Debra Huddleston Joins BlackRock as Head of Transaction Management for the Financial Markets Advisory Group

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) today announced that Debra Huddleston has joined the Company as a Managing Director and head of Transaction Management for the Financial Markets Advisory (FMA) group, a part of BlackRock Solutions^®. Ms. Huddleston will report to Craig S. Phillips, Managing Director and head of FMA.

“Debra’s extensive experience across a wide range of securitized products will be a tremendous asset to BlackRock”

Prior to joining BlackRock, Ms. Huddleston was a Managing Director at Credit Suisse were she held a variety of positions within the commercial mortgage finance group including co-head of structured finance and most recently head of investment banking and special situations for the residential mortgage department. Before joining Credit Suisse in 1996, Ms. Huddleston was at Citigroup, Salomon Brothers and Chemical Bank. Ms. Huddleston earned a BA degree in history from Brown University and an MBA degree in finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

“Debra’s extensive experience across a wide range of securitized products will be a tremendous asset to BlackRock,” said Mr. Phillips.

BlackRock’s Financial Markets Advisory team works with clients increasingly to manage their capital markets exposure and businesses. In the past year, the team has helped clients navigate through financial turmoil. BlackRock has come to be known as a solutions provider by its clients, prospects and the public. This reputation continues to grow, and in these times of tremendous market volatility and dislocation, financial institutions have continued to turn to BlackRock for assistance in managing, restructuring, and valuing portfolios with distressed capital markets exposures.

FMA draws on the risk management systems and analytics of BlackRock Solutions’ Aladdin^® product, which has been developed and used by BlackRock for over 15 years. BlackRock Solutions provides services to many of the largest and most sophisticated financial institutions in the world.

About BlackRock

BlackRock is one of the world’s largest publicly traded investment management firms. At June 30, 2008, BlackRock’s AUM was $1.428 trillion. The firm manages assets on behalf of institutions and individuals worldwide through a variety of equity, fixed income, cash management and alternative investment products. In addition, a growing number of institutional investors use BlackRock Solutions investment system, risk management and financial advisory services. Headquartered in New York City, as of June 30, 2008 the firm has approximately 5,700 employees in 19 countries and a major presence in key global markets, including the U.S., Europe, Asia, Australia and the Middle East. For additional information, please visit the Company's website at www.blackrock.com.