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Draft:C. John Wilder

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C. John Wilder
Born1958
NationalityAmerican
Alma materSoutheast Missouri State University
University of Texas at Austin
Occupation(s)CEO (former) TXU Energy
Executive Chairman of Bluescape Group
Websitehttps://www.bluescapegroup.com

C. John Wilder is a U.S. energy industry executive and investor. He was the CEO of TXU Energy, a Fortune 500 company,[1][2][3] and founder[4] and executive chairman of Bluescape Group.[5][4] Wilder was hired as chief executive of TXU in 2004.[6] [7] He negotiated the sale of TXU[8] in 2007, which at the time was the largest ever leveraged buyout.[9]

Early life and education

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Wilder earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Southeast Missouri State University in 1980,[10] graduating magna cum laude.[11] He earned a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Texas.[11][12]

Career

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In his early career, Wilder worked nearly twenty years at Royal Dutch Shell. He held about fifteen management positions and became the CEO of Shell Capital.[11]

Wilder joined Entergy Corp. in 1998. In 2003, he became Entergy’s executive vice president and chief financial officer.[13]

In February 2004,[14][15] Wilder joined TXU as CEO.[16] When Wilder came on, TXU’s debt was above 70% of its market capitalization.[14] As CEO, Wilder sold off assets,[17] including an overseas utility, a telecom start-up, and a natural-gas distribution company. He repurchased debt and convertible securities to reduce fixed obligations and increase the company’s capacity to confront risk. He outsourced call center and billing functions.[14] Wilder announced plans in 2006 to build 11 coal-fired plants in Texas.[18][19] The plan drew protests from the public.[20][21]

In 2007, Wilder negotiated TXU’s sale in a leveraged buyout by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR),[22] TGP,[21] and Goldman Sachs Group. The $45 billion[23][14] deal was the largest leveraged buyout to date.[21][18] Wilder received almost $300 million when he left TXU after the sale.[24] After the 2007 TXU deal, Wilder founded Bluescape Resources,[25][4] which invests in energy-related ventures and assets.[20]

In September 2015, Wilder was hired as chairman of Exco Resources, an oil and gas producer whose share prices had fallen to about $1.[24] The deal to hire Wilder included Bluescape buying $23.5 million in Exco stock,[26] and Exco paying Bluescape consulting fees.[24] Wilder resigned from Exco in November 2017.[27]

In 2017, Wilder and Paul Singer, the head fund manager of Elliott Investment Management, acquired a stake and board membership in NRG Energy.[28] In July 2017, Wilder and Singer put forward a plan for restructuring NRG through asset sales.[28][29]

Personal life

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Wilder is married to Susan Wilder. They have three children.[21]

  1. ^ Sanders, Lisa (13 December 2004). "Growing Smaller". CBS Market Watch. Retrieved 7 March 2023. For his success in righting some of TXU's excesses of the 1990s deregulated energy market and rewarding stockholders in the process, Wilder was one of four finalists for the 2004 CBS.MW CEO of the Year award.
  2. ^ Buehler, Kevin (1 September 2008). "TheStrategy: Owning the Right Risks". Harvard Business Review. Retrieved 6 March 2023. When John Wilder joined TXU as CEO, in February 2004, he determined that even a small decline in wholesale power prices would put the company at risk of bankruptcy.
  3. ^ Dezember, Ryan (14 October 2015). "Wilbur Ross Turns to Ex-TXU CEO to Save Exco; C. John Wilder works to rescue struggling energy company, whose shares hover near $1". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 7 March 2023. C. John Wilder made a fortune selling the Texas utility he led, TXU Corp., to financial firms in one of the worst deals Wall Street ever signed.
  4. ^ a b c "Bluescape Resources: Company Profile". bloomberg.com. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  5. ^ Smith, Rebecca (29 April 2014). "How Shale-Gas Boom Led to Demise of Energy Future Holdings". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 7 March 2023. Mr. Wilder, currently executive chairman of Bluescape Resources, a Dallas company that invests in natural gas...
  6. ^ "Turnaround titan' John Wilder meets first big test in Dallas oil firm's revival". Dallas Morning News. 29 August 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2023. The company's shares responded in kind, rising almost 400 percent from when (Wilder) took over in 2004 to when he left in 2007. Wilder stepped down at TXU after orchestrating the KKR buyout ...
  7. ^ Smith, Rebecca (22 March 2005). "How a Texas Power Company Got Tough With Consumers". Retrieved 6 May 2023. The company's new chief executive, C. John Wilder, in turn, has capitalized on opportunities... Investors have rewarded the moves: TXU's stock has tripled since Mr. Wilder took charge a year ago.
  8. ^ Collins, Ryan (24 August 2016). "Wilbur Ross's 'Turnaround Titan' Tries to Beat the Oil Rout". Bloomberg. Retrieved 24 September 2023. C. John Wilder pulled the Texas utility TXU Corp. from the brink of insolvency a decade ago, then made a fortune selling it to a group including KKR & Co. in one of the biggest leveraged buyouts in history.
  9. ^ Palank, Jacqueline (6 December 2013). "Edison Mission Bondholders Turn to Wilder for Bankruptcy Help; TXU's Former Chief to Aid in Potential Legal Battle". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 8 March 2023. Mr. Wilder led TXU at the time of its 2007 leveraged buyout, the biggest in U.S. history...
  10. ^ "SEMO schedules banquet for merit award winners". Southeast Missourian. 11 October 2005. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  11. ^ a b c Stavros, Richard (1 January 2005). "The Ultimate CEOs". Public Utilities Fortnightly. 143 (6): 36–58. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  12. ^ Moyers, Scott (29 October 2005). "CEO forum highlights Alumni Merit Award winners". Southeast Missourian. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  13. ^ Stephen, Taub (24 February 2004). "New TXU Chief Is Former Entergy CFO". CFO Magazine. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  14. ^ a b c d Buehler, Kevin; Freeman, Andrew; Holme, Ron (1 September 2008). "The Strategy: Owning the Right Risks". Harvard Business Review. September 2008: 2–10. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  15. ^ Durfee, Don (7 October 2005). "The Top Spot". CFO. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  16. ^ Anderson, Jenny; Creswell, Julie. "For Buyout Kingpins, the TXU Utility Deal Gets Tricky". New York Times. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  17. ^ Smith, Rebecca (22 March 2005). "How a Texas Power Company Got Tough With Consumers". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  18. ^ a b Faber, David (25 February 2007). "KKR, Texas Pacific Close to Record Deal for TXU". CNBC. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  19. ^ Smith, Rebecca (29 April 2014). "How Shale-Gas Boom Led to Demise of Energy Future Holdings". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  20. ^ a b "'Turnaround titan' John Wilder meets first big test in Dallas oil firm's revival". Dallas Morning News. 29 August 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  21. ^ a b c d Souder, Elizabeth (12 October 2007). "Ex-TXU chief executive Wilder ready to tackle "life list"". McClatchy - Tribune Business News.
  22. ^ Collins, Ryan (24 August 2016). "Wilbur Ross's 'Turnaround Titan' Tries to Beat the Oil Rout". Bloomberg. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  23. ^ Sweet, Cassandra; Steele, Anne (17 January 2017). "Elliott Pushes for Changes at NRG Energy". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  24. ^ a b c Dezember, Ryan; Jarzemsky, Matt (14 October 2015). "Wilbur Ross Turns to Ex-TXU CEO to Save Exco; C. John Wilder works to rescue struggling energy company, whose shares hover near $1". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  25. ^ Bowdeya, Tweh (22 January 2018). "FirstEnergy Gets $2.5 Billion From Elliott, Bluescape Investor Group; The Ohio-based utility said the investor group could end up owning 16% to 17% of the company". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  26. ^ Dezember, Ryan (14 May 2016). "Oil Patch Claims More Victims --- Exco shares tank after energy firm says it will explore options, a hit to some big investors". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  27. ^ Andrew, Scurria (16 January 2018). "Exco Resources, Once Backed by Wilbur Ross, Enters Chapter 11; Dallas-based driller considers assets sales while restructuring talks continue". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  28. ^ a b Oyeniyi, Doyin (22 July 2017). "NRG Energy Selling Off Its Renewable-Energy Projects". Texas Monthly. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  29. ^ Jones, Jeffrey (8 April 2019). "Activist investors' threat of proxy fight puzzles TransAlta CEO". Globe and Mail. Retrieved 8 March 2023.