National Grid Names U.S. Chief Financial Officer

WALTHAM, MA (05/27/2011)(readMedia)-- Lee Eckert has been appointed National Grid's U.S. Chief Financial Officer, the company announced today. He will provide leadership for all of National Grid's accounting, reporting and regulatory financial operations in the U.S. and head the company's U.S. finance team.

"Lee brings to National Grid a proven track record in achieving results in a difficult and changing business environment, including turnaround situations and the implementation of new financial controls systems," said Tom King, president, National Grid U.S. "An experienced financial executive is being added to the U.S. leadership team during a very important period for the company as we continue to focus on managing costs and meeting the expectation of our regulators and customers for rigorous financial management."

Eckert joins National Grid from MeadWestvaco, a Fortune 500 global packaging solutions company, where he served as vice president of Operations-Healthcare. He previously held various leadership roles in finance including chief financial officer for the Packing Resources Group, MeadWestvaco's largest division.

He has held a number of senior roles during his 20-year career, including positions in finance and audit at General Electric Co. where he started his career, and then as vice president of Finance, Business Process Outsourcing at Electronic Data Systems. Eckert holds a bachelor's degree in finance from Indiana University. He begins at National Grid in June.

National Grid is an international energy delivery company. In the U.S., National Grid delivers electricity to approximately 3.3 million customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island, and manages the electricity network on Long Island under an agreement with the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA). It is the largest distributor of natural gas in the northeastern U.S., serving approximately 3.4 million customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island. National Grid also owns over 4,000 megawatts of contracted electricity generation that provides power to over one million LIPA customers.

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