Tim Welsh
XCEL ENERGYAbout Tim Welsh
Tim Welsh, age 59, is an independent director of Xcel Energy (XEL) serving since 2023. He is President of CCC Intelligent Solutions Inc. (as of March 2025) and brings deep experience in financial services, customer strategy, operations, and regulated industries from prior leadership roles at U.S. Bancorp and McKinsey & Company. He serves on Xcel’s Audit Committee and Operations, Nuclear, Environmental and Safety (ONES) Committee, with a governance profile emphasizing risk oversight and customer-facing expertise .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| CCC Intelligent Solutions Inc. | President | March 2025–present | Leads market-facing functions for insurance and collision repair industries; digital transformation focus |
| U.S. Bancorp | Vice Chair, Consumer & Business Banking | 2019–July 2024 | Drove consumer and small business strategy across branch network (regulated industry, customer experience) |
| U.S. Bancorp | Vice Chair, Consumer Banking Sales & Support | 2017–2019 | Consumer banking sales and support leadership |
| McKinsey & Company | Senior Partner | 2006–2017 | Shareholders Council member; led global learning and development; co-led people strategy |
| McKinsey & Company | Partner | 1999–2006 | Served clients across financial services, CPG, energy |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allina Health | Chair of the Board | Not disclosed | Extensive nonprofit board leadership |
| GREATER MSP | Former Chair of the Board | Not disclosed | Regional economic vitality leadership |
| Itasca Project | Founder | Not disclosed | Civic initiative to improve Minneapolis–St. Paul quality of life |
| UPSIDE Foods (formerly Memphis Meats) | Founding Board Member | Not disclosed | Emerging food tech; private company, not a public directorship |
| Other public company boards | None | — | No current public company directorships outside XEL |
Board Governance
- Committee assignments: Audit Committee; ONES Committee; no chair roles .
- Independence: Board reviewed ordinary course transactions with U.S. Bancorp during Welsh’s prior employment (~$2.8 million; <0.00001% of USB revenue), found no impairment of independence and no related-party transaction because Welsh had no direct or indirect material interest .
- Attendance and engagement: Board met 5 times in 2024; independent directors held executive sessions at all five. All directors attended ≥75%; average attendance ~99%; 11 directors had 100% attendance; directors encouraged to attend annual meeting (all did in 2024) .
- Executive sessions: independent directors met in executive session at every regular Board meeting in 2024 (five sessions) .
- Committee scope relevant to Welsh:
- Audit: financial reporting integrity, compliance, internal/external audit oversight, financial risk review .
- ONES: oversight of nuclear operations, environmental strategy, safety, operational performance, cybersecurity, customer service, and wildfire risk .
Fixed Compensation
| Component | Amount | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Annual cash retainer | $125,000 | Standard non-employee director retainer |
| Audit Committee member retainer | $10,000 | Applies to Audit Committee members including Chair |
| ONES Committee member retainer | Not disclosed | Chair retainer is $20,000; no member retainer disclosed |
| Lead Independent Director retainer | $35,000 | Not applicable to Welsh |
| Annual equity grant | ~$170,000 | 3,061 shares or stock equivalent units granted post-2024 annual meeting |
| Stock Program deferral premium | +20% | Directors deferring cash into stock equivalent units receive a 20% premium; dividends accumulate as additional units |
| 2024 director compensation (Welsh) | Cash: $—; Stock Awards: $332,000; Total: $332,000 | Welsh deferred his cash retainers into stock equivalent units; no cash paid |
| 2024 cash deferral (Welsh) | $135,000 | Converted to 2,732 stock equivalent units |
Performance Compensation
- Not applicable: director compensation at XEL does not use performance metrics (no bonus or PSU-based targets for directors; program is retainers plus equity grants/stock equivalent units) .
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Item | Status | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Other public company boards | None | Welsh has no other public company directorships |
| Ordinary course transactions with prior employer (U.S. Bancorp) | Reviewed; independence affirmed | ~$2.8 million for trustee/underwriting/dealer services in 2024; non-advisory underwriting; immaterial vs USB revenue; no personal involvement by Welsh; not a related-party transaction |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Financial services, customer experience, workforce development, operations; regulated industry exposure (banking and utility-relevant industries) .
- Risk management and governance experience from Audit/ONES participation and prior leadership roles .
- Community and customer-facing perspective from nonprofit board leadership (Allina Health, GREATER MSP) .
Equity Ownership
| As-of Date | Common Stock | Restricted Stock | Total Beneficial Shares | Stock Equivalent Units | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 31, 2024 | — | — | — | 9,163 | Stock equivalent units balances (program-level holdings) |
| Mar 24, 2025 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9,238 | None of directors’ or officers’ shares are pledged; total shares outstanding 576,010,585; less than 1% ownership |
Policies impacting alignment:
- Hedging and pledging prohibited for directors and executives; insider trading windows and pre-clearance required .
- Director stock ownership guideline: 7× annual cash retainer, to be met within 5 years; all directors with target date by Dec 31, 2024 met the guideline .
Insider Trades (Form 4 – Director Stock Program Awards)
| Filing Date | Transaction Date | Type | Units Transacted (#) | Post-Transaction Holdings (#) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-03-29 | 2024-03-28 | Award (Stock Eq. Units/Common) | 758.711 | 3,952.295 | |
| 2024-05-23 | 2024-05-22 | Award (Annual grant) | 3,061.96 | 7,046.779 | |
| 2024-07-02 | 2024-06-28 | Award | 752.089 | 7,798.868 | |
| 2024-10-01 | 2024-09-28 | Award | 627.226 | 8,501.37 | |
| 2024-12-31 | 2024-12-28 | Award | 594.365 | 9,163.022 | |
| 2025-03-31 | 2025-03-28 | Award | 584.247 | 9,822.46 | |
| 2025-05-23 | 2025-05-22 | Award | 2,431.35 | 12,328.896 | |
| 2025-07-01 | 2025-06-28 | Award | 577.58 | 12,906.476 | |
| 2025-09-30 | 2025-09-28 | Award | 473.007 | 13,479.333 |
Note: Transactions reflect quarterly director stock program awards and annual equity grant deferrals; post-transaction “securitiesOwned” figures are per Form 4 filings by “Welsh Timothy A” [insider trades JSON].
Governance Assessment
- Alignment: Strong alignment via substantial deferral of cash retainers into stock equivalent units (20% premium) and equity grants, plus ownership guidelines; hedging/pledging bans reinforce alignment .
- Independence and conflicts: Board separately evaluated U.S. Bancorp ordinary-course services; independence affirmed; no related-party transaction due to lack of material interest—mitigates conflict risk .
- Oversight effectiveness: Service on Audit and ONES embeds Welsh in core risk areas (financial reporting, compliance, nuclear ops, safety, cybersecurity, wildfire mitigation), consistent with Xcel’s enhanced risk framework and frequent committee training/site visits .
- Attendance/engagement: Board-level attendance metrics indicate high engagement (avg ~99%) and routine executive sessions of independent directors; Welsh-specific attendance not disclosed but overall board practices suggest active governance culture .
- Director pay structure: No performance-based director pay (no options/bonuses); fixed retainers plus equity; deferral premium is standard in stock equivalent programs; compensation levels maintained after market review by independent consultant Meridian—market competitive and shareholder-aligned .
- RED FLAGS: None identified in proxy for Welsh (no pledging, no related-party transactions, independence affirmed). Watchpoint: historical executive role at U.S. Bancorp with ordinary-course services to Xcel reviewed annually—materiality and non-advisory nature reduce risk; continue monitoring for changes in scope or advisory roles .