Carbon's Nanske Wood Honored as Industry 'Rising Star' by Healthcare Businesswomen's Association.

PARSIPPANY, N.J. -- Nanske Wood, president of Carbon, a CommonHealth professional advertising and promotion agency based in Wayne, will be honored as an industry "Rising Star" by the Healthcare Businesswomen's Association (HBA), at its 2005 Woman of the Year award luncheon, Thursday, May 12, at the Hilton New York.

Carbon was created to serve the marketing needs of emerging pharmaceutical and biotechnical companies as well as the challenges faced by prescription and OTC brands competing in especially dynamic markets. CommonHealth (www.commonhealth.com) is the world's leading healthcare-communications network and a WPP Group (NASDAQ/ADR: WPPGY; www.wpp.com) company.

HBA Rising Stars are up-and-coming professionals in various sectors of the healthcare industry, including pharmaceutical, biotechnology, advertising, public relations, medical education and market research, among other fields. Nominated by HBA's corporate members, the Rising Stars represent various career stages and disciplines, and have demonstrated noteworthy achievements and proven attention to furthering their careers.

Ms. Wood began her healthcare career in a comprehensive 2-year management training program at Abbott Laboratories. From there she held various positions in marketing, investor relations and account management at several leading healthcare companies and agencies. Tenured with CommonHealth over the last 10 years, Ms. Wood played a leadership role in the development of Adient, a Wayne based sister professional agency of Carbon, and led the teams of several of its major agency brands prior to her appointment as president of Carbon.

"Having had the pleasure of working with Nanske for many years, I've watched her grow into a strong and effective leader," noted Matt Giegerich, president and CEO of CommonHealth. "She is recognized by her clients as a true strategic partner in their business, and they rely on her professionalism and judgment in managing their brand. Her belief in developing trust results in successful client/agency relationships. I can't think of anyone more deserving of this honor than Nanske," he concluded.

The HBA is a national not-for-profit organization dedicated to furthering the advancement of women in the healthcare industry. Headquartered in New Jersey, with chapters and affiliates nationwide, the HBA provides educational opportunities for both women and men to develop cutting-edge industry knowledge and leadership skills; recognizes outstanding women in the industry; provides opportunities for networking; creates greater visibility for women in the industry; fosters mentoring relationships; and serves as a conduit for research on career advancement issues. For further information on HBA or to read more about all of the honorees, please go to www.hbanet.org and click on 2005 HBA Woman of the Year.

CommonHealth comprises Carbon, Adient, Altum, Conectics, Ferguson, HLS, MBS/Vox, Noesis, ProCom, Qi, Quantum, Solara and Xchange. The organization also maintains numerous partnerships both within and outside of the WPP Group network of companies.