Whistleblower Sherron Watkins

Sherron Watkins, who was vice president of corporate development at the late, unlamented Enron Corporation in Houston, became a sort of indirect whistleblower when in 2001 she presented CEO Kenneth Lay with a long, detailed email that cast doubt on the corporation's future viability.

Her fears were entirely justified. The failure of Enron became the first wave of savings destroying, career ending practices that by 2008 had nearly crippled the American economy. Revelations about Enron's shady practices foretold many another example of laissez-faire capitalism run amok.

Watkins, 42 when she wrote the famous email, left Enron in 2002. It is ironic that her email to Lay had warned him about colleagues who might become whistleblowers when she herself is usually identified as the whistleblower who helped bring the company crashing down. The confident, brashly outspoken Watkins has enjoyed a good career since 2002 as a well paid speaker and consultant.