Video "The Whole Truth"
December 1st, 1999
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Audio "Congressional Perjury Setup"
February 14th, 2002
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Cindy Olson Biography
 
Former Enron Executive Vice President of Human Resources and Community Relations, Cindy Kay Olson began her career as an auditor in Kansas, but progressed to the executive committee of a Fortune 50 organization.

Recognized as a change agent at Enron, Olson pioneered HR innovations that brought national attention to the company. For six years running, Enron was named "Most Innovative Company" by Fortune Magazine. Enron became a trendsetter in its day for everything from on-site daycare and a state of the art Fitness Center to every employee being provided a computer at home. Enron was billed as one of Fortune's "100 Best Companies to Work for in America" in 1999 and 2000 and praised for its innovative retirement plans, benefits for employees and overall working conditions.

Yet, amidst great success, Olson's Enron career came to a screeching halt when the company filed for bankruptcy in 2001 and lost investor confidence during revelations that the CFO was stealing from the company through several off-balance sheet partnerships. Several members of its executive hierarchy were eventually indicted and convicted. To date however, all but one of those convictions has been overturned and the remaining conviction against Jeffrey Skilling is under appeal based on Prosecutorial Misconduct.

Olson also found herself in the Enron spotlight as the first executive committee member who testified before the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representative hearings investigating the Enron scandal. She was subpoenaed as a result of her answer to the question in a 1999 all-employee meeting, "Should I invest all of my 401(k) in Enron stock?" Olson was also brought to the media forefront since Enron whistleblower Sherron Watkins consulted Olson about her now famous letter of allegations and Olson encouraged her to take them to Enron Chairman of the Board Kenneth Lay.

Criminal charges were never brought against Olson. However, she and other members of the administrative committee and the Enron Board of Directors settled a civil suit in 2004. The U.S. Department of Labor continues investigating Olson's finances yet today.

Now, Olson has authored the first book by a top Enron insider telling her side of what happened. The book is titled "The Whole Truth...So Help Me God---An Enlightened Testimony from Inside Enron's Executive Offices" and will be released in the summer of 2008.

Olson grew up in Wichita, Kansas, where she eventually met and married her college sweetheart, Grady Olson. She earned a bachelor's degree in accounting from Wichita State University. From there Olson took a job at Koch Oil working several years as a crude oil accountant before joining Pizza Hut as an auditor. In 1979 she joined the auditing department of InterNorth in Omaha, Nebraska, which ultimately became a part of Enron in 1985.

At Enron Olson saw frequent promotions. She advanced in various management capacities within Enron's interstate pipeline companies, including vice president for Enron's gas accounting and gas measurement functions and vice president for finance, planning and administration for Transwestern Pipeline. She was then promoted to vice president of wholesale operations services for Enron Capital and Trade Resources (ECT), where she was responsible for deal capture, documentation, risk management administration, logistics and client services for wholesale operations. Later Olson moved to corporate leading Enron's community relations function before being promoted to Enron's executive committee.

As a member of Enron's executive committee, she received the title of executive vice president of human resources and community relations. Olson's responsibilities included overseeing Enron's large global human resources organization and all activities associated with corporate giving, memberships and volunteerism, as well as directing Enron's elementary and secondary educational initiatives and many community initiatives in the city of Houston and around the world.

Olson and her husband now make their home on a small family acreage with their four dogs near Aspen, Colorado.