Arlen is the general manager and CEO of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District. He joined SMUD in 1990 as a staff attorney and became CEO in April, 2014, after a global executive search.
Prior to moving to the top post, Arlen served as general counsel for SMUD for 14-years, managing a staff of attorneys and overseeing all matters in which SMUD has a legal interest.
Arlen serves on the Board of Trustees for the Northwest Public Power Association and as the general counsel for the California Municipal Utilities Association. In addition to his nonprofit board service to Valley Vision, Arlen serves on the boards of directors of Capital Stage, a nonprofit professional theater company, the Greater Sacramento Urban League, and the Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce.
Before joining SMUD, Arlen was an attorney with the Sacramento firm Downey Brand. He received his juris doctorate degree from the University of California, Davis School of Law, a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Nevada, Reno, and attended UC Davis’s Graduate School of Management. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the California Bar Association, and the Energy Bar Association, a Washington, D.C. -based organization of legal professionals in the energy industry.