National Association of Corporate Directors New England Chapter Announces 2009 Director of the Year Award Winners

Robert Fraser recognized with Lifetime Achievement Award;

Thermo Fisher Scientific earns Board of the Year
BOSTON--(Business Wire)--
The National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) New England Chapter today
announced its winners of the 2009 Director of the Year Awards. The awards
recognize excellence in public, private and non-profit corporate governance.

The following boardroom leaders of New England-based companies who have made
outstanding contributions to New England`s corporate community are this year`s
recipients of the NACD New England`s 2009 Director of the Year Awards:

"Once again this year, the nominees for the Director of the Year Awards
represent a broad array of industries and the recipients are individuals who are
leaders in their chosen fields and role models for good corporate governance,"
said William A. Earon, New England Chapter President. "We`re proud as an
organization to recognize the companies and individuals that support the NACD`s
vision of excellence in boardroom leadership."

"From Thermo Fisher Scientific`s exemplary corporate governance and Boardroom
leadership to the distinguished service that our Lifetime Achievement Award
recipient Robert Fraser, all of this year`s award recipients are shining
examples of good corporate governance," said Event Chair Edward H. Pendergast.
"Our May 7th event will be a wonderful evening to celebrate and recognize their
accomplishments in supporting good corporate governance."

Board of the Year: Thermo Fisher Scientific. The merger of Thermo Electron and
Fisher Scientific in 2006 is one of the largest transactions for a Massachusetts
headquartered company. It took leadership of both management and the Board to
envision that the combination of a capital-intensive equipment company and a
quick-turn consumables company would be more compelling, profitable and
synergistic together. The Board strives to be a leader in forward-looking
governance practices. In addition to Audit, Compensation and Corporate
Governance and Nominating Committees, the Board has a Strategy Committee that
examines the fit and scale of each transaction before it is considered by the
Board. For 2008, the Company reported revenues of $10.5 billion, net of $994
million and has a market cap of $15 billion.

Lifetime Achievement Award: Robert B. Fraser, former Chairman and Managing
Partner of Goodwin Procter. The Goodwin firm tripled in size during the 13 years
of his Chairmanship, notwithstanding the occurrence of a recession during this
period, requiring the careful management of the firm's fiscal affairs and
staffing levels. He was for many years an influential Director of Investors
Financial Services Corporation, particularly as that company prepared for its
ultimate sale to State Street Corporation. Fraser chaired several major
nonprofit organizations, including The Boston Plan for Excellence, the Boston
Public Health Commission, the Boston Council for Community and Justice and the
Boston Music Education Consortium. In addition, he served on the Boards of a
large number of nonprofit organizations, including the Greater Boston Chamber of
Commerce, MassInc, the Boston Public Library Foundation, the Massachusetts
Business Alliance for Education and the New England Conservatory of Music. He is
a graduate of Harvard College and the Harvard Law School, and in 1996 was
awarded an honorary doctorate by Northeastern University for his community
contributions.

Leadership in Public Corporate Governance Award: Ronald L. Skates, former
President and Chief Executive Officer of Data General Corporation. Prior to
joining Data General he was a partner with Price Waterhouse & Co. He currently
serves as a Director of Courier Corporation, where he is chairman of the Audit
Committee and a member of the Nominating Committee; Gilbane, Inc., where he is a
member of the Compensation Committee; Raytheon Company, where he is Chairman of
the Audit Committee and a member of the Nominating and Governance Committee; and
State Street Corporation, where he is a member of the Audit Committee. Skates
was formerly a Director of Cabot Industrial Trust, Cabot Microelectronics
Corporation, Eastern Bank and Joy Technology Corporation. Skates has been
involved in a number of civic and non-profit activities as well. Skates is a
Certified Public Accountant. He received an A.B. degree (cum laude) from Harvard
College in 1963 and a M.B.A. from The Harvard Business School in 1965.

Leadership in Private Corporate Governance Award: Joseph J. Caruso, Bantam
Group. Caruso is an advisor to dozens of CEOs and devotee of entrepreneurship.
Caruso was CEO of Cyborg, a pioneer in the use of PCs in laboratory and factory
automation. He is a former President of NACD New England. Caruso is a Director
of Boston Micromachines and i2Chem and has served on more than 25 boards in all
positions. He has been an independent Director in most of these companies and
also served as an investor in some. Caruso has been an advisor, COO and CEO to
many companies and has been interim CEO for a number of companies. He is a
member of Common Angels, which is known for investing in promising young
companies. He also has served on the New England Chapter Boards of Association
for Corporate Growth, Turnaround Management Association and on the Board of
Women Entrepreneurs in Science and Technology. Caruso is a graduate of
Northeastern University and Harvard Business School.

Leadership in Non-Profit Governance Award: Stephen R. Karp, Chairman and CEO New
England Development. Karp is a leading real estate developer, known for his
visionary thinking and sensitivity to the communities in which he does business.
Karp serves as the Chair of the Board of Trustees of Children`s Hospital Boston.
He helped oversee the fiscal turnaround of the Hospital and has been a
consummate leader and fundraiser. Karp is on the Boards of Boston University,
Belmont Hill School, Not Your Average Joe`s, Retail Convergence and the
International Council of Shopping Centers (Past Chairman). He is on the Boards
of Overseers of Newton-Wellesley Hospital and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He
is a member of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board and the Urban Land
Institute. He is Past Chairman of Children`s Hospital Trust and was previously
on the boards of Union College, Citizens Bank and Retail Property Trust. Karp is
a graduate of Boston University.

The award recipients will be honored at the annual NACD New England Director of
the Year Awards Dinner taking place on Thursday, May 7, at the Renaissance
Waterfront Hotel in Boston. Natalie Jacobsen, former news anchor at WCVB-TV in
Boston, will serve as the mistress of ceremony for the event. Information
regarding sponsorships and purchasing of tables or individual tickets can be
found online at www.nacdne.org.

2009 NACD New England Director of the Year Awards Sponsors:

Platinum: Pearl Meyer & Partners; Gold: Deloitte LLP, DolmatConnell & Partners,
Egon Zehnder International, Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo PC;
Silver: Advanced Instruments, Inc., Vitale Caturano & Co., Ltd.; Supporting:
Bingham McCutchen LLP, Duane Morris LLP, K&L Gates LLP, Korn/Ferry
International, KPMG, McGladrey & Pullen LLP, Tatum LLC, Watson Wyatt Worldwide;
Media Sponsor: Boston Business Journal

About the National Association of Corporate Directors

The National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) is a not-for-profit
membership organization devoted exclusively to improving director and board
effectiveness in fulfilling their obligation to ensure shareholder and
stakeholder value. Founded in 1977, NACD conducts educational programs and
standard-setting research and provides information and guidance on a variety of
board governance issues and practices. NACD`s 10,000 director members comprise
both individual directors and entire boards ranging from the Fortune 100 to
smaller public, private, and closely held companies. NACD distributes NACD
Directorship magazine and provides governance information online at
www.nacdonline.org.

For more information about the NACD New England Chapter`s Director of the Year
Awards Dinner, including a list of sponsors and ticket information, please visit
www.nacdne.org.

Elevate Communications
Jim Connelly, 617-861-3654
jconnelly@elevatecom.com

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