11/5/01 — Larry Westbrook, retired Southern Company executive, to speak at Kennesaw State

Larry Westbrook, former chief financial officer and senior risk officer of The Southern Company, will speak at Kennesaw State University's Michael J. Coles College of Business Wednesday, Nov. 7. Westbrook appears as part of the Tetley Distinguished Leader Lecture Series. The lecture, "The Art of the Successful Spinoff: The Mirant Story" will be at 5 p.m. in the Burruss Building, Room 151 on the KSU campus. Westbrook recently retired after putting in 37 years with The Southern Company, an international energy company. Among his accomplishments was the April 2 spinoff of Mirant (Southern Company's international and domestic operations business unit).

"This was perhaps one of the great corporate spinoffs ever, resulting in some $12 billion in shareholder value," said Coles College Dean Tim Mescon. "This is a great story of strategy and financial acumen, and one that represents a classic case study of an incredibly successful and complicated business deal."

After leaving Southern Company, Westbrook's work continued as he assisted Equifax with the spinoff of Certegy, a global payment services provider. He is also active on several boards.

Westbrook joined Southern Company in 1964, and was named vice president, secretary and treasurer for Georgia Power in 1980. He served as Georgia Power's senior vice president of accounting and finance from 1982-1986. He was named executive vice president and chief financial officer of Southern Company in 1986. In that role he had responsibility for the accounting, finance, tax, investor relations, treasury and risk management functions.

"We're thrilled that Mr. Westbrook will join the ranks of business leaders who have participated in the Tetley Lecture Series," Mescon added.

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Kennesaw State University, a progressive, comprehensive institution with a growing student population of 14,000, offers more than 50 degree programs. Out of 34 institutions, KSU is the sixth largest in the University System of Georgia.