Meet the Board Chair
Victor Baker addresses attendees at the East Bay Leadership Council's 2019 Installation Dinner in Pleasant Hill.
Some know Victor Baker as an accomplished executive, forward-looking strategist, and expansive thinker. Colleagues and employees know him as an inclusive and empowering voice. And those who know him best appreciate him for his transformative leadership, “why not” attitude, Six Sigma background and focus on measurable results, emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and integrity.
Victor’s worldview was shaped by his grandfather, Dr. Benjamin F. Baker. Dr. Baker, a school principal in the Deep South in the early twentieth century, is recognized as one of America’s pioneering engineers of early education and transformative leadership. In the time spent hearing stories about his grandfather, Victor learned that what the world needs most is people willing to lead. These stories also taught him the value in contributing time and talent to support the greater good and in creating forward-thinking cultures where the future, diversity, and new ideas are embraced while positive change, accountability, and challenge are expected.
Among Victor’s strengths is his success in pushing beyond the boundaries of convention to inspire new levels of performance. “I’ve been blessed to experience and understand processes relative to the results they produce, further acknowledging the role of wisdom in the form of failure. My own life experience lends itself to the quality of a leader I am, while the influential people in my life provided a blueprint of how and, sometimes, how not to be an effective leader.”
As the Senior Manager of the $853M Diablo Division for Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), Victor leads a 32-member Division Leadership team in overseeing 1,600+ internal employees and more than 1,700 matrix resources in serving 300K+ customers across 573 square miles of Contra Cost County (50% of the San Diego market). Additionally, he manages relationships with suppliers and strategic partners contributing $1.3B in economic activity and 5,000 jobs. He is accountable for the division’s strategy.
Victor was recruited into this newly re-established position in 2014 following a significant management vacancy. He quickly assessed talent, operations, external relationships, and organizational culture to identify and outline opportunities for improved revenue recognition, efficiency, service quality, customer satisfaction, and employee accountability/morale. His successful turnaround of the division was pivotal in integrating siloed business units, creating a culture of collaboration, and lifting the organization from #19 ranking to #5 among PG&E’s 19 divisions based on performance metrics.
From 2006 to 2014, Victor served in positions of increased responsibility and impact for San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E) and Southern California Gas Company (SCG). After serving for a year as a Supply Management Contract Agent, he was promoted to Supplier Diversity Program Manager to re-energize an already-performing 17-member team supporting SDG&E’s and SCG’s program designed to maximizing opportunities and establishing annual procurement goals for women, minority, and service-disabled veteran-owned businesses. He was successful in moving the team from the low end of the compliance spectrum (24%) to 38% with a greater than five-fold increase in program revenue to $546M in four years. The program earned recognition as the #1 performer nationwide in supplier diversity, enabling C-level executives to strengthen brand differentiation and position the organization for increased revenue.
In 2012, Victor was promoted to develop and create SDG&E’s REConnect initiative that integrated three departments—Research Development and Deployment (RD&D), Emerging Technologies, and Customer Programs—into a unified strategy to deliver innovative and energy-efficient products and services that increased customer engagement and satisfaction. He was quickly promoted from Special Projects Program Manager into the newly created Innovation & Ideas Manager position in 2013 to drive innovation across the organization. His team quickly earned the “Why Not” moniker for work in transforming the organization from a 100-year-old strategy and one patent to a reimagined focus on R&D, protecting SDG&E’s intellectual property and subsequently developing new revenue streams. He established an innovation consortium, obtained funding, and secured eight new patents including the nation’s first private company FAA approval for drone technology.
Previously, as a Construction Engineering Manager for Rick Engineering, Victor Inherited, rejuvenated, and salvaged a $70M high-profile project that had failed to launch over past 30 years. He successfully converted this venture into a new business unit that would become the firm’s most profitable practice.
Victor is on track to complete an Ed.D. in Organization & Leadership from University of San Francisco in 2019. Additionally, he holds an M.B.A. and a B.S. in civil/environmental engineering from San Diego State University. He is an Executive Board Member for the East Bay Leadership Council, a member of the Choice in Aging Board of Directors, and a member of the East Bay Football Officials Association.
Victor Baker will serve as the Board Chair of the East Bay Leadership Council from July 2019 - June 2020.