Changes of leadership in Compliance & Corporate Affairs and Group Identity & Communications at UniCredit Group

The Board of Directors of UniCredit appointed today new heads for its Compliance & Corporate Affairs and Group Identity & Communications departments. rnrnCompliance & Corporate Affairs rnrnMaurizia Angelo Comneno, Senior Executive Vice President and Head of Compliance & Corporate Affairs, will leave the company on September 30, 2008 due to her retirement. She will be succeeded in her position by Nadine Faruque, who is joining the company from Merrill Lynch. rnrnSwiss-born Nadine Faruque, who holds an L.L.M. Degree from Duke University School of Law (North Carolina, USA) after having studied in Bern (Switzerland), is a qualified Swiss and US attorney. She has worked for various law firms in Europe and North America before joining the Office of General Counsel (“OGC”) at Merrill Lynch International, London, in 1998. In this office she has held the position of Head of Continental Europe and Member of the OGC EMEA Management Committee of Merrill Lynch International. rnrnMaurizia Angelo Comneno started her career at Credito Italiano in 1978 in the Legal Office in Bologna, after having graduated in Law. In 1999, after the merger of Credito Italiano in UniCredito Italiano, she was appointed Head of Legal, Compliance and Corporate Affairs department in the Head Office of UniCredito Italiano. In July 2007, she was appointed a member of the UniCredit’s Management Committee. rnrnAlessandro Profumo, UniCredit CEO, thanked Maurizia Angelo Comneno: “What Maurizia accomplished for UniCredit in her 30 years-career can hardly be described in just a few words. She played a crucial role in every single step of our transformation into one of Europe’s largest banking groups.” rn rnAccording to Alessandro Profumo, “with Nadine, a personality of great international experience is joining the Group. She is testimony of UniCredit’s capacity to attract managers from all over the world, widening the professional skill base and contributing to cultural diversity .” rnrnUniCredit’s Board of Directors also appointed Nadine Faruque Senior Executive Vice President, to be effective October 1st. She will report as Head of Compliance and Corporate Affairs to the CEO and will become a member of the Group’s Management Committee. rnrnGroup Identity & Communications rnrnMarc Beckers, Senior Executive Vice President and Head of Group Identity & Communications, has decided to leave the company towards the end of the year in order to pursue new challenges. He will be succeeded in his position by Antonella Massari, the Group’s current Head of Investor Relations. rnrnAntonella Massari, who holds a cum laude degree in Economics (DES) from Bocconi University, Milan, joined the Economic Studies Department of Credito Italiano in October 1987. She subsequently worked in the Financial Research Department and in the Planning and Strategy Department until 1997, when she was appointed Head of the Investor Relations Department. rnrnBelgium-born Marc Beckers joined UniCredit Group in 2006, coming from General Motors Corporation where he held several senior executive positions in Corporate, Product and Brand Communications, based subsequently in Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and in the U.S.A. rnrn“Marc played a pivotal role in structuring, professionalizing and internationalizing the Group Identity and Communications function across the company, and has led the charge to define and adopt a single Master-Brand strategy for the whole group. He also has been developing a new orientation for us in Advertising and Sport Sponsoring, which is now starting to come to fruition. While we are sorry to see Marc leave, we would like to thank him for his important contribution and wish him all the best for his future”, said Alessandro Profumo, CEO of UniCredit Group. rnrnAlessandro Profumo added: “I am convinced that Antonella, with her great experience and deep knowledge of the company and with her proven leadership qualities will continue to improve the international identity of UniCredit and further develop the communications and brand management function, building on the solid basis that is now in place”. rnrnUniCredit’s Board of Directors also appointed Antonella Massari Senior Executive Vice President, to be effective October 1st. In her new capacity, she will report to Deputy CEO Paolo Fiorentino and will become a member of the Group’s Management Committee. rnrnAbout UniCredit rnrnWith a market capitalization of ca. €50 billion, ranking among the top 3 financial groups in Eurozone, UniCredit has a presence in 22 countries, with over 40 million clients and more than 10,000 branches, approximately 180,000 employees at August 2008. rnIn the CEE region, UniCredit operates the largest international banking network with over 3,800 branches and outlets, with more than 77,000 employees. rnrnThe Group operates in the following countries: Austria, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey and Ukraine.