FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Contact:   Elissa Ruffino (NIAF) 202/939-3106 or elissa@niaf.org

(WASHINGTON, DC—March 16, 2005) Joseph J. Plumeri, chairman and CEO of The Willis Group, has been elected to the board of directors of the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF). The elections were held March 11 during the Foundation’s board meeting at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City.

“The NIAF board welcomes Joseph Plumeri who recently was honored with the Foundation’s Special Achievement Award in Business at the NIAF’s 29th Anniversary Awards Gala in Washington, DC,” NIAF Chairman Dr. A. Kenneth Ciongoli said.

Before joining Willis Group Holdings Ltd., the global insurance broker, Plumeri worked for 32 years as an executive with Citigroup Inc., and its predecessor companies. He oversaw 450 North American retail branches of Citigroup’s Citibank unit and served as chairman and CEO of Citigroup’s Primerica Financial Services. In 1994, he was appointed vice chairman of Citigroup’s predecessor, Travelers Group Inc., and then became the president of Citigroup’s Salomon Smith Barney after serving as the president and managing partner of Shearson.

Mr. Plumeri serves on the board of directors of The College of William & Mary and The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse. He is also a former commissioner of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority.

A graduate of The College of William & Mary, he funded a new baseball stadium for the college named “Plumeri Park” in honor of his father who had a lifelong passion for baseball. He currently resides in New Jersey.

Others elected to the NIAF board of directors are: Lucio Caputo, president of the International Trade Center in New York; Hon. Charles Gargano, chairman of Empire State Development Corp. and vice chairman of the Board of Commissioners of The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey; Joseph Moglia, CEO of Ameritrade Holding Corporation; and Ronald L. Zarrella, chairman and CEO of Bausch & Lomb.

The National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) is a non-profit, non-partisan foundation dedicated to promoting the contributions of Italian Americans. The Foundation has a wide-range of programs that provide scholarships and grants, conferences and cultural seminars. Visit our website atwww.niaf.org