PORTLAND, Ore., July 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NW Natural's  (NYSE: NWN ) board of directors has elected Charles A. Wilhoite to its board starting August 1, 2018.

Wilhoite is managing director at Willamette Management Associates, Inc., a consulting firm in the fields of business valuation, forensic analysis, and transaction financial advisory services. Prior, he was a senior auditor at KPMG. 

Wilhoite currently serves as chairman of the board of Meyer Memorial Trust and as a board member of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco – Portland Branch, Legacy Health, The Nature Conservancy of Oregon, Inc., Portland Business Alliance and the Oregon Housing Stability Council. He has been appointed by Governor Kate Brown as a member of a blue ribbon task force to evaluate state and local debt to the Oregon Public Employees Retirement System (PERS). 

Additionally, Wilhoite has held board and/or chair positions at Portland Development Commission (PDC), City Charter Review Commission, Oregon Health & Science University, SMART, Urban League of Portland, the Portland Police Bureau Budget Advisory Committee, PacificSource Health Plans, U.S. Bank of Oregon, the Oregon State Bar, Jesuit High School, Portland State University Foundation and Metal Toad Media.               “Charles brings a wealth of experience to our board,” said Tod Hamachek, NW Natural board chair. “We know that our company and our customers will benefit greatly from his leadership.”

Wilhoite holds Bachelor of Science degrees in accounting and finance from Arizona State University. He is a certified public accountant (CPA), with accreditations in business valuation and financial forensics, as well as certifications in chartered global management accounting, financial management, business valuation and appraisal, and fraud examination.

NW Natural’s board elected Wilhoite for a term that expires at the company’s Annual Meeting of Shareholders, which is expected to be May 23, 2019.

About NW Natural NW Natural (NYSE: NWN ) is headquartered in Portland, Ore., and provides natural gas service to about 740,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in Oregon and Southwest Washington. It is the largest independent natural gas utility in the Pacific Northwest. Additional information is available at www.nwnatural.com .