ERM founder Paul H. Woodruff retires

Paul H. Woodruff, who founded Environmental Resources Management (ERM) 24 years ago, announced his retirement as of April 1, 2001. He had served as the ERM Group Chief Executive Officer from it's founding until January 1, 2000. Since that time he has served as Chairman of the Board of ERM Group, Inc.

Under Mr. Woodruff's guidance, ERM has grown to become a major player in the environmental consulting industry. In October 1977, Woodruff started ERM from his library in his Westtown, PA home. Today, ERM spans the globe with 2,400 professionals and support staff in 125 locations in 35 countries. ERM provides professional services, from air and water pollution control to hazardous and solid waste management, to private and public sector clients in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia.

Woodruff and his senior management team have been working for a number of years on a plan to restructure ERM. On April 2, the company announced the successful conclusion of a $300mm refinancing, completed with the assistance of 3i, a London based publicly traded, international, venture capital firm. The restructuring brings all the ERM companies under a single company with approximately half of the ownership held by employees. The newly restructured company's leaders are ERM veterans; the new Executive Chairman, Dr. Robin Bidwell, was formerly responsible for ERM's international offices; Peter R. Regan, the Groups' new President and CEO formerly had responsibilities for the US offices; and Dan Sevick, ERM's former financial officer will continue in a new capacity as Commercial Director. Bidwell, Regan, Sevick and the Groups' new Chief Financial Officer, Philip Keller, make up the inside directors on the new board of ERM. Paul Woodruff will join three other outside individuals on the board as a Non-Executive Director.

Woodruff stated, "This restructuring has transferred leadership to the next generation and positions the company to continue to expand its capability world-wide. The world's exploding population and appetite for economic development will continue to create an increasing demand for ERM's services over the next several decades. Only truly global organizations, such as ERM, are going to be in a position to meet increasingly sophisticated needs for assistance with the environmental and risk management issues of multi-national corporations and governments around the world. I am very excited about ERM's future and as a Director, I am glad to be a continuing part of that future."

Mr. Woodruff holds both a B.S. and a M.S. in Civil Engineering from Michigan State University. He has completed the Program for Management Development at Harvard Business School and is a Diplomat of the American Academy of Environmental Engineers. Mr. Woodruff is a registered professional engineer in 13 states.

In addition to his business responsibilities, Woodruff has been active in numerous other professional, community and business organizations. He has served as President of the Chester County, PA. United Way and General Chairman of their Annual Fund Raising Campaign, President of the Central Chester County YMCA, President of the West Chester Rotary Club, Chairman of the Brandywine Hospital's Capital Campaign for the Trauma Center, and a Director of Core States Bank. For five years he headed a National Consortium of water quality experts to formulate a national water quality policy for the United States. He has served as a Trustee for the ERM Foundation since its formation in 1994 and is an Elder in the Paoli Presbyterian Church.

Speaking of his plans for post retirement, Woodruff said he plans to continue to be active in the community, as a trustee of the Franklin Institute where he currently heads the $50mm Capital Campaign, redeveloping a marina in Michigan and developing a continuing care retirement community in Exton. In addition he serves as an investor/advisor to several businesses in the laboratory, laser and construction industries. He said he also plans to spend more time with his wife, the Reverend Dr. Marcia J. Woodruff, their five married children and 16 grandchildren. The Woodruffs will continue to reside at their home in the Malvern area and enjoy more time at their second home on the ocean near Rehoboth Beach, DE.

ERM is a global environmental, health and safety management and consulting organization of 2,400 specialists at more than 125 locations in 35 countries. Services provided to industry and government include air quality and hazardous waste management, compliance assurance, Brownfields services, and sustainable development consulting. ERM provides state-of-the-art management consulting services including: strategic environmental management, catastrophic risk assessment, environmental audits and environmental impact assessments, training, occupational health and safety, noise impact assessments, due diligence, public and community relations and pollution prevention. To learn more, visit the ERM website at www.erm.com.

Source: ERM

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