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Richard A. Abdoo joined our board of directors in July 2004. Mr. Abdoo brings nearly three decades of energy industry expertise to the Company's board membership, having retired in April 2004 from his position as chairman, president and chief executive officer of Wisconsin Energy Corporation (WEC) after a 29-year career with WEC and its subsidiary, Wisconsin Electric Power Company (WEPC), now known as We Energies. Mr. Abdoo first joined WEC as a director of corporate planning in 1975 and held positions of increasing responsibility in planning and operations for WEC through 1989 including vice president, senior vice president and executive vice president. In 1989, Mr. Abdoo was named president and chief operating officer of WEPC and several other WEC subsidiaries, and subsequently served as chief executive officer of all WEC subsidiaries until 1991 when he was elected chairman, president and chief executive officer of WEC. Under his executive leadership, WEC grew to become a Fortune 500 company through a series of mergers and acquisitions which both enriched and enlarged the offerings and markets of the Company. He oversaw the merger of WEPC and Wisconsin Natural Gas into a single utility in 1996, the acquisition of WICOR, Inc. and its Wisconsin Gas subsidiary in 2000, and later that same year the introduction of the WEC's Power the Future plan to meet the future energy needs of southeastern Wisconsin. Mr. Abdoo's experience includes planning and leadership in coal both in Wisconsin's energy plan and support of state regulation to support coal industry initiatives. Mr. Abdoo currently serves on the boards of directors of AK Steel Holding Corporation and Marshall & Ilsley Corporation. He earned a B.S. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Dayton and a Master's degree in economics from the University of Detroit. He has also completed post-graduate studies in engineering at Wayne State University. | 