Oct. 14 dean’s lecture features Enron CEO Stephen Cooper

Stephen Cooper, interim chief executive officer and chief restructuring officer at Enron Corp., will speak at the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management’s Dean’s Lecture Monday, Oct. 14.

Cooper is co-founder and managing principal of Zolfo Cooper LLC, a corporate recovery and crisis-management firm based in New York. With more than 30 years of experience as a financial adviser, Cooper is a turnaround industry pioneer and sought-after interim executive for companies in trouble.

An established restructuring specialist, Cooper has worked on both the creditor and debtor sides of distressed-company situations. Through managing more than 300 engagements and restructuring more than $100 billion of debt, Cooper has earned a national reputation as a creative problem-solver who can craft constructive business solutions out of complex, contentious situations. Cooper’s track record reads like a who’s who of North American business, dating back to Pantry Pride (Food Fair) and including more recent engagements such as Federated Department Stores, Laidlaw, Phar-Mor, Washington Group, Morrison Knudsen, Placid Oil, TWA and numerous others.

Previously, Cooper was a financial consulting partner of Touche Ross & Co. (now Deloitte & Touche), where he was also a founding partner of the firm’s reorganization advisory services group.

He holds a bachelor’s degree from Occidental College and an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. Cooper is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants, the Institute of Management Accountants, the Institute of Management Consultants, the Turnaround Management Association and the Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisers. He also is a frequent speaker and author on the subject of financially troubled companies.

The Dean’s Lecture Series brings prominent business leaders to talk with students at formal presentations, followed by informal receptions. This year, lectures will focus on understanding the qualities that make individuals successful leaders, especially in times of change. Cooper’s lecture is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in the Shell Auditorium, Room 108 in the new Jones School Building.