Entergy CEO
powers up
to take on challenges.

by Maridith Walker Geuder
photo by Tom Roster

There's a major winter storm moving into Mississippi, and for Carolyn Correro Shanks, the pressure is on.

The 1983 Mississippi State accounting graduate heads a company that provides electric power to more than 400,000 customers in 45 of the state's 82 counties. With up to eight inches of snow and ice predicted for much of Mississippi, she believes that some of those customers could expect power outages for several days.

But today, Shanks is smiling. She's confident that her company is prepared, and she loves the challenge.

The 38-year-old Senatobia native, named CEO and president of Entergy Misssissippi last July, is the first woman to head the state's largest electric utility. In a largely male-dominated industry, she knows that many were skeptical.

She also knows that she can do the job.

A former high school basketball player, she says she's always been competitive. "I enjoy competition," she said, "and I've always pushed for new challenges."

In her highly visible role with Entergy, she has many. Not only is she responsible for the company's electric distribution system, but she heads customer service, economic development, regulatory affairs, and governmental affairs as well.

More than 400 employees report directly to her, and she has ultimate responsibility for a total of 1,100. She takes pride in the fact that she knows the names of most of her employees.

And she believes strongly in the company's slogan, "the power of people."

"I've been very fortunate to work for great people who gave me great opportunities," she says. "I've learned that you want to hire people who are smarter than you. My goal is to find the best people, listen to what they say, and help them get the resources they need to do the job."

Shanks

She's aware that the electric power industry traditionally has been headed by those with engineering backgrounds. An employee of Entergy since she finished her accounting degree at MSU, she had a long and solid history with the company. But, she says, "I had never worked in the part of our company that distributes electricity to our customers."

Her first challenge, she says, "is gaining credibility with employees. We're focused on our customers and our employees. My commitment is to be open, to listen, and to get problems addressed."

Ask the linemen who were working on her route home last summer if she takes a personal interest in her employees.

Noticing the Entergy crew on the side of the road, Shanks stopped to ask about the project they were working on. During the conversation, she spotted one of the workers who wasn't wearing a hard hat.

"When I asked the lineman where his hard hat was, he looked a little sheepish," she recalls. "'I left it behind at the last job,' he told me."

Before she left, the man was wearing her personal hard hat. "He took a lot of kidding about the fact that it smelled like perfume," she laughs. "But that's okay. Safety is a very big issue with us. They know I care."

On campus recently as the Leo W. Seal Jr. Distinguished Executive Lecturer, Shanks told students that one of the three ingredients for success is confidence. She reminded them of former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt's description of the quality.

A quick glance at Carolyn Correro Shanks
1983	graduate of Mississippi State, with a degree in professional accountancy; Certified Public Accountant
1983	joined Entergy (then Mississippi Power & Light Co.) as an accountant, later transferring to System Energy Resources Inc., the subsidiary that operates Grand Gulf Nuclear Station. Promoted to manager.
1986	oversaw business plans to support the consolidation of Entergy's units.
1994	named director of business services for Entergy Operations Inc., the subsidiary that managed Entergy's five nuclear power plants.
1997	named vice president-finance and administration of Entergy Nuclear
1999	named president and CEO of Entergy Mississippi

"You gain strength, courage, and confidence when you really stop to look fear in the face," Roosevelt said. "You must do the thing you think you cannot do."

Shanks credits her parents with inspiring confidence in her and twin sister Connie Wells, a petroleum engineering graduate of MSU and an Entergy employee.

For Shanks, one of the "think-you-can't-do" issues always has been public speaking. She tells the approximately 200 students attending her lecture that she saved her speech class requirement until she was a senior at Mississippi State.

"I was in a class with a lot of freshmen," she said. "It wasn't any easier."

She urges students to meet such challenges head on. "You can't be afraid to do anything," she says. "With practice, it becomes easier."

A frequent public speaker now, Shanks is a strong advocate for retail competition in the electric industry. Through public appearances, editorials and other forums, she and the company she represents are urging that the Mississippi Legislature appoint a committee to study the issue in detail.

"Twenty-four states have passed legislation to open up electric distribution to competition," she noted. "We believe it's not a question of 'if' but 'when' that happens in Mississippi.

"Our company is urging that the state take a leadership role and design a plan that is most beneficial to Mississippi."

Shanks also tells students that success comes to those who focus their energies and who have passion for their work.

"The most important thing you'll do in your life is decide what your contribution will be," she says. "We have to have faith in each other and believe that we can make things better."

Among Entergy values with which she personally identifies are setting clear expectations, working as a team, aggressively looking for better ways to do things, and treating people with respect.

Those corporate values extend into her civic commitments as well. She is the 2000 corporate chair for Habitat for Humanity's "Blair Street and Beyond" project and will chair the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation "Race for the Cure" in Jackson in 2000. She serves on the board of a number of business organizations, including the Mississippi Economic Council.

"Our company is seeking ways to address the needs of low-income and fixed-income customers," she explained to the students. "The company's directions match my own personal values and directions."

Finally, she glances at her watch and concludes her address.

She needs to turn her attention to pressing matters. For one week, Entergy has been preparing for the approaching storm, tracking weather patterns and putting plans into action.

Carolyn Shanks is confident that Entergy employees are doing what they do best. And she's ready for the challenges ahead.