Merrill Lynch Appoints Jason H. Wright as Head of Communications & Public Affairs; Paul Critchlow Named Counselor to Chairman and Vice Chairman, Public Markets.

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 23, 2003

Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MER), today named Jason H. Wright, who served as head of Worldwide Communications at Nabisco Group Holdings Corp. and its predecessor RJR Nabisco Holdings Corp., as its new senior vice president, Communications & Public Affairs, effective Sept. 3, 2003.

Mr. Wright, 42, will report to Chairman and CEO Stan O'Neal and serve on the company's Operating Committee.

As senior communications strategist, Mr. Wright will assume global responsibility for all external and internal communications activities. This includes: media and government relations; employee, business group, executive, shareholder and public policy communications; corporate marketing and brand identity, and other related activities.

Mr. Wright succeeds Paul Critchlow, who served as the company's senior communications executive for nearly 15 years. Mr. Critchlow, 56, will assume a new role as counselor to the chairman and as vice chairman, Public Markets, assisting in business development with state and local government clients.

"I am delighted that Jason Wright will join our senior management team," said Mr. O'Neal. "As a highly respected professional, Jason will bring a new perspective to our communications activities as well as a wealth of business experience in dealing with significant and visible financial, operational and public policy issues. Throughout his career, he has maintained a high level of personal integrity and credibility with the news media and other important business constituencies."

At Nabisco and RJR Nabisco, Mr. Wright was responsible for the overall positioning of the company, overseeing communications and government relations initiatives supporting its emergence from a $33 billion leveraged buyout to public ownership, and subsequent efforts to substantially improve shareholder returns. He joined RJR Nabisco in 1990 as vice president, Financial Communications, and was appointed head of Worldwide Communications in 1993. Before then, Mr. Wright worked from 1982 to 1990 at Aetna, Inc., based in Hartford, CT and was director of Corporate and Financial Communications when he left the company.

Since the sale of Nabisco and RJR Nabisco in 2000, Mr. Wright has been principal of his own firm, Geer Mountain Holdings, LLC, providing capital and advisory services to several companies in the business services and consumer products industries.

A 1982 graduate of Georgetown University with a degree in political science, Mr. Wright is a director of privately held ESN/VHC Holdings Co., a provider of procurement and technology services to leading motion picture and television production companies. He is co-chairman of the board of the Museum for African Art in New York and a trustee of the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. He is a resident of New York City.

As counselor to the chairman, Mr. Critchlow will report to Mr. O'Neal and provide advice on a variety of corporate matters. As vice chairman, Public Markets, Mr. Critchlow will work closely with Municipal Markets and Merrill Lynch Investment Managers in developing relationships with state and local government officials for municipal finance, pension funds and other business activities. He will remain president of the Merrill Lynch Foundation, a position he has held since 1997.

Prior to joining Merrill Lynch in 1985, Mr. Critchlow served for seven years as a senior advisor to Pennsylvania Governor Dick Thornburgh. He began his career as a journalist with The Philadelphia Inquirer, where he was the chief political writer. He is a decorated U.S. Army combat veteran of Vietnam.

"Paul has provided invaluable advice and counsel to four chairmen and I am delighted that he will continue to be available to me and executive management in this regard," said Mr. O'Neal. "With his extensive experience in journalism, government and business, I am confident he will play a key role in our efforts to build our business with the public sector in the United States."