Jerry L. Maulden

Born in 1936 outside Shirley, a poor and hilly area in rural Arkansas, Jerry Maulden was only five when his father left the family to search for work during the Great Depression. Eventually, his father found work with the railroad, and the family was reunited.

After his father's death and following Maulden's high school graduation, the young man was determined to secure his future with a college education. He attended junior college and worked part time at a bakery and local newspaper. Maulden married at 19 and had two children within two years, but he continued to go to school at night, finally earning a degree in accounting.

One of Maulden's first jobs was as controller for Dillard's, a chain of department stores. In 1965, he joined Arkansas Power & Light Company (AP&L) as assistant to the treasurer and chief financial officer. Six years later, he was moved to AP&L's Little Rock headquarters as special assistant to the president and CEO. He quickly rose through the ranks, serving as vice president, chief financial officer, and then treasurer.

In 1979, he became president and CEO of an AP&L subsidiary, Middle South Services, Inc., later being promoted to president and CEO of AP&L, which was then undergoing severe financial stress.

Maulden reorganized management, set new strategic directions, and instituted a structure based on management by objectives. Within five years, AP&L had been turned around. Since then, AP&L, which became a part of Entergy Corp., has been recognized as one of the best-managed electric utilities in the nation.

Looking back over his career, Maulden says success is being happy and satisfied internally. "It's not being rich or heading a corporation that makes you successful," he says. "I'm talking about a life in which you are helping others, and earning respect for what you contribute to society. This kind of success is available to people in all walks of life. It could be a teacher, a firefighter, or a CEO. To make it, you need good moral character and a good education, and you have to work hard. There is no substitute for that."

Of his Horatio Alger Award, Maulden says, "I am as proud of that award as any I've ever received. That one is special because of what the Association stands for, the focus on youth and the recognition that the American dream is still alive. In America, anyone can be successful, regardless of how they started."