CMS Energy Corp. said Monday that Thomas J. Webb, former CFO for Kellogg Co., will replace CFO Alan M Wright, who has been with the company since 1991. At the same time CMS announced a definitive agreement to sell almost all of its remaining oil and gas reserves in the Permian Basin of West Texas, as well as assets in Africa and South America, to privately held Perenco SA and its affiliated companies, which are based in France.

Wright will leave Aug. 16 to work “outside the energy industry.” He had been named CFO and chief administrative officer in December 2000. Former Chairman and CEO William McCormick and Tamela Pallas, CEO of the company’s marketing, services and trade group, resigned in May (see Daily GPI, May 28, May 17).

Before Kellogg, Webb, 49, had been CFO for Visteon from 1996 to 1999. He began his career at Ford Motor Co. in 1977. Kenneth Whipple, who replaced McCormick as CEO and chairman, was a long-time Ford executive, and had been president of Ford Financial Services when he retired in 1999.

The Dearborn, MI-based company first announced it would sell off the assets of CMS Oil and Gas Co. and exit the exploration and production business in May (see Daily GPI, May 30 ). Besides its E&P assets, CMS also has other properties it plans to sell before the end of the year, including subsidiary Consumer Energy’s electric transmission system, worth an estimated $290 million, as well as some generation and distribution assets for an additional $588 million.

Under investigation by several federal agencies, CMS has been working to build liquidity and reduce its debt in recent months. Besides the investigations, CMS has also been shunned by investors, who have continued to sell, reducing the stock to a low of $8.73 on Friday. Several lawsuits also have been filed against the company, including one announced Monday by three law firms.

Keller Rohrback, Mazur Morgan Meyers & Kittel, and Campbell, Harrison & Dagley have filed a 401(k) breach of fiduciary duty class action against CMS Energy on behalf of participants and beneficiaries of the company’s 401(k) retirement plan from a period beginning Aug. 3, 2000. The complaint alleges that CMS and its plan administrators, “breached their fiduciary duties of loyalty and prudence when they withheld or concealed material information from the 401(k) Plan participants and beneficiaries with respect to CMS’ business, financial results and operations, thereby encouraging current and former CMS employees to continue to make and maintain substantial investments in CMS stock in the plan.”

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