ITW Board of Directors Elects James H. Wooten, Jr. as Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary

GLENVIEW, Ill., Aug. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Illinois Tool Works Inc. announced today that its Board of Directors has elected James H. Wooten, Jr. to the position of Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. His responsibilities will include managing the corporate legal department, government affairs, ethics and environmental and safety. Wooten succeeds Stewart S. Hudnut, ITW's former General Counsel, who has retired after 14 years with the Company.

Mr. Wooten joined the ITW Legal Department in 1988, serving for the last 17 years as Associate General Counsel during a time of significant growth and changes. He has been responsible for mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, SEC filings and supervising outside counsel on litigation matters.

Prior to joining ITW, Mr. Wooten was an associate at the Chicago-based law firm of Gardner, Carton & Douglas. Mr. Wooten received his B.A. in Criminal Justice from the University of Illinois in 1978 and his J.D. from the University of Chicago in 1982.

Mr. Wooten is a member of the Executive Leadership Council, Minority Corporate Counsel Association, the American Bar Association, the Chicago Bar Association, the Cook County Bar Association, the Association of Corporate Counsel, and the Society of Corporate Secretaries and Governance Professionals.

ITW is an $11.7 billion in revenues diversified manufacturer of highly engineered components and industrial systems and consumables. The Company consists of approximately 650 decentralized operations in 45 countries and employs some 49,000 people.