SYDNEY, Australia, July 6, 2006 - Walter Jennings, an experienced corporate communications professional, has been appointed market leader and managing director of Burson-Marsteller Australia.

Jennings has responsibility for the firm’s operations in the country and, together with the established Australian leadership team, will direct the corporate, financial, consumer, technology, healthcare and government relations practices. Jennings reports to Bill Rylance, President and CEO, Burson-Marsteller Asia Pacific and is a member of the firm’s regional management board.

Burson-Marsteller counsels a portfolio of leading companies in Australia, with offices in Sydney and Melbourne and a long established affiliate relationship with Consultus, New Zealand’s leading public relations consultancy.

“Burson-Marsteller Australia marked its 25th anniversary in 2005 by recording its most successful year of operation,” said Rylance. “However, we look towards continuous growth and the firm is well positioned to build on this achievement and continue to provide strategic services and creative direction, plus access to our tightly integrated Asia Pacific and global network.

“This is why we are particularly excited to have Walter join us and lead the firm to even greater success. He is a highly experienced advisor to senior management in the private and public sectors, having worked in senior consultancy and in-house positions in Australia, Asia Pacific and the U.S.”

“I have long admired Burson-Marsteller and, when working in competition, found them to be a mighty adversary,” said Jennings. “Burson-Marsteller’s award-winning teams in Sydney and Melbourne, its impressive client portfolio and its approach to delivering business and results-focused communications services provides a compelling platform for growth within Australia.

“Additionally, Australian companies continue to look outside the country and expand their operations in the region and around the world. And where our clients need support and partnership, Burson-Marsteller has an office. I believe my experience in Asia and the U.S. will be of great benefit to our Australian clients. “

Jennings has more than 20 years’ experience in the communications industry. He joins Burson-Marsteller from Rogen in Australia, an international communications skills training company. Prior to this, Jennings worked in the US for Ford Credit, reporting directly to the CEO during the largest restructuring in the financial services industry at the time. An experienced advisor to government, Jennings previously headed operations in Greater China for Gavin Anderson & Company where he worked on high profile issues, including the return of Macau to the People’s Republic of China.

Jennings is a member of the Arthur W. Page Society. He serves on the board of the Global Public Affairs Institute, as well as the boards of two charities. He holds a bachelor’s degree in French and Economics from St. Lawrence University in New York and speaks French and Mandarin. Born in the United States, Jennings migrated permanently to Sydney with his family and took up Australian citizenship in 1995.

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About Burson-Marsteller
Burson-Marsteller, established in 1953, is a leading global public relations and public affairs firm. It provides clients with strategic thinking and program execution across a full range of public relations, public affairs, advertising, and web-related services. The firm’s seamless worldwide network consists of 54 wholly-owned offices and 46 affiliate offices, together operating in 58 countries across six continents. Burson-Marsteller is a part of Young & Rubicam Brands, a subsidiary of WPP Group plc (NASDQ: WPPGY), one of the world’s leading communications services networks.

First established in Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo in 1973, the Burson-Marsteller network in Asia Pacific includes offices in Bangalore, Beijing, Chennai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Melbourne, Mumbai, New Delhi, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo; with affiliates in Auckland, Bangkok, Islamabad, Karachi, Manila, Taipei, and Wellington.

For the third time in five years, Burson-Marsteller’s Asia-Pacific team was named “Network of the Year” at the 2005 annual Asia Pacific PR Awards, the industry’s top award recognizing outstanding public relations work across the region. Burson-Marsteller Australia’s work for Novartis’ Elidel was named Campaign of the Year at the same awards. The company was also top-ranked in Media Magazine’s 2005 Asia Pacific Consultancy Report Card.