United Technologies Corporation was selected as the 2005 winner of the Award for Excellence in Foreign Investment, sponsored by Alfa-Bank and the Lauder Institute of the Wharton School of Business. This award honors a foreign firm that is conducting business successfully in Russia, while at the same time contributing to a broader improvement of Russia’s business culture and society as a whole.

In announcing the Award, Alfa-Bank Chairman Mikhail Fridman spoke of the motivation and rationale behind the event. “The Russian economy needs the expertise, experience and ethics of Western partners. This Award is about much more than profits. It is about recognizing the foreign companies — Procter & Gamble in 2003, Nestle in 2004, and now United Technologies — whose presence in the Russian market provides vital links to the West, and improves the lives and business practices of the Russian people.”

The Award will be presented at a dinner ceremony attended by over 200 prominent Russian business and political leaders and under the patronage of the Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation. Mrs. Lisi Kaufman, Senior Vice President of Government and International Affairs at United Technologies Corporation, will accept the Award for UTC. They Keynote Address will be delivered by the former British Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. Sir John Major.

The Award is offered to the foreign company operating in Russia which best combines successful business operation with a strong sense of social interest and attention to training and preparing Russian workers and managers. United Technologies, one of the leading international investors and producers in the Russian market, has established an impressive business record and an equally impressive record on social issues, training and education. United Technologies now operates 25 joint projects and ventures in Russia through its impressive network of world-class products and companies, including Pratt & Whitney engines, Sikorsky helicopters, Otis elevators, Carrier air conditioning and refrigeration, Hamilton Sundstrand aerospace and industrial products, UTC Power fuel cells, and UTC Fire & Security protection systems. UTC’s overall foreign investment in Russia exceeds $500million.

A distinguished jury appointed by Alfa-Bank and the Lauder Institute presents the Award. Jury members for the 2005 Award are: Peter Aven (President of Alfa-Bank), Richard Burt (Former US Ambassador to Germany), Yegor Gaidar (Director, Institute for the Economy in Transition), Richard Herring (Director of the Lauder Institute), Shiv Khemka (Board of Governors, Lauder Institute), Paul Fribourg (Board of Governors, Lauder Institute), Leonard Lauder (Chairman, Estee Lauder Companies), Raf Shakirov (Editor in Chief, Izvestia Newspaper), Bernie Sucher (Chairman, Alfa Capital).

Past Winners: 2003 — Procter & Gamble, 2004 — Nestle.