January 03, 2008 08:45 AM Eastern Time 

Roland Acheampong Named Business Wire's Canada Country Manager

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Reflecting the energy, enterprise and enthusiasm that Business Wire plans to introduce into the Canadian marketplace, Roland Acheampong has been named Business Wire's Canada country manager, in charge of its Toronto office and national sales strategy, Cathy Baron Tamraz, president and CEO, announced today.

Business Wire, the global leader in news distribution and regulatory disclosure services, commenced operations in Canada on January 2. The company, founded in 1961 and now part of Berkshire Hathaway [Fortune 12], has been serving Canadian clients indirectly since the early 1980s through affiliations with local service providers.

Acheampong brings to his new role the vision, leadership and initiative that has characterized Business Wire's success in the United States, Europe, and Asia.

Since graduating from the University of Western Ontario, Acheampong has enjoyed success with a cross-section of companies, ranging from IBM to dot.com start-up Grey Matter. Since 2002, Acheampong has focused on media sales for OMNI Television and CTV. He also is a successful entrepreneur, co-founding a children's after-school organization, and is actively involved in mentoring youngsters throughout the Greater Toronto area.

Acheampong is responsible for all facets of Business Wire's Canadian operation, including sales, editorial, media relations and maintaining professional and industry relationships. He reports to Gregg Castano, co-chief operating officer.

"We look forward to introducing Canadian companies to Business Wire's differentiating value proposition," said Tamraz. "We are confident that Roland will communicate our clear advantages to Canadian companies interested in reaching out to international markets and investors, while retaining a personal relationship with local management and editors. We are looking to fill the current market void in terms of providing a seamless, integrated global platform for news distribution and regulatory compliance services."

Business Wire's Toronto office is located at 144 Front Street West. Phone number: 416-593-0208; fax number (newsroom) 416-593-8434.

About Business Wire

Business Wire, a Berkshire Hathaway company, is utilized by thousands of member companies and organizations to transmit their full-text news releases, regulatory filings, photos and other multimedia content to journalists, news media, trade publications, institutional and individual investors, financial information services, regulatory authorities, Internet portals, information web sites, business-to-business decision-makers and consumers worldwide. With a news distribution network spanning 150 countries and 45 languages, Business Wire's multi-channel delivery network has access to dozens of international and national news agency networks throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

The Business Wire news network is powered by its patented NX high-speed data platform and supports XML, XHTML and XBRL code to deliver the most sophisticated news file to enhance news release interactivity, customization and search engine optimization. Business Wire has 31 bureaus in cities including New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Miami, Paris, Frankfurt, London, Brussels, Tokyo, Toronto and Sydney with reciprocal offices throughout the world. Business Wire was founded in 1961.