Business Wire, March 6, 2006, Monday

Copyright 2006 Business Wire, Inc.
Business Wire

March 6, 2006 Monday 9:15 PM GMT

DISTRIBUTION: Business Editors

HEADLINE: Elease Wright, SVP Human Resources, Aetna Named to Top Black Women Executives in Business List

DATELINE: HARTFORD, Conn. March 6, 2006

BODY:
-- Award to be presented on March 16 at the NY Marriott Marquis --
The Network Journal (TNJ) has announced that Elease E. Wright, senior vice president of Human Resources at Aetna (NYSE: AET) has been named to its 2006 list of "25 Influential Black Women In Business."
TNJ will honor Wright during Women's History Month at its Eighth Annual 25 Influential Black Women in Business Awards Program on March 16. The event will take place at the New York Marriott Marquis Hotel. Wright will also be featured in the March issue of the The Network Journal magazine.
According to TNJ Publisher and CEO Aziz Gueye Adetimirin, "The women we are honoring on March 16 are in the forefront of American leadership and symbolize the diversity and advancement that has occurred across industry lines."
Wright has worked for Aetna since 1982 in positions including head of Human Resource Re-engineering Implementation, and head of Human Resource Finance and Administration. Wright has also served in senior positions in the Education, Pension, and Employee Relations departments.
Wright serves on the Board of Directors for the Connecticut Children's Medical Center and is a member of the Board of Advisors for the University of Connecticut School of Business. She also serves on the advisory board for Cornell University's Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies, and is past president of the Hartford Region YWCA Board of Directors. She is a member of Aetna's Executive Leadership Council, and was named one of Black Enterprise's Top 50 Blacks in Corporate America in 2000.
Founded in 1993, The Network Journal (TNJ) is the premier monthly magazine for Black professionals, corporate executives and small business owners in the New York tri-state region with a circulation of 86,000 readers. For more visit www.tnj.com or contact Ines Bebea, TNJ media relations at 212-962-3791.
Aetna is one of the nation's leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving approximately 27.9 million unique members with information and resources to help them make better informed decisions about their health care. Aetna offers a broad range of traditional and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, group life, long-term care and disability plans, and medical management capabilities. Our customers include employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans and government-sponsored plans. www.aetna.com



CONTACT: Aetna Deborah Hoyt, 860-273-1248 Hoytd@aetna.com

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