Subject: re : b 2 b at enron
tom ,
greg ' s phone number is 713 853 5220 . he is very difficult to reach
( frequent trips ) .
you may find this information useful : greg is a west point graduate
and spent a few years in the military , before obtaining an mba from stanford .
he is a very dynamic person and a very pragmatic thinker .
i hope you have a great holiday weekend .
vince
" piazze , thomas " on 06 / 29 / 2000 08 : 51 : 48 am
to : " ' vince j kaminski ' "
cc : " gerrity , thomas " , " lohse , gerald lee "
, " wind , yoram " , " harker ,
patrick " , " amit , raffi " ,
" ' shankman , jeff ' " , " macmillan , ian "
subject : re : b 2 b at enron
vince : thanks for this message and update on your recent actions to
establish a closer research relationship between enron and wharton . we are
anxious to work with your firm on many fronts and appreciate all that you
and jeff shankman are doing to facilitate closure on a number of
initiatives .
the below article is very interesting and reinforces the entrepreneurial
culture of enron ; it also points out one more reason why our faculty is so
interested in collaborating with you and other executives as the company
moves into this new space .
i would like to call greg whalley after the 4 th of july weekend to establish
contact and begin a dialogue regarding his interest in joining our efforts
as a corporate partner . will you please provide me contact information ?
please let me know if there is any additional information or material you
will need prior to your meeting with jeff skilling . we are anxious to learn
how he responds to your suggestions .
thanks again for all that you are doing . hope you have a great 4 th of
july ! !
tom
> - - - - - original message - - - - -
> from : vince j kaminski [ smtp : vince . j . kaminski @ enron . com ]
> sent : wednesday , june 28 , 2000 9 : 53 am
> to : piazzet @ wharton . upenn . edu
> cc : vince j kaminski
> subject : b 2 b at enron
>
>
>
> tom ,
>
> i am sending you the information about our new b 2 b unit .
> i have talked yesterday with greg whalley who is heading the new
> unit about the e - commerce project at wharton and recommended that enron
> join
> this program .
>
> i have sent him this morning a copy of the materials you gave me .
>
> the meeting with jeff skilling has been pushed till the 2 nd half of july .
> i talked to him briefly twice that jeff shankman and i want to discuss
> with
> him building a relationship with wharton . jeff shankman is , by the way , a
> great
> friend of
> your institution .
>
>
> vince
>
> * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
> * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
>
> companies & finance : the americas : enron sees bricks and
> bytes mix reshaping energy market : purchase of mg
> only a
> start in
> building b 2 b platforms , writes hillary durgin :
>
>
>
>
> companies financial times ; 16 - jun - 2000 12 : 00 : 00 am ;
> 604
> words
> by hillary durgin
>
> if jeffrey skilling is right ,
>
> enron ' s acquisition of mg is only the tip of the
> iceberg .
> enron ' s president and
> chief operating officer is engineering a fundamental
> strategy shift at the
> houston energy company , aimed at making it a dominant
> " new
> economy "
> player across various industrial markets .
>
> the dollars 446 m acquisition last month of mg , the
> uk - based
> metals trader ,
> is only the first of more than dollars lbn in
> estimated new
> investments the
> company is targeting . it is seeking vehicles on which
> to
> build
> business - to - business ( b 2 b ) platforms in sectors such
> as
> logistics , chemicals ,
> agricultural products and pulp & paper .
>
> mr skilling wants to take the business model the
> company
> developed in
> natural gas and power and apply it to other wholesale
> commodity markets . he
> argues the electronic platforms it creates will not
> only
> become the principal
> b 2 b sites for those sectors , but reshape those
> industries .
>
> as an example , he points to enron ' s new e - commerce
> platform ,
> enrononline ,
> which has changed the way the company does business
> with its
> customers
> while significantly increasing sales .
>
> the company - the largest wholesale merchant of
> natural gas
> and power - saw
> wholesale , physical deliveries of natural gas surge 53
> per
> cent in the first
> quarter .
>
> critics argue that enron ' s move away from its familiar
> energy business into
> new industries , where the learning curve is steep and
> the
> competition
> entrenched , is risky . yet a number of industry
> analysts
> point out enron has
> proved it understands markets and how to manage risks
> while
> becoming the
> largest importer of coal in the uk , the largest trader
> of
> gas and power in the
> us and grabbing an advantage in bandwidth .
>
> " it ' s a prudent strategy , but it ' s got to be done in
> an
> orderly way , " says ronald
> barone , analyst with paine - webber in new york . " what
> they ' re
> doing here is
> what they ' ve been incredibly successful at doing , " he
> adds ,
> noting that enron
> posted dollars 1 . 3 bn in earnings before interest and
> taxes
> ( ebit ) from its
> wholesale energy and services business in 1999 , up 34
> per
> cent from the
> previous year .
>
> earnings from that division accounted for two - thirds
> of the
> company ' s overall
> income before interest and taxes last year , and mr
> barone
> sees the unit ' s ebit
> increasing 15 - 30 per cent annually over several years .
>
> as with gas and power and now broadband , where enron
> is
> standardising
> contracts and creating a market in bandwidth , it wants
> to
> create markets by
> entering as a physical player and providing merchant ,
> risk
> management and
> financial services over the internet .
>
> " we will provide electronic commerce , but we will
> provide
> liquidity and we will
> provide settlement , or fulfilment of that contract , "
> mr
> skilling says . " that is an
> extremely powerful model . if you look at other b 2 b
> sites ,
> they don ' t do that . "
>
> mr skilling argues enron ' s e - commerce platform will
> triumph
> over the other ,
> bulletin board - type exchanges , where striking a deal
> depends
> on two parties
> hooking up and working through uncertainties over
> timing ,
> price , credit and
> fulfilment .
>
> not everyone shares that view . some energy companies ,
> for
> example , would
> rather not do business with a competitor . bp amoco
> recently
> purchased a 3
> per cent stake in altra energy technologies , a
> houston -
> based , neutral
> wholesale energy exchange . with koch industries and
> american
> electric
> power , it also committed to carry out a fixed volume
> of
> transactions on the
> site to lend it liquidity .
>
> just as in gas and power and now broadband and metals ,
> enron
> believes it
> needs networks of strategic physical assets . in
> acquiring
> mg , enron got a
> stable of warehouses , lending it a strong physical
> position .
>
>
> " it should provide ( mg ) with a more vibrant , more
> active
> physical spot market
> in more markets in the world , " says greg whalley ,
> chief
> executive officer of
> enron net works , the new division enron is launching
> to
> identify and enter
> commodity markets . he argues that in metals and other
> markets , enron will
> deliver better pricing , price risk management
> services ,
> cross - commodity
> transactions and flexible transactions for a wider
> range of
> customers .
>
> mr skilling says there are significant rewards for
> restructuring an industry .
>
> " if you can take that platform , and you use the
> capabilities
> the bricks bring to
> the table , e - commerce the industry and change the
> structure ,
> you ' re selling for
> more than a 50 multiple . "
>
> copyright , the financial times limited
>