CHARLOTTE, N.C., Sept. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Piedmont Natural
Gas (NYSE: PNY) today announced that Senior Vice President and
Chief Utility Operations Officer, Michael
H. Yount, plans to retire from the Company in early 2012.
Mr. Yount's areas of responsibility include Piedmont's transmission, distribution and
utility operations, engineering functions, and pipeline integrity
and compliance programs. He joined Piedmont in 2006 after 10 years with the
Senn-Delaney Leadership Consulting Group and 15 years with
Williams/Transco (formerly Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line
Corporation). During his tenure with Piedmont, Mr. Yount helped champion numerous
initiatives designed to improve the company's business processes,
increase operational efficiencies and build a culture of healthy,
high performance and accountability among Piedmont's 1,800 employees.
Mr. Yount, who will turn 56 later this month, talked about his
time at the Company, "Piedmont has
been a very special place for me to work. I feel truly honored to
have had the opportunity to work with teammates at all levels of
this organization whom I consider to be among the finest in the
natural gas industry. I will always value and appreciate my
experiences here and the extraordinary relationships that I have
with my teammates at the Company. I have worked hard to make
a difference for my teammates and the Company's customers and
shareholders. While this chapter in my life is coming to a
close, I am excited about the opportunities that retirement offers
me in the way of pursuing some lifelong personal and family
interests and passions."
Commenting on Mr. Yount's pending retirement, Piedmont Natural
Gas Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Thomas E. Skains, said, "Michael has had a
significant positive influence on Piedmont since joining us a little over five
years ago. His leadership skills and innate ability to
immediately connect with people have been instrumental in
Piedmont's efforts to continuously
improve our business processes and corporate culture for the
benefit of our employees, customers and shareholders. Michael
is a good friend and has been a trusted advisor to me and our
entire executive management team. We will miss him but we
also wish him the very best as he enters a new chapter in his
life."
While a successor has not yet been named for Mr. Yount at
Piedmont, the Company has
initiated a search process to review internal and external
candidates for the position. Mr. Yount will be assisting the
Company in the search process and will also help with the
transition effort once a successor has been named.
About Piedmont Natural Gas
Piedmont Natural Gas is an energy services company primarily
engaged in the distribution of natural gas to more than one million
residential, commercial and industrial utility customers in
North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, including 52,000 customers served
by municipalities who are wholesale customers. Our subsidiaries are
invested in joint venture, energy-related businesses, including
unregulated retail natural gas marketing, interstate natural gas
storage and intrastate natural gas transportation. More information
about Piedmont Natural Gas is available on the Internet at
http://www.piedmontng.com.
SOURCE Piedmont Natural Gas