MADISON, ME, November 13, 2001 – Leroy J. Barry, President and Chief Executive Officer of Madison Paper Industries, has announced that the Owner’s Committee of the company has named E. Russell Drechsel to succeed him in that post, effective January 1, 2002. Mr. Barry will assume the role of Senior Advisor to Madison Paper Industries, the Owner’s Committee and the Myllykoski Group. A member of the Madison organization for 20 years, Mr. Drechsel is currently Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the company. "Russ has made many significant contributions to Madison over the years," Mr. Barry noted. "He is committed to Madison's continued success, and I am confident he will lead the company to even greater accomplishments in the future. Russ and I are committed to a smooth, seamless transition of leadership for all aspects of the business." Mr. Drechsel added, "With the recent completion of our PM #3 Modernization Project, Madison Paper is solidly positioned for a bright future in terms of quality, productivity and cost effectiveness. I'm looking forward to working closely with all the dedicated people of Madison Paper whose pride in our product, Symmetry, has made it today’s market leader." Prior to his promotion as executive vice president, Mr. Drechsel served as director of operations for Madison Paper Industries since 1993. He joined the company in 1980 as a project engineer for the design and installation of P.M. #3. He later advanced to technical assistant to P.M. superintendent, and in 1982 was named product/process development manager of the mill. In 1990, Mr. Drechsel became project manager for major installations in Madison affiliate mills in Germany – Lang Papier and Papierfabrik Albbruck. He was appointed manager project/process engineering of Madison in 1992. Mr. Drechsel is a graduate of the University of Maine at Orono where he earned a BS degree with highest distinction, a fifth-year Pulp and Paper Certificate and an MS degree. He recently completed the Stanford University Senior Executive Management Program. Mr. Drechsel is a member of TAPPI, CPPA, University of Maine Pulp and Paper Foundation and PIMA. Madison Paper Industries A partnership of Myllykoski Corp. of Finland and The New York Times Company (NYSE:NYT), Madison Paper Industries has its headquarters and production facilities in Madison, Maine. The company's sales organization, Madison International Sales Company, has offices in Norwalk, Connecticut; Elk Grove Village, Illinois; and Montreal, Canada.