PASADENA, Calif.--March 19, 2002--Avery Dennison announced that Ahmed Rubaie, vice president, Taxes, has been elected a corporate officer by the Company's board of directors. Rubaie, 35, is based at Avery Dennison's Charles D. Miller Corporate Center in Pasadena, California. "Ahmed's expertise in international tax planning and global structuring, as well as his international financial management background, have been instrumental in directing the Company's global tax planning and compliance operations,'' said Philip M. Neal, chairman and chief executive officer of Avery Dennison. "We look forward to his continued leadership and contributions to the Company's financial management strategies that support the growth initiatives of our business.'' As vice president, Taxes, Rubaie is responsible for all areas of the Company's worldwide corporate tax activities. He provides leadership to Avery Dennison business units on tax-related issues and advises senior management on structuring financial transactions, including acquisitions and divestitures. Rubaie reports to Daniel R. O'Bryant, senior vice president, Finance, and chief financial officer. Rubaie joined Avery Dennison in December, 2000, as vice president, Taxes, in a staff officer role. Prior to joining Avery Dennison, he served in several key positions at BHP, a global natural resource company. Most recently, he was appointed vice president, Commercial, at the company's global diamonds and industrial minerals operations based in Melbourne, Australia. Prior to that, he held various strategic tax positions in San Francisco and an overseas assignment in Santiago, Chile, as tax counsel. Before joining BHP in 1994, Rubaie worked as an international tax consultant in Detroit, Mich., and Washington, D.C., at the public accounting firms of Deloitte & Touche and Coopers & Lybrand. In 1988, Rubaie earned a bachelor of arts degree in economics and management from Albion College in Albion, Mich., and in 1992 he earned a juris doctorate degree from the University of Detroit School of Law.