David Wittig

David Wittig (born July 29, 1955) is the former chief executive officer of Topeka, Kansas-based Westar Energy, a utility company. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Wittig became a Wall Street investment banker. In 1995, Wittig, having earned millions in New York, was asked to return to Kansas as an executive at Western Resources (later renamed Westar Energy) by John E. Hayes, then CEO of Western and a customer of Wittig's at Salomon Brothers. At that time, Warren Buffett had taken over Salomon in the wake of a trading scandal "and decided to cut the exorbitant compensation of the firm’s managing directors." Wittig accepted the Western invitation, and was named President in 1998 and Chairman and CEO in January 1999. He quickly became one of Topeka's most prominent citizens and was a generous contributor to local charities. Wittig supported the Multi-cultural Business Scholars Program at the University of Kansas and established a $250,000 scholarship in his family's name. He then purchased and renovated the mansion of former Kansas governor Alf Landon, the 1936 presidential nominee of the Republican Party. Wittig's remodeling of the home (appraised at roughly $2 million, compared to the median Topeka single family home value of $125,000) later became subject to much controversy. Among other unconventional initiatives taken by Wittig at Westar, he "bought around 30 percent of ADT, the home-security company, and then sold it for a pre-tax profit of $865 million to Tyco, making more for the staid utility in one year than it had made in many."In 2002, it was revealed that there was some evidence that a Topeka banker had entered into an illegal loan with Wittig. The banker, Clinton (Del) Weidner, well known in Topeka for his charitable efforts, had informed Wittig that he was considering investing in a property development in Arizona and was in need of a $1.5 million loan to make a proper investment in the venture. Wittig loaned Weidner $1.5 million and Weidner increased the