In 1975 Jeffrey Skilling received his B. S. from Southern Methodist University in applied science, and in 1979 received his M. B. A. from Harvard. He was hired by McKinsey & Company as a consultant and in 1987 began working with Enron to help create a forward market in natural gas (wikipedia. org). Ken Lay hired Skilling in 1990 as chairman and chief executive officer of Enron Finance Corp. and in 1991 he became the Chairman of Enron Gas Services Co. Also, he was appointed CEO/managing director of Enron Capital & Trade Resources.
Skilling was promoted to second highest position in the company, president and chief operating officer in 1979.
By pushing an aggressive investment strategy, Skilling helped Enron to become the biggest wholesaler of gas and electricity (biography. com). On February 12, 2001 he was named the new CEO of Enron, replacing Ken Lay. Later in 2001, during the energy crisis in California; Skilling resigned on August 14 and shortly after he sold off large blocks of his shares of Enron.
Enron declared bankruptcy in December 2001. The Federal Bureau of Investigations indicted Skilling on 35 charges, which he pleaded not guilty on February 19, 2004(wikipedia. org). His trial began on January 30, 2006 and lasted four months.
On May 25, 2006 he was found guilty on one count of conspiracy, one count of insider trading, five counts of making false statements to auditors, and twelve counts of securities fraud; and not guilty on nine counts of insider trading(wikipedia. org). October 23, 2006 Skilling was sentenced to 24 years and 4 months in a federal prison and was fined 45 million dollars. Skilling began serving his prison term on December 13, 2006 at a low security federal prison in Littleton, Colorado. His release date is scheduled for February 21, 2028 according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.