Martha Ries of Boeing Appointed Chair of Ethics Resource Center Fellows Program

WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- M. Martha Ries, Vice President - Ethics and Business Conduct at The Boeing Company, is the new Chair of the Ethics Resource Center's Fellows Program. ERC President Patricia Harned, Ph.D., announced the selection of Ries by the Fellows' Advisory Panel.

In that role, Ries will lead a select group of ethics practitioners and scholars who work to build awareness of the need for strong ethical practices across our society, and who strive to shape the ethics agenda within the corporate, government, non-profit and educational communities. The Fellows Program incorporates eight working groups whose activities include conducting formal research projects - among them surveys, interviews and literature reviews.

Ethics Resource Center is a private, non-profit organization devoted to independent research and the advancement of high ethical standards and practices in public and private institutions.

"Martha Ries has outstanding credentials in the development and implementation of corporate ethics principles and practices," Harned said in announcing the appointment. "She is committed, as are all of us at ERC, to building strong ethical practices at all levels of our society. She will provide superb leadership as the Fellows Program enters its second decade this year."

Ries began her law career as a judicial clerk at the Missouri Supreme Court. She then served as a trial attorney in the Commercial Litigation Branch, Civil Division, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. Later, she entered private practice with a large Seattle law firm focusing on litigation and international regulatory work.

Ries joined Boeing in Seattle in 1997 as litigation counsel, where she focused on commercial litigation and investigations. Three years later, she was named chief counsel of Commercial Aviation Services within Boeing Commercial Airplanes and in 2003 was appointed to lead the attorneys representing the Army Systems group within Integrated Defense Systems in Philadelphia.

Now based in Chicago, Ries assumed leadership of Boeing's ethics programs in March 2004. She is responsible for companywide internal policies and procedures, regulatory tracking, operational activities and compliance related to the Ethics and Business Conduct organization.

Ries earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in French and Psychology from Boston College and a juris doctorate from St. Louis University School of Law. Ries is member of the state bars of the District of Columbia, Washington and Missouri.

For 85 years, the ERC has been a resource for institutions committed to a strong ethics culture. ERC's expertise also informs the public dialogue on ethics and ethical behavior. ERC scholars analyze current and emerging issues and produce new ideas and benchmarks that matter - for the nation and for the public trust.

Harned noted that ERC's latest National Business Ethics Survey(SM) (NBES)(SM) will be conducted, and results announced, later this year.

For more information about Ethics Resource Center and its Fellows Program, visit http://www.ethics.org.

     Media Contacts:

     Brent Gilroy (ERC), 301-587-6831, brentgilroy@starpower.net

     Maureen M. Herward, The Boeing Company, 425-865-7629,
     maureen.m.herward@boeing.com

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