Exhibit 99.1
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 2, 2008
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
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Investors |
Tom Cuddy
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Randy Hulen |
Director, Communications
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Director, Investor Relations |
(219) 647-5581
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(219) 647-5688 |
tcuddy@nisource.com
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rghulen@nisource.com |
Stephen P. Smith to become NiSource Chief Financial Officer
Energy industry financial and business leader to rejoin company
MERRILLVILLE, Ind. NiSource Inc. (NYSE: NI) today announced that Stephen P. Smith joined the
company as its new Executive Vice President on June 1 and will assume the role of Chief Financial
Officer in early August, 2008. Smiths responsibilities will include all NiSource Corporate
Finance, Treasury, Accounting, Corporate Tax, Financial Planning and Corporate Planning functions.
We are very pleased that Steve Smith will be rejoining NiSource in the role of Chief Financial
Officer, said Ian Rolland, Chairman of the Board of Directors of NiSource. Steve not only is a
senior financial executive with extensive energy industry experience, but he also has a proven
leadership track record across a broad range of business functions. Steve will be a fine addition
to the strong management team Bob Skaggs has assembled at NiSource.
NiSource President and CEO Robert C. Skaggs, Jr. added, Steve is joining NiSource at a pivotal
point in our companys history. Clearly, our ability to execute on our ambitious investment driven
growth plan is premised on maintaining a strong financial footing and having continued access to
competitively priced capital. Working with our business unit leaders and the other members of the
NiSource senior executive team, Steve will play a key leadership role as we execute our Path
Forward strategy.
On May 13, 2008, NiSource Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Michael W. ODonnell
announced his plan to retire from the company in 2009 and to step down from his CFO role later this
year. Effective with Steve Smith assuming the CFO position in August, ODonnell will serve in an
executive vice president role reporting to Skaggs, focusing on a number of ongoing projects and
business activities for NiSource.
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NiSource Inc
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Smith most recently served as senior vice president of Shared Services for American Electric Power
Co., one of the nations largest electric utilities, where he had responsibility for Business
Logistics, Human Resources, Information Technology and Telecommunications. From 2003 to 2007, he
was senior vice president and treasurer for AEP, overseeing Accounting, Budgeting, Planning, Risk
Management, Strategy, Tax and Treasury functions.
Before joining AEP, Smith served in a progression of finance and executive leadership roles at
Columbia Energy Group and NiSource, culminating in the role of president and chief operating
officer of NiSource Corporate Services Co. In that role, he managed NiSources shared services
functions and oversaw the integration of corporate functions following the NiSource-Columbia Energy
Group merger. Prior to the merger, Smith was senior vice president and deputy chief financial
officer for Columbia Energy Group, where he had responsibility for Accounting, Planning, Risk
Management, Tax and Treasury functions. Prior to that role, Smith served as senior vice president
and chief financial officer for Columbia Gas Transmission Corp.
Smith earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the University Of Chicago Graduate
School Of Business and a Bachelor of Science degree in Petroleum Engineering from the Colorado
School of Mines. He also serves as a Director and Audit Committee member of Natural Resource
Partners, L. P. a publicly traded master limited partnership engaged in owning and managing coal
properties in Appalachia, the Illinois Basin and the Powder River Basin regions of the United
States.
About NiSource
NiSource Inc. (NYSE: NI), based in Merrillville, Ind., is a Fortune 500 company engaged in natural
gas transmission, storage and distribution, as well as electric generation, transmission and
distribution. NiSource operating companies deliver energy to 3.8 million customers located within
the high-demand energy corridor stretching from the Gulf Coast through the Midwest to New England.
Information about NiSource and its subsidiaries is available via the Internet at www.nisource.com.
NI-F
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended. Those statements include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations
of NiSource and its management. Although NiSource believes that its expectations are based on
reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its goals will be achieved. Readers are
cautioned that the forward-looking statements in this presentation are not guarantees of future
performance and involve a number of risks and uncertainties, and that actual results could differ
materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. Important factors that could
cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements
include, but are not limited to, the following: weather; fluctuations in supply and demand for
energy commodities; growth opportunities for NiSources businesses; increased competition in
deregulated energy markets; the success of regulatory and commercial initiatives; dealings with
third parties over whom NiSource has no control; the success of NiSources restructuring of its
outsourcing agreement; actual operating experience of NiSource assets; the regulatory process;
regulatory and legislative changes; changes in general economic, capital and commodity market
conditions; and counter-party credit risk.
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