|
|
Enron Mail |
For your files
Ginger Dernehl Administrative Coordinator Global Government Affairs Phone# 713-853-7751 Fax# 713-646-8160 -----Original Message----- From: =09Dernehl, Ginger On Behalf Of Shapiro, Richard Sent:=09Tuesday, August 07, 2001 9:28 AM To:=09Sherriff, John; Brown, Michael - COO London Cc:=09Lewis, Richard; Shaw, Eric Subject:=09Enron Europe Government Affairs Group On my last visit to London, I met with John Sherriff & Richard Lewis separa= tely and discussed the possibility of naming a team leader within the Enron= Europe Government Affairs group. The purpose of naming a team leader woul= d be to provide more consistent leadership for the group on a day-to-day ba= sis, principally on personnel issues, but also to ensure that a consistent = policy approach is being taken across the Government Affairs group on issue= s that affect the company. I know that John is ambivalent about naming suc= h a team leader, but I thought that I would make the case once again, and, = hopefully in a more compelling manner so we can move forward with this idea= . First, it is important to say what the designation of a team leader would n= ot do. It would not, in my estimation, change the nature of the reporting = relationships that we currently have relative to Eric Shaw, Richard Lewis a= nd myself. Peter Styles and Paul Hennemeyer will continue to report to Eri= c Shaw and myself, and Paul Dawson and Doug Wood would continue to report t= o Richard Lewis and myself. Second, as the unchanged nature of the report= ing relationships indicate, this change is in no way intended to diminish t= he role of Eric and/or Richard relative to the management of the Government= Affairs group, but merely to ensure that someone is tending to personnel, = administrative and group management issues on a daily basis. Third, by nam= ing a team leader within the Government Affairs group, I am not attempting,= in any way, to step back from the role that I personally have taken on rel= ative to the group - I will continue to provide strategic guidance (where I= can) and also will continue to ensure that the Enron Europe Government Aff= airs group is fully integrated within the global government affairs functio= n so that the Europe group is the beneficiary of knowledge and information = that is developed around the world within the government affairs function. The intent of designating a team leader, as already stated, is merely to en= sure that issues related to the administration of the group, consistency of= external advocacy, and personnel issues are handled on a timely and effect= ive basis. While I believe there have been many benefits from the current = organizational structure, one of the significant and increasingly more noti= ceable negatives has been that there has not always been a consistent and f= air approach to the handling of personnel issues within the group (notwiths= tanding my best efforts to deal with these issues from a distance). This h= as resulted in, what I consider to be, the sub-optimal handling of at least= one employee who is in the process of being terminated, as well as inconsi= stent messaging to many of the junior people within the group in terms of w= hat their career opportunities are within the larger government affairs fun= ction in Europe (which, in turn, has created issues of morale). These issu= es, in my mind, are of sufficient concern that, if left unaddressed, the gr= oup's ability to sustain a record of providing excellent support throughout= the organization may, in time, be in jeopardy. I am confident that, by na= ming a team leader, we will retain virtually all of the benefits of the col= lective leadership approach that are embodied in the current structure, chi= ef among them, greater participation from both Eric and Richard on an ongo= ing basis. What we will gain, however, by the designation of a team leader= , is increased and sustained attention to the issues that I have already me= ntioned. =20 The person that I believe is best suited for this team leadership role is P= aul Dawson. =20 My observations, relative to Paul, are that he understands the needs of the= individuals within the group and will do everything that he can to ensure = that personnel issues are handled in a fair and expeditious manner. In add= ition, Paul has a very sound grasp of many, if not all, of the issues facin= g Enron Europe and will provide, I believe, consistent leadership on substa= nce as well as on personnel and administrative issues. It is also my expec= tation that Doug Wood, who has assumed many of the administrative responsib= ilities, e.g., budget, will continue to assist Paul in that capacity and th= at both Peter Styles and Paul Hennemeyer will also continue to participate = in a leadership role along with Paul Dawson and Doug. I believe that this is the right approach to take and it is my hope that on= my next trip to London, in mid September, that I would be able to sit down= with Paul Dawson, Paul Hennemeyer, Peter Styles and Doug Wood with any com= bination of yourselves, and lay out the modest organizational change embodi= ed within this memorandum. If you have any questions, please feel free to = contact me. Thanks
|