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Wayne Leonard became Entergy's chief executive officer on January 1, 1999. He joined Entergy in April 1998 as president and chief operating officer of the domestic business, and assumed additional responsibility for international operations in August 1998. Under Leonard's leadership, Entergy implemented a new strategy emphasizing core competencies, with renewed attention to the core utility business and nuclear generation. Entergy completed the first U.S. purchase of a nuclear plant and continued expansion of the company's nuclear fleet to its current standing as the second-largest nuclear plant operator in the United States. Financial and operational performance improved as a result of the new strategy, and Entergy has demonstrated a consistent record of meeting investor expectations for delivering on commitments.
Entergy received the electric industry's highest honor, the Edison Award, in 2002 and 2005, from the Edison Electric Institute. The Platts Global Energy Awards honored Entergy as 2002 Global Power Company of the Year and 2003 Global Energy Company of the Year. For the last five years, Leonard was named a finalist for Global CEO of the Year and was honored as Global CEO of the Year for 2003. Entergy was named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index in 2005 for the fourth consecutive year demonstrating strong financial performance and outstanding leadership in environmental and social commitment. In recognition of its industry-leading financial achievement, Entergy was honored in October 2004 and 2003 as the top performer in the Edison Electric Institute's index of Shareholder-Owned Electric Utilities for the past five years.
Leonard began his utility career at PSI Energy where he served as the company's senior vice president and chief financial officer from 1989 to 1994. After the 1994 merger, which created Cinergy, he was named group vice president and chief financial officer and served in that capacity until 1996. That same year, he was named president of Cinergy's Energy Commodities Strategic Business Unit and president of Cinergy Capital and Trading.
Leonard graduated from Ball State University in 1973 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and earned his MBA in 1987 from Indiana University. Mr. Leonard has been a member of Tidewater’s Board of Directors since 2003.
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