NW Natural Board of Directors Appoints New Officers

PORTLAND, OR--(Marketwired - Feb 26, 2016) - NW Natural's (NYSE: NWN) board of directors at its meeting on February 25 appointed Lori Russell as its new vice president of Utility Services. Russell assumes the role from Dave Williams who is retiring from the company after 37 years.

Russell most recently served NW Natural as senior director of Utility Services, overseeing emergency response, resource management, utility field services and business systems. Prior to her current role with the company, she held leadership positions in gas operations, construction, utility services and labor relations. Her promotion will take effect April 1.

The board also promoted Ngoni Murandu to vice president, effective immediately. Murandu joined NW Natural as its chief information officer in June of 2014. He leads the company's Information Technology department and cybersecurity efforts. Previously, he was senior vice president and chief information officer at NANA Development Corporation, and director of global services in the corporate computing area of Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Additionally, the board approved the following executive changes, effective immediately:

• Greg Hazelton will serve as treasurer, in addition to his current role as senior vice president and chief financial officer.
• MardiLyn Saathoff will oversee regulation, in addition to her current role as senior vice president and general counsel.
• Shawn Filippi will serve as chief compliance officer, in addition to her current role as vice president and corporate secretary.
• Brody Wilson will serve as assistant treasurer, in addition to his current role as chief accounting officer and controller.

"NW Natural has a demonstrated track record of thoughtful and disciplined succession planning," said Gregg Kantor, NW Natural CEO. "These changes reflect the company's long-held commitment to attracting and retaining top talent, ensuring it's positioned for ongoing success."

About NW Natural

NW Natural (NYSE: NWN) is headquartered in Portland, Ore., and provides natural gas service to more than 714,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customers through 14,000 miles of mains and service lines in western Oregon and southwestern Washington. It is the largest independent natural gas utility in the Pacific Northwest with $3.1 billion in total assets. Additional information is available at www.nwnatural.com.