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Enron
P.O. Box 1188
Houston, TX 77251-1188

News Release

Mark Palmer
(713) 853-4738

ENRON ANNOUNCES SKILLING RESIGNATION;
LAY ASSUMES PRESIDENT AND CEO DUTIES

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, August 14, 2001

HOUSTON -- Enron announced today that its Board of Directors has accepted the

resignation of Jeffrey K. Skilling as Enron's President and CEO. Skilling will continue to serve
as a consultant to Enron and its Board of Directors. Kenneth L. Lay, currently Enron's chairman

of the board, will assume the additional responsibilities of president and CEO and has agreed to

extend his employment agreement with the company through the end of 2005.

"I am resigning for personal reasons. I want to thank Ken Lay for his understanding of

this purely personal decision, and I want to thank the board and all of my colleagues at Enron,"

said Skilling.

"We regret Jeff's decision to resign, as he has been a big part of our success for over

eleven years," said Lay. "But, we have the strongest and deepest talent we have ever had in the
organization, our business is extremely strong, and our growth prospects have never been better."
  Lay served as Enron's CEO from 1985 until Skilling's election earlier this year. Lay
transformed Enron from a regional natural gas pipeline company to one of the largest and most
respected companies in the world. Over his fifteen years as CEO, Enron's market capitalization
increased from $2 billion to $70 billion and Enron's shareholders received a total return three
times that of the S&P 500.

A conference call with Enron management will be conducted live today at 5:30 PM EDT

and may be accessed through the Investor Relations page at www.enron.com.

Endless possibilitiu.],, -,

EXH023-00160

GOVERNMENT
EXHIBIT
  959
  Crim. No. H-04-25 (S-2)


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Enron is one of the world's leading electricity, natural gas and communications

companies. The company, with revenues of $101 billion in 2000, markets electricity and natural
gas, delivers physical commodities and financial and risk management services to customers
around the world, and has developed an intelligent network platform to facilitate online business.

Fortune magazine has named Enron "America's Most Innovative Company" for six consecutive

years. Enron's Internet address is www.enron.com. The stock is traded under the ticker symbol
` ENE."

This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Although Enron believes that its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance
that itsgoals will be achieved. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward looking statements
herein include success in marketing natural gas and power to wholesale customers; the ability to penetrate new retail natural gas and electricity
markets, including the energy outsource market, in the United States and Europe; development of Enron's broadband network and customer
demand for intermediation and content services; and conditions of the capital markets and equity markets during the periods covered by the
forward looking statements.

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Endless possibilities..

EXH023-00161