Willis to Head Ashland Control Project; Holbrook Promoted
COVINGTON, Ky., April 8 -- John K. Willis, formerly IT audit director, has been named project manager, Ashland Inc. Controls and Compliance Team (ConTACT), according to J. Marvin Quin, Ashland Inc. senior vice president and chief financial officer, effective immediately. In addition, Sharon L. Holbrook has been promoted to IT Audit Director, filling the position previously held by Willis. She will report to William A. Kosto, Ashland Inc. general auditor.
Ashland is undertaking a company-wide initiative to document financial and business processes and to evaluate and test financial controls. "This important effort will strengthen the control environment within our company and provide the documentation necessary to support the management certifications required under the federal Sarbanes-Oxley Act," said Quin.
Willis will lead a team of 45 to 50 Ashland employees and consultants who are expected to be dedicated full-time to the effort through Sept. 30, the end of the company's fiscal year. ConTACT will evaluate an estimated 300 processes, from accounting to customer invoicing and from inventory management to payroll, that involve or affect financial transactions. In addition to the full-time team, up to 300 process experts will be asked to assist the project on a part-time basis. Upon completion of the project, the team will disband.
Willis, a native of Richmond, Ky., earned his bachelor of business administration degree from Eastern Kentucky University in 1987. He is a 2002 graduate of the Indiana University Executive Development Program.
He joined Ashland in 1987, serving in four auditor roles of increasing responsibility. In June 1996, Willis helped establish the Ashland Inc. European Shared Business Service Center in Rotterdam. Returning to the U.S. in 1998, he was named IT audit director in 1999.
A certified internal auditor and a certified information systems auditor, Willis has been active in many audit-related professional societies. He is a member of The Institute of Internal Auditors, Information Systems Audit & Control Association, and The Project Management Institute. He is also a member of the Supervisory Committee of the Ashland Inc. Employee Credit Union.
Holbrook joined Ashland's internal audit department in 1997. Prior to 1997, she worked for 11 years in internal audit for Kentucky Utilities Company. She also served as a supervisor for policies, methods and procedures at Old Ben Coal Company from 1983 to 1986.
A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Holbrook is a 1981 graduate of Morehead State University with a bachelor's degree in business administration. She is a certified internal auditor, a certified information systems auditor, and a certified information systems security professional. She is a member of The Institute of Internal Auditors.
Ashland Inc. is a Fortune 500 company providing products, services, and customer solutions throughout the world. Our businesses include road construction, specialty chemicals, lubricants, car-care products, chemical and plastics distribution and transportation fuels. Through the dedication of our employees, we are "The Who In How Things Work(TM)." Find us at www.ashland.com .
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