Rod West Promoted to Chief Administrative Officer;
Richard Smith Appointed President,
Wholesale Commodity Business
New Orleans, La. – In his first major reorganization in more than 11 years,
Entergy Corporation (NYSE: ETR) Chairman and Chief Executive Officer J. Wayne
Leonard has named Entergy leaders to new roles effective as early as June 14.
The reorganization will enhance organizational effectiveness and performance
by strengthening local regulatory presence in the Northeast and consolidating
commercial and risk functions for Entergy’s wholesale commodity business
associated with non-utility generation. Internal restructuring was identified as
a critical near-term action following the April 5 announcement of the decision
to unwind the business infrastructure associated with the proposed spin-off.
Pursuant to that announcement, Entergy is seeking to preserve options and
capture value expected from the proposed separate non-utility nuclear generation
and nuclear services companies. At the same time, Entergy is creating a more
focused corporate structure, while also providing further development of proven
leaders.
New leadership roles include:
• Rod West, currently president and CEO, Entergy New Orleans, Inc., has been
promoted to chief administrative officer for Entergy. Reporting to West will be
Robert Sloan, Entergy’s executive vice president and general counsel; Terry
Seamons, Entergy’s senior vice president, human resources and administration;
and Entergy’s executive vice president, external affairs to be named at a later
date.
• Richard Smith, currently Entergy’s president and chief operating officer,
has been appointed president, Entergy wholesale commodity business. As president
of that business unit, Smith will be headquartered in White Plains, N.Y., where
other critical regulatory efforts associated with license renewal are also
located. More details about this business will be announced in the coming weeks.
• Mark Savoff, Entergy’s executive vice president, operations, has been named
chief operating officer and adds responsibility for nuclear operations to his
organization.
West, Smith and Savoff will report to Leonard.
• Renae Conley, currently president and CEO, Entergy Louisiana, LLC and
Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, L.L.C., will be promoted to executive vice
president to lead Entergy’s human resources and administration organization
during 2011. Seamons will retire at the end of 2011 after Conley’s transition
into the position is complete. In the interim, Conley will assist Seamons in
human resources assignments and also lead the corporatewide inclusion and
diversity initiative. She will report directly to Leonard during a portion of
her interim assignment.
• Bill Mohl succeeds Conley as president and chief executive officer, Entergy
Louisiana and Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, having most recently served as
Entergy’s vice president, system planning and operations, and will report to
Gary Taylor, Entergy’s group president, utility operations.
• Charles Rice has been appointed president and chief executive officer,
Entergy New Orleans, replacing West and will also report to Taylor. Rice
currently serves as director, regulatory affairs, Entergy New Orleans.
• Andrew Marsh, currently Entergy’s vice president, planning and financial
communications, will become Entergy’s vice president, system planning and
operations, replacing Mohl and will report to Savoff.
“As we consider our opportunities and challenges, it is clear certain key
areas need to be staffed differently for the future we are facing,” said
Leonard. “This team is hungry for success and has the knowledge, skills,
integrity and will to achieve our aspirations. The leadership team is
represented by those distinguished in their professional domains, having proven
themselves in various fields of intense challenges from the courtroom to the
classroom to athletic arenas to the service of their country in the armed
forces. The new organization recognizes the value we place on understanding and
meeting our customers’ needs, with two current jurisdiction presidents promoted
into the Office of the Chief Executive. I am confident this organization will
serve our stakeholders well as we continue to strive for success in a tough
environment.
“The reorganization creates an organization solely focused on commercial,
governmental and regulatory affairs, and financial and risk matters for
Entergy’s wholesale commodity business associated with non-utility generation –
both nuclear and fossil. It also aligns accountability for generation operations
– both utility and non-utility – within a single organizational structure at
Entergy and maintains the ability to leverage functional scale in areas like
nuclear. At corporate, we have a more focused structure with clear
responsibilities and accountabilities. Our corporate functions have deep talent
and a long record of success. Maintaining the status quo will not be good
enough, not for a company with our aspirations, despite challenges in the
economic climate. West’s assignment will include aligning our efforts with
urgency and purpose to support the business units’ needs, with the same
relentlessness and aggressiveness he has displayed in every facet of his life.”
West is a proven, hands-on leader. A trained and successful regulatory
litigator, he was promoted to president and CEO of Entergy New Orleans in
January 2007, after having served from 2004 as the company’s director of
electric distribution operations. In that role, West managed New Orleans’
electric distribution system and its rebuilding after the devastation of
hurricanes Katrina and Rita. He also received high marks for his role in leading
the hurricane-ravaged utility out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy in less than 20
months. West joined Entergy in April 1999 as senior regulatory counsel where he
represented the company in its regulatory litigation group. In September 1999,
West transitioned from legal to management to head Entergy New Orleans’
regulatory group where he was responsible for direction and outcomes of
regulatory proceedings. Prior to joining Entergy, West was senior attorney
(commercial litigation) in the New Orleans office of Vial, Hamilton, Koch &
Knox, L.L.P. from January 1998 until he joined Entergy. Prior to this, he spent
five years with the New Orleans-based law firm of Jones, Walker, Waechter,
Poitevent, Carrere & Denegre, L.L.P. West, active in civic and charitable
endeavors, is an executive committee member of the New Orleans Business Council
and the Executive Leadership Council, as well as a member of the boards of
directors of both First Bank and Trust and the Allstate Sugar Bowl. He is past
chair of the Louisiana State University System Board of Supervisors and
currently serves on the board of trustees at his alma mater, Notre Dame. He was
a highly prized recruit at Notre Dame where he lettered three years as outside
linebacker and tight end for Lou Holtz and the Fighting Irish, and played on the
1988 National Championship football team. He received both his juris doctorate
and master of business administration from Tulane University.
Smith is the natural leader for Entergy’s wholesale commodity business
associated with the non-utility generation business, having presided over the
generation function since April 2007 and given his considerable financial acumen
and regulated utility economic background. The new structure brings a unified
approach as the company moves through the final phases of the non-utility
nuclear license renewal process and is expected to facilitate actions to pursue
and capture the achievable value of the existing business as well as expanded
growth opportunities. Three groups are expected to report directly to Smith,
with leadership to be named in the near future with expansive skills in
regulatory matters, commodity and financial markets and risk management. Before
joining Entergy in September 1999, Smith held several executive positions at
Cinergy Corporation, including president of Cinergy Resources, Inc., the
non-regulated retail supply business, and vice president, finance, energy
business services. Smith is a graduate of Indiana University-Purdue University
Indianapolis and obtained his master of business administration from the
University of Indianapolis.
Savoff joined Entergy at the end of 2003 with accountability for the business
operations of fossil generation, transmission, system safety and environment,
supply chain, system planning and performance management, and adds nuclear
operations in this reorganization. Before joining Entergy, Savoff’s career at
General Electric spanned 25 years and included numerous leadership positions in
addition to his role as technical expert in boiling water reactor technology.
Prior to his promotion to vice president and corporate officer at GE Power
Systems, Nuclear Energy, he was general manager of GE’s global nuclear fuel
business and led the turnaround of GE’s global nuclear services business. He
also served as president of Reuter-Stokes, a wholly-owned GE subsidiary that
supplies environmental and gas turbine monitoring equipment, components for
radiation detectors, harsh environment sensors and sensors for monitoring
nuclear power plant output. Savoff is on the boards of directors of Navigator
Technology, the Electric Power Research Institute and the Southeastern Electric
Exchange. He previously served as a member of the boards of the Nuclear Energy
Institute, Reuter-Stokes, and Global Nuclear Fuel. Savoff is a certified Six
Sigma greenbelt. He is a nuclear engineering graduate of the University of
Florida where he is a member of the advisory council for the School of Nuclear
Engineering and the dean’s advisory board for the College of Engineering.
John Herron, president, chief executive officer and chief nuclear officer for
Entergy Nuclear, will report to Savoff and remains a member of the Office of the
Chief Executive. He will continue to provide the leadership on which the
excellence in the nuclear program is built. He is characterized as an operator’s
operator, with a depth of experience in all aspects of running a nuclear power
facility. Under Herron’s leadership virtually every plant has achieved or is on
record reliability runs. Prior to his career in nuclear power, he served in the
U.S. Navy from 1972 to 1978. He was attached to the USS Tullibee and the SIC
NPTU Windsor, where he was an instructor at the Nuclear Submarine Prototype
School. Before joining Entergy in February 2001, he began his career in nuclear
operations at Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corporation, with subsequent plant
manager roles at Nebraska Public Power District’s Cooper Nuclear Station and
Tennessee Valley Authority’s Sequoyah nuclear plant. He served as site vice
president at TVA’s Browns Ferry nuclear plant. He graduated from Franklin Pierce
College.
Conley has the breadth and depth of professional and civic experience
required to lead human resources and administration and to advance Entergy’s
corporatewide inclusion and diversity initiative that is among Entergy’s
aspirations. Entergy currently has more than 20 employee-directed diversity and
inclusion councils and affinity groups throughout seven states and mandatory
diversity and inclusion training for all employees and managers. She will also
serve as a member of the Office of the Chief Executive. Conley’s professional
career includes a long list of leadership roles in the electric utility
industry. She served as president of Cincinnati Gas and Electric Company,
president and chief executive officer of Cadence, a joint venture of Cinergy,
New Century Energies and Florida Progress, and in a number of other varied roles
before joining Entergy in 1999 as vice president of investor relations. She took
over the top job at Entergy Louisiana and Entergy Gulf States Louisiana in 2000.
As president and CEO, she led the restoration efforts after back-to-back strikes
from hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, and again from hurricanes Gustav and
Ike in 2008. A respected business leader and advocate for economic development
and education, Conley serves on numerous boards including the Louisiana
Lieutenant Governor’s Cultural Economy Foundation, Teach for America, Federal
Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s Economic Advisory Council, Nature Conservancy of
Louisiana, and Louisiana State University E.J. Ourso College of Business Dean’s
Advisory Council. Conley is a graduate of Ball State University, having also
earned a master of business administration from that university where she sits
on the School of Business board.
Mohl has held various leadership positions with several energy companies over
the past 28 years, with responsibility for wholesale power operations, fuel and
generation procurement, marketing and trading, commercial negotiations, and
business development which provide invaluable experience as he succeeds Conley.
Mohl joined Entergy in 2002 where he was responsible for the procurement of all
limited- and long-term fuel and generation resources and in 2007 added
responsibility for system planning and operations. He is an experienced witness
before regulatory bodies. Mohl began his career in the power industry at Public
Service Company of Colorado, now an affiliate of Xcel Energy, before moving to
Koch Industries where he held a number of senior leadership roles in various gas
and power businesses. Mohl graduated from Regis University from which he also
earned his master of business administration.
Marsh moves from the finance organization as he takes on the role of system
planning for utility operations. Marsh began his career as an associate at a
municipal investment bank, after which he developed his management and strategy
background through the master of management program at Northwestern University’s
Kellogg Graduate School of Management. He joined Entergy in 1998 and moved
through several financial communications, planning and strategy positions,
including a three-year tenure at Entergy-Koch, LP, the joint venture between
Entergy and Koch Industries. Recently, Marsh co-led efforts to organize and then
subsequently unwind the non-utility nuclear spin-off organizations. Marsh’s
undergraduate degree is from the University of Notre Dame where he also played
for the Fighting Irish football team and remains an active alumnus.
Rice’s breadth of skills in city government, along with prior regulatory and
legal experience at Entergy and two highly regarded law firms, provide
exceptional experience as he takes on the top role at Entergy New Orleans. Like
West, Rice began his first legal private practice position in Louisiana with
Jones, Walker, Waechter, Poitevent, Carrere & Denegre, L.L.P. following which he
joined Entergy in the legal department. Between 2002 and 2005, Rice was
recruited into city government as the city attorney and later took the critical
role of chief administrative officer for the City of New Orleans. In 2005, Rice
was recruited back to private practice as partner at the law firm of Barrasso,
Usdin, Kupperman, Freeman & Sarver, L.L.C. following which he returned to
Entergy as director of regulatory affairs for Entergy New Orleans in January
2010. Rice is a graduate of Howard University and earned his juris doctorate
from the Loyola School of Law. After graduating from Howard University, he was
commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army and served as a
military intelligence officer with the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) at
Fort Campbell, Ky. While in the Army, he earned the Airborne Badge, Air Assault
Badge and was awarded the Army Commendation and the Army Achievement Medals.
Other members of the Office of the Chief Executive who will continue to
report to Leonard include:
• Leo Denault, Entergy’s executive vice president and chief financial
officer. Denault has served as the CFO since 2004. In each of the past five
years, Denault has finished among the top five CFOs in electric utility industry
rankings by Institutional Investor magazine, including ranking as the best CFO
for the past two years. In his prior position, Denault’s responsibilities were
continually expanded from corporate development to include strategic planning,
investment analysis and risk management processes, including serving as lead
negotiator in the creation of the Entergy-Koch, LP joint venture. Denault joined
Entergy in 1999, following a career at Cinergy Corporation culminating with his
role of vice president, corporate development. Denault played a lead role in PSI
Energy’s defense of a hostile takeover attempt that occurred during that
company’s merger with Cincinnati Gas and Electric to form Cinergy. Thereafter,
Denault was involved in every major investment transaction, including the
acquisition of generation, distribution and trading businesses in the U.S. and
abroad. Denault graduated from Ball State University and earned his master of
business administration from Indiana University.
• Gary Taylor, Entergy’s group president, utility operations. Taylor joined
Entergy in 2000, bringing 20 years of nuclear expertise, substantially all with
South Carolina Electric & Gas Company’s V.C. Summer Station where he certified
as senior reactor operator and shift technical advisor, among other leadership
roles. Taylor ultimately served as chief executive officer of Entergy’s nuclear
businesses before moving to his current role. Taylor is a member of the board of
the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the United Way of Greater New Orleans. He has
served on the Executive Committee of the Nuclear Energy Institute as well as the
boards of the Foundation for Nuclear Studies and Institute of Nuclear Power
Operations, and is past chair of NEI’s Low Level Waste Management Working Group.
Taylor graduated from the Virginia Military Institute and received his master in
nuclear science and engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State
University. He also completed Harvard University’s Advanced Management Program
and the INPO Senior Nuclear Plant Management course. He is a member of the
National Physics Honor Society and was honorably discharged from the United
States Air Force with the rank of captain.
Seamons and Sloan will remain members of the Office of the Chief Executive
reporting to West. Seamons joined Entergy in 2007, bringing a wealth of
experience from RHR International, a management consulting firm specializing in
linking managerial effectiveness, organizational performance and business
strategy. He holds a doctorate in psychology from Brigham Young University and
is a member of the American Psychological Association. He has been active in
adult leadership training for the Boy Scouts of America and the LDS Church. He
served on several boards including the advisory board of Michigan Gas Utilities,
the board of advisors with the Greater Detroit Area Chamber of Commerce and the
board from Autonomous Solutions, Inc.
Sloan joined Entergy in 2003, with over 30 years of legal experience both in
the United States and abroad. Prior roles included vice president and general
counsel at GE Industrial Systems, managing partner in the Brussels office of
McKenna and Cuneo LLP, partner at Pepper, Hamilton and Sheetz law firm in
Washington, D.C., and vice president and director of the Sovereign Credit
Management Division at the First National Bank of Chicago. He is a graduate of
the University of Michigan and the Harvard Law School.
Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in
electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and
operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating
capacity, and it is the second-largest nuclear generator in the United States.
Entergy delivers electricity to 2.7 million utility customers in Arkansas,
Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of more than $10
billion and more than 15,000 employees.
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Additional investor information can be accessed online at
www.entergy.com/investor_relations.
In this news release, and from time to time, Entergy Corporation makes
certain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Except to the extent required by the
federal securities laws, Entergy undertakes no obligation to publicly update or
revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events, or otherwise.
Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties.
There are factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from
those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements, including (a)
those factors discussed in (i) Entergy’s Form 10-K for the year ended December
31, 2009, (ii) Entergy’s Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2010, and
(iii) Entergy’s other reports and filings made under the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934, (b) uncertainties associated with rate proceedings, formula rate plans
and other cost recovery mechanisms, (c) uncertainties associated with efforts to
remediate the effects of major storms and recover related restoration costs, (d)
nuclear operating and regulatory risks, and (e) legislative and regulatory
actions, and conditions in commodity and capital markets during the periods
covered by the forward-looking statements, in addition to other factors
described elsewhere in this release and in subsequent securities filings.