Verizon Chairman and CEO Ivan Seidenberg Named New Chairman of Business Roundtable Health & Retirement Task Force

Business Roundtable today named Ivan Seidenberg, chairman and CEO of Verizon Communications Inc., chairman of its Health & Retirement Task Force. Mr. Seidenberg replaces Mike McCallister, president and CEO of Humana, Inc.

“This is a pivotal time of increased debate around health care reform, and we are pleased to have Ivan leading the Roundtable’s efforts on these important issues,” said Harold McGraw, III, chairman of Business Roundtable and chairman, president and CEO of The McGraw-Hill Companies. “At the same time, we thank Mike for his leadership, dedication and insightful guidance during his tenure as chairman of this task force.”

Mr. Seidenberg has long been a voice for reform of the health care system, calling for increased efficiency of care through the introduction of technology and for providing more information to the health care consumer. The sole representative of employers, he also served on the Federal Commission on Systemic Interoperability, a group of medical, insurance, governmental, technological and corporate leaders tasked by Congress to develop recommendations and a timeline for the adoption of privacy-protected systems of electronic health records.

Verizon Communications Inc. is a leader in delivering broadband communication innovations to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers. In 2006, Verizon provided health care benefits of $3.5 billion, covering more than 900,000 employees, dependents and retirees. A leader in health IT, Verizon offers employees an enhanced Personal Health Care Record — a tool that allows participants to gather, store and manage essential health information from multiple sources in one file.

For more information on Business Roundtable, please visit www.businessroundtable.org.

Business Roundtable (www.businessroundtable.org) is an association of chief executive officers of leading U.S. companies with $4.5 trillion in annual revenues and nearly 10 million employees. Member companies comprise nearly a third of the total value of the U.S. stock markets and represent more than 40 percent of all corporate income taxes paid. Collectively, they returned $112 billion in dividends to shareholders and the economy in 2005.

Business Roundtable is also a founding member of Divided We Fail, a national effort with AARP, SEIU and NFIB designed to engage the American people, elected official and the business community to find broad-based, bi-partisan solutions to health care and long-term financial security.

Contacts

Business Roundtable
Joe Crea, 202-496-3288