This month we are thrilled to feature Vicky Heinz, the overseer of credit collections and customer assistance functions for Madison Gas and Electric! She has been in this role since 2015, and she plans on retiring this coming summer! As she nears retirement, she shared her experience with the UW-E Business Consortium and the benefits it has provided her throughout her career.
Vicky’s involvement with UWEBC began when she was working for Lands’ End in the late 90s. As UWEBC was getting up and running during this same time period, Lands’ End was experiencing tremendous growth and was looking for ways to help develop its leaders. UWEBC became a valuable resource for the company, and Vicky became involved with the consortium at that time.
Over the years, Vicky has been employed by five different organizations that are UWEBC member companies and she has graciously taken on the role of champion for the UWEBC membership whenever she has had the opportunity to do so. As a champion, Vicky has participated in learning events, advisory services, and other engagement opportunities offered by UWEBC. Additionally, she has served as the main conduit into her various organizations for the UWEBC Customer Service Practice Director, sharing information about her companies’ initiatives and creating awareness among her peers of upcoming events that might be interesting and beneficial to them. By sharing information during her team’s weekly meetings, Vicky has highlighted the consortium’s value as a low-cost and accessible resource for professional development. Her favorite part about her role as a champion is the impact she has seen on individuals and teams who have taken advantage of the opportunities provided. She especially enjoys being able to connect with – and network with – individuals across different organizations who share similar goals or challenges.
While Vicky has attended many events and conferences with the UWEBC over the years, her favorite event undoubtedly is the Annual Conference. One, in particular, stands out to her – the one where Tommy Caldwell was the closing keynote speaker. During the conference, Tommy Caldwell shared his personal journey of overcoming adversity and achieving great success in his career as a professional rock climber. Vicky found his story to be incredibly inspiring and felt that it resonated with her own journey as a leader in the business world.
Vicky explains that at Madison Gas and Electric, providing optimal customer service is a top priority. Located in a Big 10 town, the utility company services a transient population, and “processing, stop, start, and transfer” work orders are a significant aspect of their business. UWEBC helps the company stay updated on technologies that could enhance its services, such as robotics and artificial intelligence along with channel-agnostic customer interactions, which align with Madison Gas and Electric’s goal to provide multiple options for customers to interact with them. She also shared an exciting trend or change that she sees in the utility space, especially with the rise of renewables. Unlike in the past, where utilities generated and distributed products in a standard way, utilities are now challenged to decide what to offer and how to become leaner and greener.
In her retirement, Vicky plans to spend more time exploring places in the United States that she hasn’t been to before. She has family in Wyoming and recently purchased a van that she plans to travel in! She is the happiest when enjoying the outdoors, so she is excited about her upcoming travels. However, Vicky will miss her time with UWEBC and the great memories she has made. She believes that UWEBC is positioned for greatness and provides huge value to organizations and to individual employees interested in learning and developing their careers. She knows that it’s made a big difference in her own career and encourages others to take advantage of the opportunities provided to them by the UWEBC.
The UWEBC wants to thank Vicky for her wonderful contribution over the years to our community and for being such a big advocate of the work we do. It takes a village and you will always be a part of ours!
Published June 7, 2023
Jenny Zhang and Dylan Kopf, Marketing Student Assistants