CSWR promotes Mike Duncan to senior vice president

Central States Water Resources promoted Mike Duncan to senior vice president on Sept. 1, 2026, elevating a longtime executive as the utility expands across 11 states. The move puts Duncan in charge of key capital, engineering, construction and IT functions as CSWR scales its operations.

Why it matters: - The promotion gives Central States Water Resources a senior executive focused on the infrastructure and systems behind its rapid expansion. - Duncan will help steer the company’s capital program and internal technology as CSWR manages more than 1,000 regulated water and wastewater systems. - The move comes as CSWR serves nearly 500,000 customers and continues adding operational complexity.

What happened: - Central States Water Resources promoted Mike Duncan to senior vice president on Sept. 1, 2026. - Duncan joined CSWR in 2018 as director of business operations. - Since then, Duncan has moved through increasingly senior leadership roles as the company expanded its footprint. - Josiah Cox, CSWR president and founder, said Duncan has played an important role in the company’s growth and evolution.

The details: - As senior vice president, Duncan now provides executive leadership for CSWR’s capital program. - His portfolio includes engineering and construction, along with information technology. - Duncan also leads enterprise-wide initiatives aimed at improving efficiency, scalability and execution. - CSWR said Duncan helped guide critical parts of the business through significant growth and increasing operational complexity. - Since Duncan joined, CSWR has grown from fewer than 10 employees to about 485. - The company has expanded to 11 states: Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. - CSWR now owns and operates more than 1,000 regulated water and wastewater systems. - Those systems serve nearly 500,000 customers. - Duncan earned both a Bachelor of Arts degree and an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis. - The St. Louis Business Journal previously recognized Duncan as a 40 Under 40 honoree.

Between the lines: - The promotion signals CSWR is elevating leaders who can manage growth, infrastructure investment and back-office systems at the same time. - The company’s scale has changed sharply since 2018, which makes operational execution more important than ever. - CSWR is positioning Duncan as a bridge between strategy and day-to-day delivery, according to Cox.

What's next: - Duncan is expected to continue strengthening the organization behind CSWR’s expansion. - CSWR said his work will support the company’s mission at a larger scale. - The company says it will keep investing in resilient water and wastewater systems across its footprint.

The bottom line: - CSWR is promoting a veteran executive into a role built for the company’s next phase of growth.