 |
Expert
picked to guide Enron HOUSTON (AP) — Enron Corp.’s board on Tuesday selected a reorganization expert to guide it through the largest bankruptcy in history and a slew of criminal and congressional investigations into the company’s collapse. Stephen Cooper, managing principal of the New York-based reorganization adviser Zolfo Cooper, was named interim chief executive and chief restructuring officer. The selection came less than a week after the resignation of Kenneth Lay as chairman and chief executive. A search for a new chairman continues, the company said. Also Tuesday, the board announced the resignation of Lawrence G. Whalley as president and chief operating officer. Whalley will accept a position with UBS Warburg, the Swiss bank that acquired Enron’s cornerstone trading operation earlier this month, as agreed by the two parties. Enron said Cooper would be joined by a team of Zolfo Cooper professionals who will help with the company’s Chapter 11 restructuring effort. Zolfo Cooper’s long list of past clients include instant film maker Polaroid Corp., Hawaiian retailer Liberty House and Spokane, Wash.-based Pegasus Gold Corp. Enron’s board and the creditors’ committee in the company’s bankruptcy reviewed candidates last week. The company also said that Jeff McMahon has been promoted from chief financial officer to succeed Whalley as president and COO. Treasurer Ray Bowen was named vice president and chief financial officer. Both, as members of the Office of the Chief Executive, will fill out Enron’s top management team. Cooper said the team will immediately start working with Enron’s current management and the creditors’ committee on the company’s efforts to emerge from bankruptcy. “Our focus is on the future of Enron,” Cooper said in a statement. “We will work closely with the board of directors, management and the creditors committee to develop a reorganization plan to maximize value for the company’s stakeholders.” Todd Zywicki, a bankruptcy law professor at George Mason University, said Cooper’s selection appeared to be a small step toward bringing in an outsider unhindered by ties to Enron. |
|
|
TCU Daily Skiff © 2002 |
||