Entergy Investor Relations Also Receives High Ranking From Stock Analysts
New Orleans, La. – J.
Wayne Leonard, chairman and chief executive officer for Entergy Corporation, is
one of the nation’s “Best CEOs” and among the top five leaders in the power
industry, according to rankings compiled by Institutional Investor magazine.
It is the sixth
consecutive year the prestigious magazine has ranked Leonard among the top CEOs
in the nation. Leonard has established a record-setting performance as the only
power industry CEO to make the rankings every year since they began in 2004.
Leonard placed second
among the top CEOs in the power industry. Leonard was named top CEO in the power
industry in 2004 and since has ranked annually among the top four CEOs of
publicly traded power companies. The 2009 rankings are based on the opinions of
more than 900 buy-side analysts -- representing the nation’s largest, most
sophisticated investment firms -- surveyed by the magazine.
In addition, Entergy’s
investor relations department was named one of the best in the country. The
group ranked second in the electric utility industry, according to the survey of
buy-side analysts. Entergy received the top honor in 2006, the last time the
magazine published rankings for investor relations departments.
In today’s “harsh
economic downturn,” investors are “putting a real premium” on CEOs with
long-term strategic vision and operational skills, the magazine reported. The
“Best CEOs” are those
who scored “high marks for being forthright and transparent with shareholders
and smart with their companies’ balance sheets,” according to the magazine.
Leonard became CEO of
Entergy in 1999 and was appointed chairman in 2006. Entergy’s total shareholder
return ranks in the top quartile of the industry during Leonard’s tenure as CEO.
Under Leonard’s leadership Entergy returned its focus to its core competencies –
regulated utility operations, power development and nuclear generation. The
company has improved reliability and customer service while consistently meeting
commitments to investors.
Another record Leonard
holds is being a finalist for CEO of the Year in the Platts Global Energy Awards
competition every year since 2001. He won the CEO of the Year Award in 2003.
Entergy received a special award of excellence from Platts in 2008 for being a
finalist 39 times in the competition, far more than any other energy company.
In addition, Leonard and
his management team led Entergy during its recovery from the devastation left by
hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 and the damage caused by hurricanes Gustav
and Ike in 2008. Entergy is the only electric utility company to receive
emergency response and/or assistance awards from Edison Electric Institute every
year since the inception of the awards in 1999.
Leonard has also pushed
environmental initiatives at Entergy, chief among them voluntary greenhouse gas
emissions commitments begun in 2001. Entergy exceeded its first commitment by 23
percent to stabilize greenhouse gas emissions at 2000 levels through 2005.
Entergy made a second commitment to stabilize at 20 percent below year 2000
levels from 2006 to 2010. Entergy has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability
World Index for seven consecutive years, and it is the only U.S. utility
currently listed on the World Index. Entergy was also named to the Dow Jones
Sustainability North America Index in 2008 for the fourth consecutive year,
every year since its inception.
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 $13 billion and
approximately 14,700 employees.
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entergy.com.
