Entergy Announces Executive to Head Utility; Other Leadership Positions

NEW ORLEANS, April 5, 2012  /PRNewswire/ -- The board of directors of Entergy Corporation (NYSE: ETR) today announced that Theodore H. Bunting, Jr. has been elected group president, utility operations. Bunting, currently the company's senior vice president and chief accounting officer, assumes his new role on June 1, replacing Gary Taylor, who previously announced his intention to retire. Bunting will report to J. Wayne Leonard, Entergy's chairman and chief executive officer.

"In his more than 20 years of experience at Entergy, Theo has distinguished himself as chief financial officer of nuclear operations, the utility and its six subsidiaries," said Leonard. "He is uniquely qualified to lead our utility business with experience that includes strategic and financial planning for the utilities, customer service, operations support and risk management. He is passionate about this business, doing the right things the right way and being the best at everything we do. He has high energy, unrelenting determination and is exceptionally well-prepared to align the needs of our customers and shareholders."

Bunting was one of the chief architects of the financial strategy that led Entergy New Orleans' successful emergence from bankruptcy with all creditors paid in full and a strong balance sheet and earnings profile. In 2011, the average Entergy New Orleans residential electric bill was well below the national average.

Alyson Mount, currently vice president and corporate controller, will succeed Bunting as senior vice president and chief accounting officer. In her new role, Mount will report to Leo Denault, executive vice president and chief financial officer.

"Over her 10 years with the company, Alyson has been a trusted advisor on many of our most complex accounting policy issues," said Leonard. "She is nationally recognized as a leader for her accounting standards work. We are fortunate to have someone of her caliber and reputation to follow in Theo's footsteps."

The company also appointed Sallie Rainer, currently vice president, federal policy, to the position of president and chief executive officer, Entergy Texas, Inc. Rainer will report to Bunting in his new role. She succeeds current Entergy Texas President and CEO Joe Domino, who will become chief integration officer for the previously announced merger of Entergy's transmission business with ITC Holdings Corp.

"In his 14 years at the helm of Entergy Texas, Joe's tireless work and steady leadership helped our customers and communities in southeast Texas through some of the most difficult times, including in the wake of hurricanes Gustav, Ike and Rita," said Leonard. "With Joe fully focused on successfully closing the transaction with ITC on our transmission business, Sallie is the ideal candidate to lead Entergy Texas. She knows the utility business as well as anyone. Her extensive business experience, commitment to excellence and tenacity in managing complex issues will provide strong leadership for our Texas customers."

All appointments are effective June 1.

Background Information

Theo Bunting

Theo Bunting was named senior vice president and chief accounting officer of Entergy Corporation and its subsidiaries in August 2007. In his role as chief accounting officer, he oversees preparation of monthly financial reports, preparation of certain regulatory filings, and formulation and administration of accounting policy, procedures and controls. In addition, he has responsibility of providing leadership for the budgeting process, supporting Entergy's strategic and financial plan for the utility business.

Bunting was named vice president, chief financial officer – Nuclear Operations and vice president, chief financial officer – System Energy Resources, Inc. in January 2004. Prior to January 2004, he was vice president, chief financial officer – operations and vice president, chief financial officer for the utility subsidiaries.

Bunting began his professional career in public accounting with Arthur Andersen & Co. In 1983, his utility career started with Entergy's utility operating subsidiary, Arkansas Power and Light Company, now called Entergy Arkansas, Inc. During his career at Entergy, Bunting has also been involved in the development and growth of Entergy's non-utility businesses. During this period, he has had a wide range of responsibilities, including customer service, operations support, risk management, budgeting and forecasting and accounting.

Bunting graduated from Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. He was honored with the Hendrix Odyssey Life Achievement Award for his accomplishments in leadership and professional development in 2005.

Bunting is a certified public accountant and serves on the Hendrix College Board of Trustees and the Hendrix College Board Finance and Audit Committees. He also serves on the Board of Nuclear Electric Insurance Limited and chairs the Board's Audit Committee.

Alyson Mount

Alyson Mount is currently vice president and corporate controller advising on and resolving systemwide accounting policy and reporting issues, and supports other systemwide initiatives from a finance and accounting perspective. Mount, who is a certified public accountant, joined Entergy in 2002.

Prior to her current position at Entergy, Mount worked in various other roles, including the director of accounting policy and director of accounting projects where she led a number of strategic and other initiatives such as the implementation of the Pension Protection Act from a financial perspective and the initial evaluation and implementation of Sarbanes Oxley requirements for the accounting organization.

Before joining Entergy, she worked for 10 years at PricewaterhouseCoopers where she specialized in audit and consulting projects primarily in the energy industry including various aspects of the Entergy audit and managing other utility and oil and gas industry audit and consulting engagements. She also led a number of the firm's national utility industry initiatives, including co-authoring technical accounting publications and position papers and development of utility-specific training and education programs.

She has continued that work at Entergy today, participating in the Edison Electric Institute's accounting standards committee, including a lead role in the recent drafting of the utility industry's position on the continuation of rate regulated utility accounting in an International Financial Reporting Standards environment.

Mount is a New Orleans native and a graduate of Loyola University with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Accounting.

Joe Domino

Joe Domino has been president and chief executive officer of Entergy Texas since 1998 and is responsible for Entergy Texas' electric distribution system, customer service, economic development, regulatory affairs and governmental affairs, as well as the company's financial performance.

Domino joined Gulf States Utilities as a planning engineer in 1970. During his tenure, he held a number of positions, including plant manager at the Sabine Plant and general manager-production responsible for oversight of all of Gulf States Utilities' fossil-fueled power plants.

Following the merger between Entergy and Gulf States Utilities in 1994, Domino was appointed director, Southern region fossil plants. A year later, the company assigned him to similar responsibilities over the Eastern region plants. Just prior to being named president, Domino served as director of Entergy's distribution operations in Texas and southwest Louisiana.

Lamar University named him a Distinguished Alumnus in 2005. In 2006, the Press Club of Southeast Texas named him Newsmaker of the Year. Domino and his wife, Linda, were 2007 winners of the Jefferson Award, presented for their dedication to public service. In 2007, he was named the Neches River Festival's Citizen of the year and in 2008, he was declared King of the Neches River Festival. Domino was honored as 2008 Executive of the Year by the Sales and Marketing Executive Club of Southeast Texas. In 2009, Domino and his wife, Linda, were recipients of the American Heart Association's J.C. Crager Award. In 2011, Domino and his wife, Linda, were recipients of the Mental Health Association's Julie Rogers Community Service Award.

Sallie Rainer

Sallie Rainer is currently vice president, federal policy advising Entergy's businesses on federal policy issues, coordinating with internal teams with responsibility for state and local regulatory and governmental matters and supporting efforts to communicate Entergy's positions on various issues to federal, state and local officials. She also led the company's efforts to evaluate options for the operations of its transmission system.

Rainer joined Entergy in 1984 in the generation planning department. For the next 12 years she worked in various roles in the area of long-term planning, and in 1997 she joined the energy management organization in The Woodlands, Texas. She held a number of management positions there including manager, planning models and analysis; manager, gas and oil supply; director, business planning and support; and director, strategic initiatives introducing Six Sigma techniques to the generation function.

Rainer was named director of regulatory affairs and energy settlements in 2005. In that position, she was responsible for billing processes associated with the Entergy System Agreement, for natural gas, oil and power settlement processes and for regulatory affairs affecting the system planning and operations organization.

Rainer holds a bachelor's degree in engineering technology from Louisiana State University and an MBA from Texas A&M University.

Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, and it is the second-largest nuclear generator in the United States. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.8 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of more than $11 billion and approximately 15,000 employees.

Additional information can be accessed online at

www.entergy.com.

SOURCE Entergy Corporation