Press Release

ENRON ANNOUNCES PROMOTION OF JEFF SKILLING TO CEO, KEN LAY REMAINS AS CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD

HOUSTON -- Enron Corp. announced today that Jeffrey K. Skilling has been elected chief executive officer, effective as of Feb. 12, 2001, the company’s next regularly scheduled board meeting. He will assume this role in addition to his current responsibilities as president and chief operating officer. Kenneth L. Lay will continue to serve as chairman of the board.

“The best time for succession is when the successor is ready and when the company is well positioned for the future,” said Lay, currently Enron’s chairman and CEO. “Jeff is a big part of Enron’s success and is clearly ready to lead the company. With Jeff’s promotion, succession is clear, our deep pool of management talent remains intact, and no other organizational changes need to be made to take the company to new levels of growth.”

“I am particularly happy that Ken and I will continue running the company together and that he has put the rumors of his possible departure to Washington, D.C., to rest,” said Skilling. “Ken and I have worked together since 1990, and we don’t want to break up a team that has delivered superior returns to Enron’s shareholders.”

Skilling, 47, joined Enron in 1990 after leading McKinsey & Company’s energy and chemical consulting practices. Under Skilling’s leadership, Enron pioneered the use of risk management products and forward contracting structures in the natural gas industry and has since applied similar concepts in electricity, bandwidth, metals, and a range of other commodity products. He became president and COO in December 1996 and has served on the company’s board of directors since that time. Skilling received an MBA from Harvard Business School and a bachelor’s degree from Southern Methodist University.

Lay, 58, became Enron’s chairman and CEO in February 1986, following the creation of the company through the merger of Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth. Prior to his tenure at Enron, Lay had served as chairman and CEO of Houston Natural Gas, president and COO of Transco Energy Company, and president of Continental Resources Company. Lay also served as an officer in the United States Navy, and as Deputy Under Secretary for Energy in the U.S. Department of the Interior. He received a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Houston, and master’s and bachelor’s degrees in economics from the University of Missouri.

Enron is one of the world’s leading electricity, natural gas and communications companies. The company, with revenues of $40 billion in 1999 and $60 billion for the first nine months of 2000, markets electricity and natural gas, delivers physical commodities and financial and risk management services to customers around the world, and is developing an intelligent network platform to facilitate online business. Fortune magazine has named Enron “America’s Most Innovative Company” for five consecutive years, the top company for “Quality of Management” and the second best company for “Employee Talent.” Enron’s Internet address is www.enron.com. The stock is traded under the ticker symbol “ENE.”

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Mark Palmer

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