a Hesston native, Jeff Martin vice president, regulatory affairs at its meeting Thursday.

Martin has served as executive director, regulatory affairs since March 2012. As the leader of Regulatory Affairs, Martin has responsibility for all regulatory matters of the company including those related to the Kansas Corporation Commission, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and North American Electric Reliability Corp.

Before leading Regulatory Affairs, Martin worked as director, reliability and resource scheduling director, division operations in Hutchinson and in other roles in operations.

“Jeff’s background in operations gives him a deep understanding of just what it takes to keep the lights on,” Mark Ruelle, president and CEO, said. “Jeff understands the importance of making sure regulators have the information they need to make constructive decisions about the reliability and efficiency of electric service.”

Martin earned a master of business administration from Kansas State University and a bachelor of science in electronics engineering technology from Pittsburg State University. He is a graduate of the Center for Creative Leadership’s Leadership Development Program, Leadership Wichita and Leadership Reno County. He is a member of the 2013 Leadership Kansas class.

Martin now lives in Meriden, Kansas with his wife, Kelly, and two sons, Colton and Jerrett.