2018 Pat Wood Power Star Award Recipient Selected

1/31/2018



Marcie Zlotnik is a senior executive and entrepreneur recognized for successfully establishing new businesses and advancing existing companies into energy market and telecom leaders.  Most recently she was Chairman and COO of StarTex Power, the retail electric provider she co-founded and grew into a leading firm serving 150,000 residential and commercial customers in Texas with 125 employees.  Her flawless execution of corporate strategy and operational processes drove employee performance, customer satisfaction and profitability growing the enterprise into a $500M company.  Her efforts garnered recognition and prestigious regional and national awards for StarTex Power ranging from achievement in pace of growth, to Best Places to Work awards to JD Power’s Retail Eectric Providers Texas Customer Satisfaction Study Rankings (#1 in 2009 and #3 from 2010 through 2012). 

“Marcie is a Power Star.  From building a successful retail electricity provider, to advocating for deregulated energy markets in Texas, her leadership has influenced and inspired the industry.  She has not only supported women in the field, she has proven to be a major force for change across the entire energy industry,” says Mary Anne Brelinsky, President of EDF Energy Services and GCPA board member.

Earlier, Zlotnik was President and Principal Accounting Officer of Gexa Energy, another retail electricity provider that she co-founded at the start of electricity deregulation in Texas.  She ensured successful entry into the market by spearheading certification and operational best practices, which grew the company to $125M with 50,000 customers and 75 employees.

Zlotnik sits on numerous corporate, industry and non-profit boards of directors.  She is a current director for Frontier Utilities, ESCO Advisors and numerous University of Texas at Austin development and advisory boards.  Currently, she is on the advisory board of both the Gulf Coast Power Association (GCPA) and its emPOWERing Women Program; she formerly held Board positions of Treasurer, Vice-President and President of the GCPA. She was previously an elected member of the Board of Directors of  the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), served as a Board member of, the Association of Texas Telecommunication Providers (TEXALTEL), and was a co-founder and Board member of Texas Energy Association of Marketers (TEAM).

Allison Piper, President of Manhattan Resources and 2017 GCPA Board President commented, “Marcie has been a tireless advocate for electric restructuring in Texas and for the advancement of and success of all people, regardless of gender, in the market as a whole. Her work, both individually and through her participation in advocacy groups at the ERCOT and PUC level, directly led to improvements in the regulatory environment for retail electricity. Her engagement and leadership in GCPA has directly impacted our ability to provide education and networking services to all of its members, both men and women.”  This view was seconded by Kristy Ashley of Customized Energy Solutions and GCPA’s board vice-president, “Marcie's dedication to the success of the ERCOT retail market, her achievements as an entrepreneur and her dedication to advancing women leaders in the industry is nothing short of inspiring.”

The award is named for Pat Wood III, former PUCT and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman, who will assist in presenting the award on April 17th at GCPA’s 32nd Annual Spring Conference in Houston, Texas.

Pat Wood stated, “Straight out of central casting, Marcie is the face of the new retail movement in the Texas market.  Her business smarts, irrepressible exuberance and customer advocacy have set the standard.  I remember being with Marcie at the StarTex office the day they won their 100,000th customer, soaking in the exuberance of that great team of hers.  I knew then for certain that our drive to retail competition was so right.”

Zlotnik joins an illustrious list of past recipients including: Trip Doggett, former ERCOT CEO (2017); John Fainter, Association of Electric Companies of Texas past president (2016), Robert Webb, noted attorney and renewable energy advocate (2015); Judy Walsh, former Texas Public Utility Commission (PUCT) Commissioner (2014), John Stauffacher, former GCPA Executive Director (2013); Mike Greene, former Vice Chairman of Energy Future Holdings (2012); Marianne Carroll, Partner at the law firm of Brown McCarroll (2011); Trudy Harper, President of Tenaska Power Services (2010); Jess Totten, Director of Competitive Markets at the PUCT (2009); F. John Meyer, former Vice President of Regulatory & Transmission Services for Reliant Energy (2008); Sam Jones, former CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) (2007); and Pat Wood (2006). 

Zlotnik earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from the University of Texas at Austin.  She and her husband live in Houston, Texas and have three sons and a daughter-in-law.