Professor Dr. jur. Carsten P. Claussen, 78, was Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Company from 1988 to June 1999 and was appointed as a Special Advisor and Honorary Chairman in 1999. This position is not required by Dutch law, and Professor Claussen is no longer a voting member of the Supervisory Board. For many years he has pursued a career in private banking. Between 1976 and 1987, Professor Claussen was a member of the executive board of Norddeutsche Landesbank, Hannover, and Chairman of the Hannover Stock Exchange. Since 1987, he has been a lawyer in Duesseldorf and senior advisor to IKB Deutsche Industriekreditbank, Dusseldorf. At present, he is a partner in the law firm of Hoffmann Liebs and Partner and specializes in corporate law and capital market transactions. He is Chairman of the Board of TON ART AG, Duesseldorf; Flossbach & v. Storch Verm�gensmanagement AG, Cologne; and WAS Worldwide Analytical Systems AG, Cleve and is a member of other boards. Professor Claussen received his Ph.D. in law from the University of Cologne |