HARTFORD, Conn., October 31, 2008 — Aetna (NYSE: AET) announced today that Ronald A. Williams, Aetna chairman and chief executive officer, was named Best Healthcare Executive by the Executive Council, the premier business forum for leaders and innovators at the sixth annual New York Ten Awards™.  The Ten Awards is a selection of ten companies and individuals in the greater New York business community that display extraordinary innovation and leadership in their industry and beyond.

The awards were presented at the Ten Awards Gala held on October 28, 2008, at Cipriani Wall Street. IBM was the host sponsor and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Vice Chair, Chief Prosecuting Attorney, Riverkeeper and New York City Police Commissioner, Raymond W. Kelly, provided keynote addresses.

"To be recognized for innovative work and leadership in the health care industry by this esteemed group of business leaders is truly a personal honor for me, and one that I am proud to accept on behalf of everyone at Aetna," Williams said.  "It is particularly gratifying to have been nominated by UPS, which is an important customer of ours, and we will continue to focus on delivering the innovation and leadership that our members and customers, such as UPS, expect and deserve from us." 

The Ten Awards winners were decided from open nominations submitted to the Executive Council of New York. Hundreds of nominations were screened and evaluated by a panel of judges comprised of prominent journalists from New York-based local and national business media outlets, and evaluated based on the individual's contributions to his or her organization's objectives and leadership; the organization's impact on business innovation, both in New York and nationally; and the individual's industry leadership beyond his or her organization.  For more information on the Ten Awards and the Executive Council of New York, please visit www.execcouncil.org.

About The Executive Council
The Executive Council is New York's premier business forum for senior executives, their advisors and capital markets professionals. Through its member base of 3,500 New York metro business leaders, the organization has built a reputation for highly acclaimed conferences, executive education programs and member-hosted gatherings that focus on critical business and leadership issues at the forefront of corporate America today. The Executive Council Corporate Members range from American Express, IBM and Microsoft to Sprint, Cushman & Wakefield, and McKinsey & Co. as well as many other large and emerging growth companies.

About Aetna
Aetna (NYSE: AET) is one of the nation's leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving approximately 37.2 million people with information and resources to help them make better informed decisions about their health care. Aetna offers a broad range of traditional and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, group life and disability plans, and medical management capabilities and health care management services for Medicaid plans. Our customers include employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labor groups and expatriates.
www.aetna.com