TransAlta President and CEO Steve Snyder to Retire; Dawn Farrell, COO, to Succeed

TransAlta Corporation (NYSE: TAC) today announced that President and Chief Executive Officer Steve Snyder will retire, effective January 1, 2012. Dawn Farrell, TransAlta's Chief Operating Officer, will succeed Mr. Snyder as President and CEO on January 2, 2012. "On behalf of my fellow directors I would like to thank Steve for his service to the company and its shareholders during his 15 years as President and CEO," said Ambassador Gordon D. Giffin, Chair of TransAlta's Board of Directors. "Under Steve's leadership, TransAlta has evolved from a regulated, Alberta-based company into a competitive international power generator and marketer. Steve has led the diversification of TransAlta's business geographically with substantial growth across Canada, in the United States and in Australia, and by fuel source, taking it from a primarily coal-based business to become Canada's largest publicly traded producer of renewable energy and its largest wind power company. Finally, he has guided the company through a period of considerable economic and regulatory uncertainty and positioned it for strong growth in the future. He has earned the Board's great respect and appreciation, and we wish him the very best in his retirement." Mr. Snyder has served as President and CEO of TransAlta since joining the company in 1996. Under his leadership the company has significantly increased its generation capacity, built a highly successful Energy Trading business, delivered top quartile industry operating performance, and consistently had one of the strongest P/E ratios among its peers. It has also consistently been named to the Jantzi list of Canada's 50 most responsible corporations and has been the only Canadian company in the utilities sector to make the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. In 2010, Mr. Snyder was named Canadian Energy Person of the Year by the Energy Council of Canada.