Jeffrey Skilling, Enron Corp.’s front man for its energy riskmanagement business and commodity trading growth, will add a CEO inFebruary to his title of president and CFO following a vote by thecompany’s board of directors last week. Current CEO Kenneth Laywill remain chairman and a full-time employee and once again triedto dispel rumors that he may be tapped as a member ofPresident-Elect George W. Bush’s cabinet.

“The best time for succession is when the successor is ready andwhen the company is well positioned for the future,” Lay said.”Jeff is a big part of Enron’s success and is clearly ready to leadthe company. With Jeff’s promotion, succession is clear, our deeppool of management talent remains intact, and no otherorganizational changes need to be made to take the company to newlevels of growth.”

Skilling, 47, joined Enron in 1990 after leading McKinsey &Co.’s energy and chemical consulting practices. He is consideredresponsible for bringing Enron to the forefront in energy trading,and has been instrumental in Enron’s use of risk managementproducts and forward contracting structures in the natural gasindustry, using similar concepts in electricity, bandwidth, metalsand other commodity products. He was named president and COO inDecember 1996.

“I am particularly happy that Ken and I will continue runningthe company together and that he has put the rumors of his possibledeparture to Washington, D.C. to rest,” Skilling said. He said hedid not want to “break up a team that has delivered superiorreturns to Enron’s shareholders.” Enron’s shares have risen about74% this year.

Skilling said no major changes are anticipated, adding Enronwould be “steady as she goes.” However, he expects more commoditiesare expected to be added to Enron’s trading market, including hightech products such as data storage.

Lay, 58, has not completely ruled out the possibility that hemight take a job in D.C., if asked. He became Enron’s chairman andCEO in February 1986 after the company was created with the mergerof Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth. After serving as an officerin the U.S. Navy, Lay had been Deputy Under Secretary for Energy inthe U.S. Department of the Interior. He also has been a topcontributor to Bush’s campaign this year.

According to the Center for Public Integrity, Enron and itsemployees have donated more money to Bush than any other company.Lay is on a list of more than 70 contributors to Bush’s recountcommittee that raised at least $100,000 toward his election, theCenter said.

Lay said he thinks there are several “serious” energy problemsfacing the country, which would require a “strong” Secretary ofEnergy. Among other things, he said the country needs to movetoward more deregulation and open more land to drilling for naturalgas. He also recommends that price caps be removed to encourageinvestment.

Carolyn Davis, Houston

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