Akio Kobayashi Named Business Wire's Japan Country Manager.

TOKYO -- Akio Kobayashi, a sales executive with extensive experience in the telecommunications sector, has been named Business Wire's Japan country manager, Cathy Baron Tamraz, president and chief executive officer, announced today.

Kobayashi will lead Business Wire's full-service Tokyo office, which serves as the hub of Business Wire's expanding Asia-Pacific operations. The office maintains a newsroom, sales, media relations and technical staff.

In its first year under Business Wire's direct management, the Tokyo office has seen revenues more than double as leading Japanese financial institutions, consumer electronic companies, and other enterprises increasingly rely on Business Wire to reach global markets.

Business Wire, which acquired the operation from its former Japanese affiliate in early 2005, continues to be the only major commercial newswire with its own dedicated office in Japan.

Kobayashi joins Business Wire from Sprint, where he was a sales manager. Previously, he served as a deputy manager with NTT, Japan's leading telecommunications carrier. A graduate of Dokkyo University (Bachelor of Law degree), Kobayashi is married and has a seven-year-old son.

"Akio brings a strong customer focus to his new position, which is key to Business Wire's traditional emphasis on relationship building and consultative selling," said Tamraz. "We're confident that Akio will maintain the momentum Business Wire has been able to generate in this critically important market."

Business Wire's Tokyo office is closely aligned with Japan's influential business and financial news organizations. Business Wire has a longstanding distribution arrangement with Jiji Press, Japan's most prominent financial newswire. The company also works closely with Nikkei BP Ad Partners, a leading provider of business-to-business marketing solutions, which is affiliated with Japan's largest publisher and content provider.

About Business Wire:

Business Wire was founded in 1961 by chairman Lorry I. Lokey, veteran journalist and public relations executive.

The company's multi-channel delivery network, with access to some 60 international and national news agencies, financial information providers and Web-based news services throughout North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, provides real-time, simultaneous access to key audiences -- the news media, trade publications, institutional and individual investors, business-to-business decision-makers and consumers.

Business Wire electronically disseminates some 1,000 full-text news releases daily to the media, the Internet, online services and databases, and the global investment community in 150 countries in 45 languages. Business Wire has 24 U.S. offices, Paris, Frankfurt, London, Brussels, Tokyo and Sydney offices, and reciprocal offices throughout the world.