-- Schmale Named President, Chief Operating Officer -- Snell Named Chief Financial Officer
SAN DIEGO, Dec. 7, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- The board of directors of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) today announced that Donald E. Felsinger has been elected chairman and chief executive officer. The board also named Neal E. Schmale president and chief operating officer and Mark A. Snell executive vice president and chief financial officer.
Felsinger's appointment to chief executive officer and most of the other management changes are effective Jan. 1, 2006. Felsinger will assume the position of chairman Feb. 1, 2006, when Stephen L. Baum, current chairman and chief executive officer, retires from that post and the board of directors. Additionally, Schmale will succeed Felsinger as president Feb. 1, 2006.
"I and the board of directors are pleased that we have made excellent progress in implementing our executive succession plan since it was first announced last year," said Baum. "This has enabled us to accelerate the transition to Don Felsinger and our new management team, who will continue to lead the successful execution of our growth strategy."
Baum, who has served Sempra Energy and its predecessor companies for 20 years, originally was scheduled to retire as chief executive officer at the end of January 2006.
Felsinger, 58, has been president and chief operating officer of Sempra Energy since June 2004, when he also joined the Sempra Energy board of directors. Previously, as group president of Sempra Global, Felsinger led Sempra Energy's expansion into competitive energy markets, helping to build successful businesses in power generation, energy-infrastructure development, energy trading and marketing, and liquefied natural gas development.
Prior to the merger that formed Sempra Energy in 1998, Felsinger was president and chief operating officer of Enova Corporation, the parent company of San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E). Previously, Felsinger held various executive positions within SDG&E, including serving as president and chief executive officer of SDG&E from 1996 to 1998. He has worked for Sempra Energy and its predecessor companies for 33 years.
Felsinger is a graduate of the Stanford University executive program and also has a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Arizona. He currently serves on the boards of the U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce, the Green Foundation and as co-chair of the Forum Fronterizo Council of the San Diego Dialogue.
Schmale, 59, is a member of the Sempra Energy board of directors and has served as Sempra Energy's executive vice president and chief financial officer since the company was founded in 1998. He was executive vice president and chief financial officer of Pacific Enterprises, the parent company of Southern California Gas Co. from 1997 to 1998. Before joining Pacific Enterprises, Schmale was chief financial officer of Unocal Corporation. He also served as senior vice president and president of Unocal's petroleum products and chemicals divisions.
Schmale holds a law degree from Loyola University of Los Angeles and a bachelor's degree in petroleum engineering from the Colorado School of Mines. Schmale also serves on the boards of directors of Murphy Oil Corp. and WD-40 Company.
Snell, 49, has served as group president of Sempra Global since August 2004. Previously, from 2002 to 2004, Snell was chief financial officer of Sempra Global. He joined Sempra Energy in 2001 as vice president of planning and development.
Prior to joining Sempra Energy in 2001, Snell served as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Earth Tech, a Long Beach, Calif.-based provider of consulting, engineering and construction services for the transportation, water/wastewater, facilities and environmental markets. Previously, Snell was chief financial officer of Dames and Moore, an international engineering and construction firm based in Los Angeles. Snell holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from San Diego State University and is a certified public accountant.
Sempra Energy, based in San Diego, is a Fortune 500 energy services holding company with 2004 revenues of $9.4 billion. The Sempra Energy companies' 13,000 employees serve more than 29 million consumers in the United States, Europe, Canada, Mexico, South America and Asia.
This press release contains statements that are not historical fact and constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When the company uses words like "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "estimates," "may," "would," "should" or similar expressions, or when the company discusses its strategy or plans, the company is making forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance. They involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Future results may differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon various assumptions involving judgments with respect to the future and other risks, including, among others: local, regional, national and international economic, competitive, political, legislative and regulatory conditions and developments; actions by the California Public Utilities Commission, the California State Legislature, the California Department of Water Resources, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and other regulatory bodies in the United States and other countries; capital markets conditions, inflation rates, interest rates and exchange rates; energy and trading markets, including the timing and extent of changes in commodity prices; the availability of natural gas; weather conditions and conservation efforts; war and terrorist attacks; business, regulatory, environmental, and legal decisions and requirements; the status of deregulation of retail natural gas and electricity delivery; the timing and success of business development efforts; the resolution of litigation; and other uncertainties, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the control of the company. These risks and uncertainties are further discussed in the company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission that are available through the EDGAR system without charge at its Web site, www.sec.gov and on the company's Web site, www.sempra.com.