Two Prominent Chicago Institutions Solicit Entries for '2005 Chicago CFO of the Year'

Business Wire, Feb 8, 2005

CHICAGO -- Awarded Jointly by National Investor Relations Institute's Chicago Chapter and Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management; Nominations Close March 23

The Chicago chapter of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI-Chicago) and Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management today announced they have launched the search for the "2005 Chicago CFO of the Year." Intended to identify CFOs of Chicago-based public companies who have demonstrated exceptional ability to add value to their companies through strategic investor relations, the award has drawn national commendation and is one of NIRI-Chicago's flagship programs.

The winner of the 2004 award was John M. Duffey of Dade Behring Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: DADE).

"An effective CFO can influence his or her company's market valuation by developing and executing corporate strategy, clearly articulating that strategy to multiple audiences, and implementing 'best practices' investor relations, " said Cindy Klimstra, chairman of NIRI-Chicago. "This award recognizes a Chicago CFO who demonstrates strong leadership and investor relations savvy, whether it is through a particularly challenging event, or a career of consistent achievement."

Nominees will be judged based on proven ability to add value to his or her public company through the development, support and execution of strategic investor relations. NIRI defines investor relations as: "A strategic management responsibility using the disciplines of finance, communication and marketing to manage the content and flow of company information to financial and other constituencies to maximize relative valuation."

Anyone seeking to nominate a candidate may do so, and the process is easy to complete.

--Any CFO of a Chicago-area public company may be nominated.

--Nominators do not have to be an employee of the nominee's company or a member of NIRI to submit a nomination.

--Candidates must have been with their companies for at least one year as CFO prior to nomination.

The nomination period ends March 23, 2005. Details and application materials are available at http://www.niri-chicago.org/cg/awards/cfo.html.> About NIRI-Chicago

The members of NIRI-Chicago include corporate officers, consultants, service providers, academics, and others involved in the practice of investor relations - a strategic management responsibility that integrates finance, communication, marketing and securities law compliance. With 214 members, NIRI-Chicago is one of the largest NIRI chapters in the United States. The chapter received NIRI's coveted Best Overall Large Chapter Award in 2004. For more information about our organization, please visit our website at www.niri-chicago.org.

About the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University

The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University was founded in 1908 and is widely recognized as a global leader in graduate business education. The school is home to a renowned research-based faculty and MBA students from more than 50 countries and six continents. The Kellogg School includes the Full-time, Part-time and Executive MBA programs and the non-degreed Executive Education Program. The school offers three joint degree programs: the JD-MBA, MD-MBA and MEM-MBA. Additionally, the Kellogg School of Management has alliances with business schools in Europe, Asia and Canada.

In October 2004, the Kellogg School was named the top MBA program in the world for the third consecutive year by the Economist Intelligence Unit, a division of The Economist Group. Also in October 2004, BusinessWeek magazine ranked the Kellogg School the number one graduate school of business in the United States, an honor it has achieved a record five times since the biennial survey began in 1988. Please visit: www.kellogg.northwestern.edu for more information.