Alcoa Announces New Appointments.

Business Editors

PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 15, 2002

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) announced today that A. Hamish Petrie, 54, was named vice president for People and Communications and William J. (Bill) O'Rourke, 53, was appointed vice president Environment, Health and Safety, and Audit effective immediately.

Mr. Petrie is accountable for worldwide human resource functions, including leadership and development, labor relations, benefits, compensation, and recruitment activities, together with corporate communications and public strategy. Mr. Petrie's most recent position was vice president and global director for Human Resources, a position he held since mid-2001. He succeeds Robert F. Slagle, executive vice president of human resources and communications, who retired in February 2002.

Mr. O'Rourke has been vice president of Audit since November 2001 reporting to Richard Kelson, CFO. The environment, health and safety responsibilities will be integrated with his audit activities within Mr. Kelson's organization. Mr. O'Rourke succeeds Joseph C. Muscari, who has been previously appointed as group vice president for Asia and Latin America operations.

In making the announcement, Alcoa Chairman and CEO Alain Belda said, "Both Hamish and Bill bring experience and leadership skills to two units of the company that are key to our Values -- people and environment, health and safety."

Biographical information follows:

A. Hamish Petrie

Mr. Petrie joined Alcoa in Australia at its Pt. Henry Works in 1978. He held a series of production supervisory positions before becoming personnel and industrial relations manager. In 1985, he was named smelting manager at Pt. Henry and in 1988, rolled products marketing and sales manager for Australia, Asia and South Africa. In 1993, Hamish moved to Kwinana, in Western Australia as works manager of Alcoa's alumina refinery. During this assignment, he undertook external roles as president of the Kwinana Industrial Council and a State Councilor for the Australian Quality Council. In 1999, he moved to Geelong as general manager, Victoria Operations, where he was responsible for the operations of two smelters, one power station and the marketing of ingot products. He moved to Pittsburgh in 2000 as president of Alcoa World Alumina and Chemicals' global chemicals business. He was responsible for 15 plants in North America, Europe, Australia, India, Japan and China.

A native of Australia, Hamish was educated at Brisbane Boys College and subsequently graduated with Honours in Metallurgy in 1968 from the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

William J. O'Rourke

Mr. O'Rourke joined Alcoa in 1975 as a patent attorney. Later he left Alcoa to join Joy Manufacturing Company, where he held a variety of positions including corporate patent counsel, director of corporate administration, and general manager of a mining machinery parts business. He returned to Alcoa's Intellectual Property Department in 1988. Bill was named an assistant officer, Corporate Patent Counsel, in 1992, and assistant general counsel in 1995. In 1996, he was named to lead Alcoa's Environmental, Health and Safety organization. He became managing director of Alcoa Business Support Services in June 1997, with accountability for procurement, financial shared services, human resources, environment, health and safety services, administrative services and aircraft operations. Mr. O'Rourke was elected a vice president of Alcoa in September 1997.

Mr. O'Rourke is an Executive Faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh's Katz School of Business in the Ethics and Business Conduct course. He is president of the Board of Directors of the local Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and serves on the Advisory Board of Duquesne University's Center for Environmental Research & Education, and the University's Bayer School of Natural & Environmental Sciences.

He graduated from John Carroll University in 1970 with bachelor degrees in both the science and the arts. He received a Juris Doctor degree from Duquesne University's School of Law in Pittsburgh in 1975.