The man who built Aqua America into a reservoir of success will not step back from the water’s edge when he steps down as CEO this summer.

The name of Nick DeBenedictis will grace the ballot for non-executive chairman of Aqua America, the Bryn Mawr-based multi-state water utility in the wake of his retirement as CEO on June 30, according to a Philly.com report.

And he’s far from washed up in his area of expertise: leadership; he plans to quench the thirst for epic guidance on other corporate and nonprofit boards as well as possibly wade into the business of private equity.

“He’s the Joe DiMaggio of utility executives,” Former Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission Chairman Wendell F. Holland said in the article, having slugged out 15 straight years of unabating record earnings at Aqua America and amassed a current $4.7 billion corporate valuation.

“Aside from delivering steady financial returns, the secret of DeBenedictis’ longevity is his deep understanding of the interdependence of regulated business and government, and how to navigate between those worlds,” the article stated. “The recipe, he said, is hiring good people.”

One of the key navigation tools the now-69-year-old employed at the helm of Aqua America was the passage of Nick’s Bill, the 1996 rate mechanism for distribution system improvements that has revitalized the state’s water infrastructure and provided a model for New Jersey and other states.

“It’s a huge regulatory tool, a game-changer,” Holland added.

Read much more about how politicians of every stripe became amenable to his style and other important legacies DeBenedictis leaves on Philly.com here.

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Top Photo Via Michael Bryant, Philly.com