2. Historical Overview
FPL Group is a far different company today than the one Jim Broadhead joined in January of
1989 when he became president and chief executive officer. FPL Group was then engaged in
a number of businesses unrelated to its core electric skills, including insurance and financial
services, real estate, cable television, and agriculture. The company's principal subsidiary,
Florida Power and Light, was considered a well-managed utility with an emphasis on quality.
However, the utility's spiraling costs had resulted in electric rates among the highest in the
Southeast.