---

Whitman Announces Larry Young Elected President and COO    

23 February 2000

Whitman Corporation Announces Larry Young Elected President and Chief Operating Officer    

    CHICAGO, Feb. 23 -- Whitman Corporation announced
today that its Board of Directors has elected Larry D. Young President and
Chief Operating Officer.  Previously, Young had served as Executive Vice
President and Chief Operating Officer.
    (Photo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000112/WHITLOGO )
    Mr. Young, 45, began his career with the PepsiCo franchise in Springfield,
Mo., in 1969.  The franchise was acquired by Whitman Pepsi General in 1984.
In 1989, he became Director of On Premise Sales and Marketing for Springfield.
In 1994, Mr. Young was promoted to Director of Sales and Marketing -
International, where he helped launch the company's operations in Poland.  He
was named Vice President of Sales and Marketing - International in 1995 and
President - International, in 1996.
    He returned to the United States in 1997 as Executive Vice President -
Sales.  In 1998, he was named Executive Vice President and Chief Operating
Officer.
    Bruce S. Chelberg, Chairman and CEO, said, "Larry Young knows the bottling
business like the back of his hand.  He has held every conceivable position on
the sales side of the organization.  As our Chief Operating Officer, he has
done an outstanding job in managing the integration of our existing
territories with the territories we acquired from PepsiCo in May of last year.
The record shows that Larry Young is one of the leading managers in the
soft-drink industry today.  We're fortunate to have him as the leader of our
operating team."