Abbott Chairman and CEO Miles D. White Elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences

ABBOTT PARK, Ill., April 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Abbott (NYSE: ABT) today announced that Miles D. White, chairman of the board and chief executive officer, has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Selected from among the world's most accomplished leaders in academia, business, public affairs, the humanities and the arts, Mr. White joins one of the nation's oldest and most prestigious honorary societies and a leading center for independent policy research.

"It is a privilege to honor Mr. White and our other inductees for their extraordinary individual accomplishments," said Leslie Berlowitz, Academy President and William T. Golden Chair. "The knowledge and expertise of our members give the Academy a unique capacity - and responsibility - to provide practical policy solutions to the pressing challenges of the day. We look forward to engaging our new members in this work."

Mr. White is the longest-tenured CEO in the pharmaceutical industry and over the past twelve years has transformed Abbott into a broad-based healthcare company focused on high-growth, innovation-driven markets. He has been included on Barron's list of "Most Respected CEOs" for three consecutive years and is active in a variety of business and civic roles.

Since its founding in 1780 by John Adams, James Bowdoin, John Hancock, and other scholar-patriots, the Academy has elected leading "thinkers and doers" from each generation, including George Washington and Benjamin Franklin in the eighteenth century, Daniel Webster and Ralph Waldo Emerson in the nineteenth, and Albert Einstein and Winston Churchill in the twentieth. The current membership includes more than 250 Nobel laureates and more than 60 Pulitzer Prize winners.

White will be inducted at a ceremony on October 1, at the Academy's headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

A list of the new Academy members announced today is located at: http://www.amacad.org/news/alphalist2011.pdf.

About Abbott

Abbott is a global, broad-based health care company devoted to the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of pharmaceuticals and medical products, including nutritionals, devices and diagnostics.  The company employs nearly 90,000 people and markets its products in more than 130 countries.

Abbott's news releases and other information are available on the company's website at www.abbott.com.

SOURCE Abbott