Melvin Roland has spent his entire career with Southern Company, joining in 2000 as an Engineer at Georgia Power in Substation Design. In 2005, he moved to Coastal Mississippi to lead Substation Construction at Mississippi Power where he was responsible for all capital projects for the company. In 2008, he transitioned to Substation Maintenance where he led multiple teams in completing all maintenance activities.

Roland later became the Transmission System Operations Manager in 2011 to oversee the company’s Transmission Control Center and its support group where he ensured the Transmission grid was available, reliable, and fully compliant. Roland advanced in 2014 to the Northern part of the company’s service area as Distribution Manager. In 2018, he returned to the Gulf Coast in Transmission as the Transmission Lines and Substations Manager. In January 2021, Roland was named Transmission General Manager. In January of this year, he was named the Distribution General Manager.

His extensive and proven background in design, construction, maintenance and operations in Distribution and Transmission over his 20-year career at Southern Company make him a tremendous asset in his new role.

Roland completed a dual degree program at Morris Brown College and the Georgia Institute of Technology where he earned degrees in Mathematics and Electrical Engineering. He also earned a Master’s in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from Georgia State University.

A leader in his company and community, Roland serves as the chair of the company’s Leadership Development Council and has formerly served externally on the Red Cross Community Board and the Moss Point Mayor’s Advisory Committee.

A native of Moss Point, he and his wife, Edwina, live in Biloxi with their three children, Matthew, Marley, and Macey.