Bentina Terry…Gulf Power NewsCenter
Bentina Terry
Bentina Terry, the senior vice president, northwest region for Georgia Power originally set out to practice law. “I would say that my career path was partly by planning and partly by chance. I went to school to be a lawyer and practiced law for a while. One of my clients was Georgia Power” Terry confirms.
After obtaining a non-law related position with Georgia Power, Terry learned as much as she could and moved up the ranks. She is now responsible for 60 percent of the company’s 2.4 million customers.
Terry feels underexposure is a hindrance for black women climbing the ladder of success, “Exposure can make you aware of opportunities that can be life-changing or that can open doors that you didn’t know where there. I’ve often found that women or minorities either work harder than necessary or miss an opportunity because they didn’t know about something.”
Her parting words? “First, not letting others define me. People like to tell you what you can and cannot do. I’ve often been the first African American female (or African American) in a role or at the certain level. If I let others define where I could go and what I could do, I might not be where I am now. Second, being third, to not let the thoughts and opinions of others derail me. I know that some people may have questioned if I got a role because of my race or gender or both. I can’t let that concern me. We must put our efforts into people that matter and things we can control — our sphere of influence. Naturally, we care about what others think, but we can’t let that take our focus away from getting done what needs to get done.”
