New President & CEO

ABB Ltd
25 October 2000




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JORGEN CENTERMAN NEW ABB PRESIDENT AND CEO

Zurich, Switzerland, October 25, 2000 - The ABB Board of Directors today
announced that Jorgen Centerman, presently head of ABB's Automation segment,
will succeed Goran Lindahl as President and Chief Executive Officer effective
Jan. 1, 2001. 

Centerman, 48, takes over as ABB prepares for the next phase in its
transformation, driven by the far-reaching IT revolution affecting the global
technology group and its customers.

Lindahl said that after 30 years in ABB, 15 years in corporate management and
four years as CEO, he felt it was the right time to hand over to a younger
leader with a true IT profile.

'The first steps in transforming ABB have been taken. Our organization has
responded well, and there is now a strong bottom-up drive for even faster
change,' Lindahl said. 'This is promising, as the environment we act in is also
changing faster and faster. I now feel it is the right time to hand over in
order to safeguard a continued good development.'

Percy Barnevik, Chairman of the ABB Board, said Centerman has the right
background to continue ABB's push for IT related innovation and the company's
expansion into knowledge-based and service-oriented activities.

'Centerman has an excellent track record and broad international experience, and
he has been deeply involved in the strategic shift of ABB into an Industrial IT
leader. Now, he can drive the transformation not only of his own segment but the
whole ABB Group,' Barnevik said. 'The Board is happy that we, in line with ABB's
tradition, can promote an internal successor. This guarantees a smooth
transition.'

In the past 15 years, Centerman has worked in five countries - Singapore,
Sweden, Germany, the US and Switzerland - on three continents. Centerman has a
Master of Science degree in electrotechnical engineering from the University of
Technology of Lund, Sweden. He joined ABB in 1976.

Lindahl will remain a member of the ABB Board and support the new management
with his vast international network.

Barnevik said: 'When Lindahl now hands over to Centerman, he can look back on a
very successful career at ABB. As the CE0 in the last four years he has led the
company in a new strategic direction, with a changed portfolio and major
investments into the new IT economy.  This has opened new opportunities for
employees and better ways to serve our customers.  The shareholders have
benefited substantially and now own a company with lower liabilities and risk
compared to only a few years ago.'

The change of CEO does not affect ABB's present strategy or its forecasts, the
company said.

Jouko Karvinen, 43, at present Business Area Manager for Automation Power
Products, succeeds Centerman as head of the Automation segment and joins the ABB
Group Executive Committee as Executive Vice President, effective Jan.1, 2001.

Karvinen, who has  been working in Switzerland since 1993, also has gained
international experience from a period with ABB in the United States.  He
graduated in 1982 as a Master of Science in Power Electronics, Applied
Electronics and Industrial Economics from Tampere University of Technology in
Finland.