INDIANAPOLIS, Feb. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Board of Directors of Eli Lilly and Company has elected Michael L. Eskew, former chairman and chief executive officer of United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS), as a new member, effective February 18, 2008. Eskew will stand for election by the shareholders at the 2008 annual meeting in April.
Eskew, who served as chairman and chief executive officer of UPS from January, 2002 until December, 2007, brings over 35 years of global corporate management experience to the Lilly board.
"We are very pleased to welcome Mike Eskew to the Lilly board," said Sidney Taurel, Lilly chairman and chief executive officer. "His extensive management experiences and his outstanding track record of leadership in a customer-centered organization such as UPS ideally suit him to provide guidance and oversight to Lilly as it transforms itself into a truly patient- centered enterprise. Mike's experience as a board member of other leading American companies will also serve our company well."
Eskew, 58, began his UPS career in 1972 as an industrial engineering manager. After several global assignments with increasing responsibility, he was named corporate vice president for industrial engineering in 1993. In 1996 he became group vice president for engineering, and in 1998, he was elected to the UPS Board of Directors. In 1999, Eskew was named executive vice president and a year later was given the additional title of vice chairman. Eskew serves as a trustee of The UPS Foundation and as the chairman of the Board of Trustees of The Annie E. Casey Foundation. He also serves on the boards of directors of UPS, the 3M Corporation and IBM.
Lilly also announced that George M.C. Fisher, 67, will retire from the company's board of directors at the expiration of his current term, which ends on April 21, 2008. Fisher, the former chairman of the board and chief executive officer of both Motorola, Inc. and Eastman Kodak Company, has served on the Lilly board since 2000. Fisher is currently a senior advisor for Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Company, is the presiding director of General Motors Corporation, and is a director of Visant Corporation.
"George has been an invaluable source of guidance and leadership during his time on the Lilly board, and he has served our company and its shareholders extraordinarily well during a very challenging period. Both the company and I personally have benefited from his insights, and we thank him for his service to Lilly and wish him well," said Taurel.
Lilly, a leading innovation-driven corporation, is developing a growing portfolio of first-in-class and best-in-class pharmaceutical products by applying the latest research from its own worldwide laboratories and from collaborations with eminent scientific organizations. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Ind., Lilly provides answers - through medicines and information - for some of the world's most urgent medical needs. Additional information about Lilly is available at www.lilly.com.
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CONTACT: Phil Belt of Eli Lilly and Company, +1-317-276-2506
