John Ong Elected to Marsh Mac Board

John D. Ong was elected to the board of directors of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. at the company's annual meeting of shareholders last week.

Ong is chairman emeritus of The BFGoodrich Company. After his election as chairman and CEO in 1979, he helped to transform BFGoodrich into a leading provider of aircraft systems and services and a producer of specialty chemicals. He retired as chairman of its board of directors in 1997, after more than 36 years with the firm.

Ong also is a director of Ameritech Corporation, ASARCO Inc., Cooper Industries, Defiance Inc., The Geon Company, The Kroger Company and TRW Inc. He serves as a trustee of the University of Chicago and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and as chairman of the Board of Trustees of Inventure Place, Inc., which houses the National Inventors Hall of Fame. He is a former chairman of The Business Roundtable, the National Alliance of Business and The Ohio Business Roundtable. He is a graduate of Ohio State University and Harvard Law School.

Shareholders also reelected Norman Barham, Lewis W. Bernard, Richard H. Blum, Frank J. Borelli, Robert F. Erburu, Ray J. Groves and George Putnam as members of Marsh & McLennan Companies' board.

In a separate action, the board of directors authorized a stock repurchase program of up to four million shares (pre-split) of Marsh & McLennan Companies common stock over the next 12 months. Total shares outstanding are approximately 171 million (pre-split). A three-for-two stock split for shareholders of record on June 5, 1998 was announced earlier.

Shareholders approved an amendment to the Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Investment Plan for employees and ratified the appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP as independent auditors for the company for 1998.