Willis Elected Auditor for Ashland Inc.

COVINGTON, Ky., Jan. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- J. Kevin Willis has been elected general auditor, and a corporate officer, by the Board of Directors for Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH), effective January 31, 2004. The announcement was made by James J. O'Brien, Ashland Inc. chairman and chief executive officer.

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Willis succeeds William A. Kosto, who is retiring after 30 years of service. He will be responsible for Ashland's internal auditing group and coordination with the company's independent auditors. Willis will report administratively to J. Marvin Quin, Ashland Inc. senior vice president and chief financial officer.

Willis joined Ashland in 1987 as an associate auditor in the internal audit department. He has served in various management positions of increasing responsibility, both in the IT Audit group and the Finance and Operations Audit group. In addition Willis has led several teams implementing major corporate projects in the business services, IT, accounting and finance areas.

A native of Richmond, Ky., Willis earned a bachelor of business administration degree in accounting in 1987 from Eastern Kentucky University, and he is a graduate of Ashland's executive development program at Indiana University. Willis is a Certified Internal Auditor and Certified Informational Systems Auditor.

Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH) is a Fortune 500 transportation construction, chemicals and petroleum company providing products, services and customer solutions throughout the world. Through the dedication of our employees, we are "The Who In How Things Work^™." Find us at www.ashland.com .

SOURCE Ashland Inc.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding Ashland's business which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report or Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year.