Business Council for International Understanding Names Daniel C. Petri as New Chairman

Business Council for International Understanding
Names Daniel C. Petri as New Chairman

October 18, 1999

NEW YORK -- The Business Council for International Understanding
(BCIU), a non-profit business association that facilitates communication
between the business and government communities, announced that
Daniel C. Petri, President-International Telecommunications, Bell Atlantic
Corporation, has become its new chairman.

Mr. Petri succeeds Reginald A. Brack, Chairman Emeritus of Time Inc.,
who has served as BCIU's chairman since December, 1996.

BCIU, with headquarters in New York and an office in Washington, is a
membership organization founded in 1959 at the urging of President
Dwight Eisenhower. Its unique relationships with the Departments of
State and Commerce enable BCIU to be a neutral facilitator between
business leaders and domestic and foreign government officials, thereby
helping its members in their pursuit of success in overseas markets.

In his present position at Bell Atlantic, which he assumed in November
last year, Petri oversees Bell Atlantic's portfolio of international wireline
investments, which includes stakes in Cable and Wireless
Communications in the United Kingdom, Telecom Corp. of New Zealand,
Telecom Asia in Thailand and Bayan Telecommunications Corp. in the
Philippines. He also directs development of the corporation's capabilities
for global connectivity, including its investment in FLAG (Fiberoptic Link
Around the Globe), the world's longest undersea fiber optic cable system,
which links Europe, Asia, and the Middle East with high-capacity digital
services.

"It is a distinct honor for BCIU to have Dan Petri as its new
chairman," said Peter Tichansky, BCIU President. "His
interest and experience in international operations will have a very positive
impact on BCIU's goals and activities," Tichansky noted.