Sr. Investor Relations Executive Paul Sagan Joins Sharon Merrill Associates: 20-Year Corporate Communications and IR Veteran Rejoins Nationally Recognized Investor Relations Agency

Sharon Merrill Associates, Inc., www.investorrelations.com, a nationally recognized investor relations agency and corporate communications strategic advisory firm, today announced the appointment of senior communications executive Paul J. Sagan as a vice president. Sagan will strengthen the firm's financial media relations and corporate communications practice in addition to counseling clients on investor relations and transaction communications issues.

BOSTON (BusinessWire EON) September 20, 2007 -- Sharon Merrill Associates, Inc., www.investorrelations.com, a nationally recognized investor relations agency and corporate communications strategic advisory firm, today announced the appointment of senior communications executive Paul J. Sagan as a vice president. Sagan will strengthen the firm’s financial media relations and corporate communications practice in addition to counseling clients on investor relations and transaction communications issues.

Paul has a long history of developing effective communications programs that align with a client's objectives and help build a preference for their products and services in the marketplace

Sagan returns to Sharon Merrill Associates after five years as a senior consultant at several leading New England financial media and public relations firms, where he garnered national media coverage for clients in the investment banking, asset management and corporate retirement sectors.

“Paul has a long history of developing effective communications programs that align with a client’s objectives and help build a preference for their products and services in the marketplace,” said Maureen Wolff-Reid, the firm’s president. “His skill in communicating complex issues in a way that resonates with the business media will be a strong asset for our financial media relations and publicly traded clients.”

Sagan has nearly 20 years of experience in investor relations and corporate communications, including senior communications positions at Thermo Electron Corporation, Allmerica Financial and Camp Dresser & McKee. At Thermo Electron, Sagan helped develop the IPO communications strategy for eight subsidiary companies involved in the analytical instrumentation market. At Allmerica Financial, Sagan was a member of the communications team for one of the nation’s first insurance company demutualizations. His prior work at Sharon Merrill Associates included three years counseling companies and developing strategic investor relations programs for clients in the life science, high technology and industrial capital goods sectors.

“For more than 20 years, Sharon Merrill Associates has provided a total corporate communications solution,” said Sagan. “The firm’s multi-disciplinary approach to IR, financial media relations and complex transaction communications gives our clients a strategic and competitive advantage.”

About Sharon Merrill Associates, Inc.

Sharon Merrill Associates has been executing award-winning investor relations and corporate communications programs for its clients since 1985. The agency serves public and private companies in a broad range of industries including solar energy, software, wireless telecommunications, biopharma, life sciences, manufacturing, refined petroleum, medical devices, hazardous waste management and semiconductor technology. Sharon Merrill Associates’ principals have earned wide recognition for innovative approaches to investor relations and for leadership in IR best practices as officers and board members of Financial Executives International, the National Investor Relations Institute and the National Association of Corporate Directors. The agency won the 2006, 2005 and 2004 Bell Ringer Award for Investor Relations and overall “Best in Show” Super Bell award in 2004. To learn more about SMA, please visit the company’s website at www.InvestorRelations.com.