Gillette Appoints Edward F. DeGraan President and COO

Edward F. DeGraan, executive vice president, global business management, has been appointed president and chief operating officer of The Gillette Company. He reports to Michael C. Hawley, chairman and chief executive officer. Mr. DeGraan also has been elected to the board. As president and chief operating officer, Mr. DeGraan will be responsible for the management of all product lines worldwide.

Mr. DeGraan joined Gillette in 1968 and has served in a variety of manufacturing, technical, marketing and general management positions in nearly all of the Company’s core businesses. Mr. DeGraan began his career in the Gillette Safety Razor Division, where he held a number of positions of increasing responsibility and scope in manufacturing and technical operations. In 1979, he was appointed factory manager of Gillette Puerto Rico. In 1982, after an assignment in blade and razor marketing and sales, Mr. DeGraan was appointed director, Program Management, for blades and razors. He was promoted to vice president, manufacturing, for the Safety Razor Division in 1987.

With the creation of the Gillette North Atlantic Group in 1988, Mr. DeGraan was appointed the group’s senior vice president, manufacturing and technical operations. In this capacity, he was responsible for all manufacturing, distribution and materials management in the North Atlantic region for grooming products, as well as for research and development, engineering and program management for grooming products globally. During his tenure in this position, Mr. DeGraan led the technical efforts behind the Sensor family of wet shaving systems, the Gillette Series line of male grooming products and the initial product and process design for the Mach3 shaving system. In 1996, following the Gillette merger with Duracell International Inc., he was appointed executive vice president, Duracell North Atlantic Group. In this role, Mr. DeGraan delivered strong sales and profit growth and refocused research and development efforts, resulting in the Duracell Ultra alkaline battery and a full pipeline of new battery offerings.

In January 1999, he was elected executive vice president, global business management, Gillette grooming products and Duracell. He was named to his most recent position in January 2000.