Porter Retires; Willis Named Treasurer, Guldig Named General Auditor at Ashland

COVINGTON, Ky., May 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Meeting today, the board of directors of Ashland Inc. elected J. Kevin Willis as treasurer for the company and John F. Guldig as general auditor, effective immediately. The board also expressed appreciation to Daragh L. Porter, who retires this month after 31 years of service, recently as vice president, finance, and treasurer.

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Willis moves to his new position after serving the past three years as general auditor. As treasurer, he will have responsibility for treasury operations, long-term finance, trust investments and risk and insurance. He will continue to report to J. Marvin Quin, senior vice president and chief financial officer.

A native of Richmond, Ky., Willis joined Ashland in 1987 as an associate auditor in the internal audit department. He served in various management positions of increasing responsibility, including leading teams on major projects in the business services, information technology, accounting and finance areas. He holds a bachelor's degree in accounting and expects to complete the executive MBA program at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University later this year.

John Guldig succeeds Willis as general auditor and will lead a team focused on the internal audit function. He will report to Ashland's audit committee and administratively to Quin.

Since 2003, Guldig has served as assistant controller. He joined the company in 1974 in the purchasing department and since has served in capacities including manager of general accounting and as a division controller. He is a certified public accountant and holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from The Ohio State University and a master's in business administration from University of Dayton.

Daragh Porter's career at Ashland began in 1976 with the petroleum division. Over the years she held positions in accounting, human resources and in planning and analysis before an assignment in 1998 with Marathon Ashland Petroleum (MAP), the former joint venture with Marathon Oil Company. She became Ashland's general auditor in 2001 and then treasurer in 2002.

Porter has served on a variety of professional and civic boards and committees throughout her career. She continues to serve as a member of Northern Kentucky University's School of Business Advisory Board and as a member of the audit committee of the Cincinnati Symphony.

Ashland Inc., a diversified, global chemical company, provides quality products, services and solutions to customers in more than 100 countries. A FORTUNE 500 company, it operates through four divisions: Ashland Performance Materials, Ashland Distribution, Valvoline and Ashland Water Technologies. To learn more about Ashland, visit http://www.ashland.com/.

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