San Antonio Water System announced today the appointment of Cecilia Velasquez as their new Senior Vice President/Chief Financial Officer. Velasquez succeeds Doug Evanson, who recently retired after two decades propelling SAWS to its highest bond ratings in history and outstanding financial health.
As Chief Financial Officer, Velasquez will assume responsibility for the organization’s financial operations while continuing to oversee Customer Service and Strategic Initiatives. Her extensive experience, leadership, and commitment to SAWS will help ensure the continued financial strength and operational excellence of our organization.
Velasquez, a Certified Public Accountant, is a graduate of Leadership San Antonio (LSA) and a 2022 San Antonio Business Journal 40 Under 40 honoree.
“Utilities throughout the nation are experiencing rapid workforce aging,” said SAWS President/CEO Robert R. Puente. “With the promotion of Cecilia to CFO, I’m very proud that San Antonio Water System is prepared for the future with two young, minority women leaders in key roles.”
Velasquez will work in combination with SAWS Chief Operating Officer, Andrea Beymer, who was appointed to that position in 2023. Beymer began her career at SAWS as a Graduate Engineer in 1997 working on the Recycled Water Program and has devoted almost 30 years to SAWS.
At SAWS, Velasquez has distinguished herself within the financial and audit industries. She began her career at SAWS as an internal auditor and rose within the Audit department to become a manager before joining the Finance team. Once in Finance, she became responsible for all of SAWS’ financial reporting, while overseeing a budget in excess of $1 billion. Velasquez was also instrumental in SAWS Rate Advisory Committee (RAC) process. More recently she stepped in to present the four-year rates proposal to SAWS Board of Trustees, which unanimously approved it.
During her time in Customer Service, SAWS was awarded an IDC Smart Cities 2025 North America Award for SAWS ConnectH2O electronic meter program. Under her direction, the massive rollout was completed a year ahead of schedule due to implementation of new installation efficiencies.
Before joining SAWS in 2010, Velasquez held several internal audit and information technology auditor positions at The University of Texas at Austin, where she also earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration and accounting.
