Corning Chairman of the Board James R. Houghton to Retire in April; Roger G. Ackerman Recommended for Election As Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Business Wire, Feb 8, 1996

CORNING, N.Y., Feb. 8--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Corning Incorporated Chairman and Chief Executive Officer James R. Houghton, 59, today announced his decision to retire as chairman and chief executive officer of the company, effective April 25, 1996. He will continue as a member of the Board of Directors.

"I have strongly recommended to the Board, and they have endorsed my recommendation, that Roger Ackerman be elected to succeed me as chairman and chief executive officer," said Mr. Houghton. "On a personal note, I have been chairman for 13 years now and will reach the age of 60 this spring. The timing is right for me to leave this post and the strength of the company's current management team gives me the freedom to reach this decision."

"Roger and I believe in orderly, well thought out succession planning and have been working on this for some time. Therefore, I expect this will be a seamless, natural transition," said Mr. Houghton. "We are extremely fortunate in the depth and breadth of our management team. Roger and our senior management team, share the same values that I do -- the values that are the bedrock of the company.

"Since we joined the company in 1962, Roger and I have been colleagues," added Mr. Houghton. "He is an outstanding leader with a proven track record. He understands all of our businesses, and knows our technologies and capabilities. Roger believes as passionately in growth as I do. We can expect fresh and exciting ideas from Roger and his team about how to move this company forward."

The recommendation to elect Mr. Ackerman as chairman and chief executive officer will be put before the next regularly scheduled board meeting for vote on April 25, the day of the company's Annual Meeting in Corning, N.Y.

Mr. Ackerman, 57, started his career with Corning as an engineer in the company s research laboratories in 1962. He has served in various top-management positions, including president of Corhart Refractories Co., senior vice president and general manger of Corning Ceramics, and senior vice president and director of Corning's Manufacturing and Engineering Division.

In 1983, Mr. Ackerman was appointed president and chief executive officer of MetPath Inc., a Corning clinical lab subsidiary. He was named Group President of Corning Incorporated in 1985 and in 1990 became president and chief operating officer.

Mr. Ackerman is also a director of Dow Corning Corporation, the Pittson Company, and the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. He is a trustee of the Corning Incorporated Foundation and the Corning Museum of Glass and is a member of the National Association of Manufacturers.

Mr. Ackerman holds a B.S. degree and an M.S. degree in engineering from Rutgers University. He completed the Management Development Program at Harvard Business School in 1967.

Mr. Houghton has been chairman of the board and chief executive officer since 1983. Under his leadership, the company s net sales have grown at an average of 10 percent per year from $1.5 billion in 1982 to $5.3 billion in 1995. Earnings per share (excluding special, one-time events) have increased more than 12 percent per year and return on shareholder equity climbed from 8 percent to over 17 percent during that same time period.

Mr. Houghton joined the company in 1962 and served in production, financial and sales positions until 1965. He then was named vice president and European area manager, Corning Glass International, S.A., residing in both Zurich and Brussels.

In 1968, Mr. Houghton returned to the United States and was appointed general manager of the Consumer Products Division and elected a vice president of Corning. He was elected a director of the company in 1969, vice chairman with responsibilities for the company s International operations in 1971 and chairman in 1983.

He was graduated from Harvard College and received a masters degree from Harvard Business School.

Mr. Houghton is also a director of Dow Corning Corporation, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, J. P. Morgan Co. Incorporated and Exxon Corporation. He serves as a trustee of The Corning Museum of Glass, Corning Incorporated Foundation, The Pierpont Morgan Library and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. He is past chairman of the Business Council of New York State, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Business Council and the Business Roundtable. He also serves on the Harvard Corporation.

Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) is a Fortune 500 company whose businesses are at the leading edge of the technologies that comprise three of the fastest growing segment of the global economy -- Communications, Environment and Life Sciences. Its 1995 sales totaled $5.3 billion.

CONTACT: Kathryn C. Littleton

(607) 974-8206

Paul A. Rogoski

(607) 974-8832