Executive Officers

Fontenot is president and chief executive officer of Cleco Corporate Holdings LLC, a regional energy holding company that conducts its business operations through its subsidiaries, Cleco Power LLC and Cleco Cajun LLC. 

He began his career with Cleco in April 1986, holding numerous executive leadership positions with increasing responsibilities, including interim chief executive officer of Cleco Corporate Holdings LLC from February 2017 to January 2018, chief operating officer of Cleco Power from April 2016 to February 2017 and senior vice president of utility operations for Cleco Power from March 2012 to April 2016. Fontenot assumed his current leadership role as president and CEO in January 2018.

During his 30 plus years in the energy industry, Fontenot has managed the development and restructuring efforts of generation projects valued at over $900 million, including Cleco Power’s $1 billion generating unit, Madison 3.  He also has worked in marketing and helped develop Cleco's merchant power businesses.

Fontenot also serves on the boards of the Council for a Better Louisiana, Southeastern Electric Exchange and the Central Louisiana Community Foundation and is president of the Association of Edison Illuminating Companies, the electric utility industry’s longest-serving and preeminent association of leading operations experts. 

He holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge.

LaBorde assumed his current leadership role in February 2019. He began his career with Cleco in July 1991, holding numerous positions of leadership with increasing responsibilities, including general manager of environmental services, vice president of strategic planning, development and environmental policy, vice president of generation operations, and vice president of generation operations and environmental services.

LaBorde holds a bachelor’s degree in toxicology from the University of Louisiana at Monroe.

Guillory assumed her current leadership role in July 2021. She began her career with Cleco in August 2004 where she has served in various finance roles with increasing responsibilities, including general manager of finance and assistant treasurer from May 2016 to February 2018, treasurer from February 2018 to September 2019, and most recently as president of Cleco Cajun LLC, an unregulated utility of Cleco Corporate Holdings LLC, from September 2019 to July 2021.

Her career highlights include working with the Louisiana Public Service Commission to finalize the $1.0 billion acquisition of NRG South Central Generating, a subsidiary of NRG Energy, Inc., and financing both the Cleco Cajun acquisition in 2019, as well as the 2016 privatization of Cleco Corporation. Prior to joining the corporate finance team at Cleco, Guillory served as the director of financial analysis at Cleco Midstream where she worked to monetize unregulated assets and long-term contracts.

Guillory holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration with dual majors in accounting and finance from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.  She also is a certified public accountant and chartered financial analyst.

Prior to joining Cleco, Conway served as senior counsel to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources under Sen. J. Bennett Johnston and was responsible for all of the committee’s work on electric issues. Since then, he has worked as an entrepreneur developing distributed generation resources, chief legal officer to another utility company and a partner in major law firms. 

Conway holds a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College and a juris doctor degree from Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge. 

 

She joined Cleco in August 2018 when she was named vice president of human resources. In September 2019, Preston transitioned to chief human resources and diversity officer.

Preston has worked in the energy industry since 1998 in both the electric power generation and retail market and in natural gas processing and transportation. During her twenty plus years in the industry, Preston has overseen human resources vision and strategy, executive coaching and development, culture shaping and diversity and inclusion. 

Prior to joining Cleco, Preston was vice president of human resources for Dynegy, a Houston-based electric power generation company that was subsequently acquired by Vistra Energy in 2018. Prior to Dynegy, Preston worked at Williams Companies Gas Pipeline Transco division as a strategic human resources business partner until 2003. Before starting her career in the energy industry, Preston worked in human resources at Williams Companies Communication Solutions division, Chase, Blockbuster and Xerox.

Preston holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge.  She also completed the executive management program at Rice University in Houston.

Prior to joining Cleco, Madsen served as chief information officer and vice president of IT at Waste Management Inc. in Houston for nine years where he oversaw a digital transformation that paved the way for hundreds of millions of dollars in EBITDA with technology and business process improvements. 

Madsen holds a bachelor’s degree in computer information systems and management science from Metropolitan State University of Denver.

Hilton assumed his current leadership role in February 2019. He began his career with Cleco in April 1989, holding numerous positions of leadership with increasing responsibilities, including director of resource operations, general manager of resource and fuels, general manager of transmission strategy and vice president of MISO operations.

Hilton holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from Louisiana State University at Alexandria.

Richard assumed his current leadership role in October 2021. He began his career with Cleco in December 2000, holding numerous positions with increasing responsibilities, including director of resource planning, director of Cleco solutions and director of strategic planning.

Sharp holds a bachelor of general studies degree from Northwestern State University and a master of business administration from Bellevue University.