Protection One names new board chair

April 3, 2003 TOPEKA, Kan. - Protection One has named a new chairman of its board of directors to fill a seat vacated by a board member under grand jury investigation for use of Westar’s corporate aircraft and compensation received from Westar. Last week, the company, based here, announced that William B. Moore, executive vice president and chief executive officer of Westar Energy, which owns approximately 88 percent of Protection One, has been appointed as chair of Protection One’s board. Moore replaces the previous chair, Douglas T. Lake, a former Westar executive vice president and chief strategic officer who resigned in December 2002. While a Westar release issued at the time of Lake’s resignation did not give a reason, published reports said that he resigned as a result of a grand jury investigation of compensation agreements and use of Westar corporate aircraft. According to Protection One spokesperson Robin Lampe, the appointment of Moore is part of a 1997 contribution agreement between the two companies. Under the terms of the agreement, Protection One’s 9-member board is typically compromised of two to three Protection One management representatives, three independent directors, and the rest of the board’s complement is comprised of Westar representatives, with a Westar representative typically serving as chair. Lampe added that the makeup of the board would likely change once Westar complied with a directive issued late last year by the Kansas Corporation Commission to divest itself of its holdings in Protection One, but was unsure of the exact nature of the change.