Robert Pryor - Capgemini Energy LP

Capgemini CEO Chell Smith foresees a day when utility companies — under pressure to reduce costs — turn to outside providers to manage their back-office processes. In May 2004, Capgemini took a first, dramatic step toward that goal by forming Capgemini Energy LP, a joint venture with TXU Corp. that began when the consulting firm won a 10-year contract to manage back-office operations for the energy giant — the largest business process outsourcing deal in the history of the utility industry.

The man charged with leading Capgemini's foray into utility industry BPO is Bob Pryor — a high-energy, risk-taking veteran who joined then–Ernst & Young in 1997.

Pryor's personality proved to be a perfect match for TXU's new CEO, C. John Wilder, who arrived in February 2004 with a bold strategy for reinventing the Dallas-based company.