(PR NEWSWIRE)  
General Electric Best in Investor Relations for Sixth Year Straight
 
            - Investor Relations Magazine Recognizes Excellence in
          Corporate Investor Relations at Seventh-Annual US Awards -
 
    NEW YORK, March 22 /PRNewswire/ -- In a year when volatile market
conditions have challenged even the best companies, General Electric was
recognized as the Grand Prix winner for best overall investor relations by a
mega-cap company at the seventh annual Investor Relations Magazine US Awards.
The gala celebration, held in association with Barron's, took place last night
in New York.
    In addition to General Electric, AFLAC (large-cap), Tiffany & Co.
(mid-cap), and AmeriCredit Corp. (small-cap) accepted Grand Prix awards.
    Winners were determined by a survey of over 1,800 US portfolio managers,
securities analysts and retail investors. Respondents were asked to rate
companies and investor relations officers in 20 categories ranging from
disclosure policy to IR web sites. The survey was conducted for Investor
Relations magazine by independent research firm Erdos & Morgan using a
database provided by Thomson Financial.
    "The crisis of confidence in Corporate America caused by Enron's collapse
underscores the need for proactive investor relations," said Anthony Parish,
North American Editor of Investor Relations magazine.  "These awards honor the
very best IR teams, celebrating excellence in corporate communications.
Recipients of the Investor Relations Magazine Awards demonstrate the highest
level of excellence in the investor relations field, and we are proud to
showcase the best-in-class," added Parish.
 
    INVESTOR RELATIONS MAGAZINE US AWARDS 2002 - WINNERS ROUND-UP
 
    Grand Prix for Best Overall Investor Relations
    Winner Mega Cap: General Electric
    Honorable mentions: Microsoft, Cisco, Intel, IBM
 
    Winner Large Cap: AFLAC
    Honorable mentions: Duke Energy Co, eBay, Guidant Corp, Capital One
    Financial Corp
 
    Winner Mid Cap: Tiffany & Co
    Honorable mentions: Mattel, Dynegy, The Limited
 
    Winner Small Cap: AmeriCredit Corp
    Honorable mentions: CNET Networks, PTC, XTO Energy
 
    Best Investor Relations by a CEO
    Winner:  John Chambers, Cisco Systems
    Honorable mentions:  Jack Welch, General Electric; Sanford Weill,
    Citigroup; Michael Dell, Dell Computer
 
    Best Investor Relations Officers
    Co-Winners Mega Cap: Blair Christie, Cisco; Mark Vachon & Joanna Morris,
    General Electric
    Honorable mentions:  Rachael Scherer & Kevin Lee, Medtronic; Ron Slaymaker
    & Terri West, Texas Instruments; Bina Thompson, Colgate-Palmolive
 
    Winner Large Cap: Todd McKinney & Andy Reith, Guidant Corp
    Honorable mentions: Matt Gustke, eBay; Ken Janke & Robin Mullins, AFLAC;
    Sue Becht & John Arensdorf, Duke Energy
 
    Winner Mid Cap: Mark Aaron, Tiffany & Co
    Honorable mentions: Diane Douglas, Mattel; Meg Nollen, Dynegy; Matthew
    Stroud, Darden Restaurants
 
    Winner Small Cap: Susan Sheffield & Kim Pulliam, AmeriCredit Corp.
    Honorable mentions: Robert Borchert, CNET Networks; Tom Barth, PTC
 
    Best Annual Report
    Winner Mega Cap:  Pfizer
    Honorable mentions:  General Electric, Berkshire Hathaway,
    Colgate-Palmolive
 
    Winner Large Cap: AFLAC
    Honorable mentions:  Avon Products, Xilinx
 
    Winner Mid Cap: Tiffany & Co
    Honorable mentions Devon Energy Corp, St. Paul Companies, CDW Computer
    Centers
 
    Winner Small Cap: Nationwide Financial Services
    Honorable mentions : Intimate Brands, Coherent, Zebra Technologies Corp
 
    Best Use of Conferencing
    Winner: Intel Corp.
    Honorable mentions Cisco Systems, Medtronic, Varian Medical Systems
 
    Best Corporate Advertising to the Investment Community
    Winner:  IBM
    Honorable mentions:  AFLAC, Philip Morris, Pfizer, American Express Co
 
    Best Investor Relations Web Site
    Winner:  Verizon Communications
    Honorable mentions:  EMC Corp, IBM, Intel Corp
 
    Best M&A Investor Relations
    Winner: AIG (takeover of American General)
    Honorable mentions: Weyerhaeuser Company (takeover of Willamette
    Industries); Conoco (merger with Phillips Petroleum); Johnson & Johnson
    (takeover of Alza); PepsiCo (takeover of Quaker Oats)
 
    Best Communications with the Retail Market
    Winner Large Cap: General Motors Corp
    Honorable mentions: Charles Schwab Corp, AFLAC, Southwest Airlines
 
    Winner Mid Cap: WM Wrigley Jr Co
    Honorable mentions: Johnson Controls, Family Dollar Stores
 
    Winner Small Cap:  RPM
    Honorable mention:  Green Mountain Coffee
 
    Best Corporate Governance by a Small Cap Company
    Winner:  Jack in the Box
    Honorable mentions:  Continental Airlines, AMB Property Corp, Universal
    Health Services
 
    Best Investment Community Meetings by a Small Cap Company
    Winner: Tektronix
    Honorable mentions:  Autodesk, National Instruments Corp, Newport News
    Shipbuilding, Cerus Corp
 
    Best Disclosure Policy by a Mid Cap Company
    Winner Mid Cap: Dynegy
    Honorable mentions: Entergy Corp, Tiffany & Co, Noble Drilling Corp,
    Golden State Bancorp
 
    Best Senior Management Communications by a Mid Cap Company
    Winner:  The Limited
    Honorable mentions:  Entergy Corp, The New York Times Co, Fortune Brands,
    Federated Department Stores, Semtech Corp
 
    Most Improved Investor Relations by a Large Cap Company
    Winner: Lucent Technologies
    Honorable mentions:  El Paso Corp, PeopleSoft
 
    Best Use of Technology by a Large Cap Company
    Winner: Lockheed Martin Corp
    Honorable mentions:  United Technologies Corp, Anadarko Petroleum Corp,
    Compaq Computer Corp
 
    Best Latin American Company Investor Relations in the US Market
    Winner:  Telmex
    Honorable mentions:  Petrobras, Coca Cola FEMSA, CEMEX
 
    Best European Company Investor Relations in the US Market
    Winner:  Nokia
    Honorable mentions:  TotalFinaElf, Aventis, Novartis
 
    Best Asia-Pacific Company Investor Relations in the US Market
    Winner:  Sony
    Honorable mentions:  Samsung Electronics, Toyota Motor Corp, Taiwan
    Semiconductor Manufacturing Co
 
    Market caps were determined as of December 31, 2001 (mega-cap: over
$30 billion market cap, large-cap: $10-30 billion market cap, mid-cap:
$2.5-10 billion market cap, small-cap: under $2.5 billion).
    Published in New York and London by Cross-Border Publishing, Investor
Relations is the only global publication focused on the interface between
companies and their investors.  As part of a research effort going back to
1991, Investor Relations hosts annual awards ceremonies in the US, Canada, the
UK, continental Europe, Latin America, Australia, Asia and the Nordic
countries, with combined attendance of more than 10,000 investor relations
professionals.
 
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SOURCE  Investor Relations Magazine
    -0-                             03/22/2002
    /CONTACT:  Anthony Parish or Adrienne Baker of Investor Relations
magazine, +1-212-425-9649; or Steve Naru of Fleishman-Hillard, Inc.,
+1-212-453-2000, for Investor Relations Magazine/
 
CO:  Investor Relations Magazine; General Electric
ST:  New York
IN:  PUB FIN MAG
SU:  AWD
 
 
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