Former Enron VP Named Next President's Speaker

Sherron Watkins

Sherron S. Watkins, a former vice president of the Enron Corporation who alerted then-chief executive officer Ken Lay to the accounting irregularities within the company, will address the university and Huntsville communities as the next President’s Speaker Series lecturer on Nov. 14.

The discussion will be held at 11 a.m. in the Beto Criminal Justice Center’s Killinger Auditorium.

Watkins, who warned Lay that Enron “might implode in a wave of accounting scandals” upon discerning the irregularities, has testified before Congressional Committees in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate investigations of the scandal.

Lauded in the press for her courageous actions, Watkins was named as one of TIME magazine’s three 2002 Persons of the Year for being someone “who did just right by doing their jobs rightly.”

In addition, she was recognized as a recipient of the Court TV Scales of Justice Award and its Everyday Hero’s Award, the Women Mean Business Award from the Business and Professional Women/USA Organization, and the 2003 Woman of the Year Award by Houston Baptist University.

In addition, Glamour magazine named her one of its 2002 Women of the Year, Barbara Walters named her one of the 10 Most Fascinating People of 2002, the Women’s Economic Round Table honored her with the Rolfe Award for Educating the Public about Business and Finance in 2003, and the National Academy of Management presented her with their Distinguished Executive Award for 2003.

Now an independent speaker and consultant, Watkins discusses what she feels went wrong not only at Enron but with much of the whole system that equity markets rely on to function properly, as well as focuses on ethical leadership and how to avoid any semblance of Enron-like behavior.

She is the co-author of “Power Failure, the Inside Story of the Collapse of Enron,” published by Doubleday in March 2003.

Watkins is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a master’s degree in professional accounting, as well as a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in accounting and business honors from the University of Texas at Austin.

She is married, with one child, and lives in Houston.

The President’s Speaker Series was created in January 2002 by James F. Gaertner, SHSU president, to introduce Sam Houston State University students, many of whom are first generation college students, to people who are living successful and principled lives.

It is supported by a grant from long-time SHSU benefactor Lu Ellen Gibbs.

Previous speakers include David Robinson, Dan Rather, Debbi Fields, Ken Jennings, Drayton McLane and Dave Dravecky.

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SHSU Media Contact: Jennifer Gauntt
Oct. 26, 2006
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