Dave Paterson will become Chairman of the Board when Verso Emerges from Bankruptcy and will Step Down as President and Chief Executive Officer when Verso Finds his Successor

MEMPHIS, Tenn., -- Verso Corporation announced today that David J. Paterson, the President and Chief Executive Officer and a director of the company, will become the Chairman of the Board of Verso immediately upon its emergence from its pending Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding.  In addition, Mr. Paterson has informed Verso's board of directors that he intends to step down as the company's President and Chief Executive Officer when Verso finds his successor, but until then, he intends to continue to serve in this role.  Though there is no set timetable for Mr. Paterson's departure, both Verso and he intend for the transition to occur in short order, with the objective that the new President and Chief Executive Officer be in place to guide Verso as soon as practicable after it emerges from bankruptcy.  Verso has engaged a search firm and is actively seeking a successor to Mr. Paterson.

"Dave Paterson has been a stalwart as Verso's President and Chief Executive Officer over the past four years," said Scott Kleinman, Verso's Chairman of the Board. "During this period of unprecedented upheaval in the printing and writing papers industry, Dave has provided insightful vision and steady, reliable leadership for Verso.  His contributions in managing a business with constrained liquidity have been particularly valuable and appreciated as Verso has dealt head on with the financial challenges of our industry and company.  Due in no small measure to Dave's substantial efforts, Verso now is poised to emerge from a fully consensual Chapter 11 reorganization as a stronger competitor with a financially sustainable capital structure.  We take great comfort in the knowledge that while Dave soon will be giving up his day-to-day responsibilities as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Verso, he will remain with the company as my successor as the Chairman of the Board upon Verso's emergence from bankruptcy."