Mark Jacobs to Succeed Joel Staff as Chief Executive Officer; Brian Landrum
to Be Named Chief Operating Officer
Joel Staff to Remain as Non-Executive Chairman
HOUSTON, Feb. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The board of directors of
Reliant Energy, Inc. (NYSE: RRI) today announced a leadership succession
plan reflecting the company's successful repositioning and focus on value
creation. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Joel Staff, 63, has
announced his intention to retire from his position as chief executive
officer, effective as of the company's 2007 annual meeting, and will remain
on the board of directors as non-executive chairman. Mark Jacobs, 44,
currently executive vice president and chief financial officer of Reliant,
will become president and chief executive officer and a member of the board
of directors at that time. Brian Landrum, 45, currently executive vice
president, operations, will be named chief operating officer.
"Joel has done a fantastic job of transforming the company and building
a culture focused on integrity," said Reliant Lead Director Bill Barnett.
"We are confident in Mark Jacobs' ability to lead the company as its new
CEO. Mark is keenly attuned to the interests of Reliant's shareholders and
is committed to a program of disciplined growth with a focus on maximizing
shareholder returns. Having played a major role in key initiatives that
have positioned Reliant to be successful and leading the development of our
new strategic direction, Mark is the ideal candidate to be Reliant's next
CEO, and the board has full confidence in our management team."
"I am excited to have this opportunity to continue working closely with
Brian, the rest of the outstanding Reliant leadership team and the entire
organization to take Reliant to the next level," said Jacobs. "As I step
into my new role, I look forward to providing more detail on our new
strategy at our upcoming investor meeting in March."
"On behalf of Reliant and its directors, I would like to sincerely
thank Joel for all he has done for the company," said Barnett. "Due to the
hard work of Joel and his team, the company is well-positioned to achieve
future success. Joel was instrumental in building a corporate culture
focused on integrity and designed to maintain a highly motivated and
customer-focused workforce, as well as strengthening our corporate
governance. We are very pleased that, as non-executive chairman, Joel will
continue to provide Reliant with his valuable strategic insights and
leadership."
"I've had a great experience during my tenure as Reliant's CEO and am
proud of the successful repositioning we executed under the board's expert
direction," said Staff. "I would especially like to thank the company's
dedicated men and women, who are responsible for Reliant's success and with
whom I have greatly enjoyed working. Having worked closely with Mark over
the last several years, I am confident he has the experience, dedication
and understanding of our industry to work with our leadership team and help
realize Reliant's full potential."
Jacobs has served as Reliant's chief financial officer since 2002.
Prior to joining Reliant, Jacobs was a managing director with Goldman,
Sachs and Co. and had a long-standing advisory relationship with Reliant,
serving in both the Mergers and Acquisitions and Energy and Power groups.
Landrum joined Reliant in 1999. He has held several senior general
management positions across the company's retail and wholesale businesses.
Staff has served as chairman and chief executive officer of Reliant
Energy, Inc. since April 2003. He has been a member of the Reliant Energy
board of directors since October 2002.
Reliant has engaged an executive search firm to assist in filling the
chief financial officer position and will be considering both internal and
external candidates. Jacobs will continue to serve in this capacity until
the company's 2007 annual meeting.
Reliant Energy, Inc., based in Houston, Texas, provides electricity and
energy services to retail and wholesale customers in the United States. In
Texas, the company provides service to approximately 1.9 million retail
electricity customers, including residential, small business and
commercial, industrial, governmental and institutional customers. Reliant
also serves commercial, industrial, governmental and institutional
customers in the PJM (Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland) market. The
company is one of the largest independent power producers in the nation
with approximately 16,000 megawatts of power generation capacity across the
United States. These strategically located generating assets utilize
natural gas, fuel oil and coal. For more information, visit
http://www.reliant.com/corporate.
SOURCE Reliant Energy, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.reliant.com/corporate
CONTACT:
Pat Hammond, media, +1-713-497-7723; Dennis
Barber, investors, +1-713-497-3042
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