MEMPHIS, Tenn., Jan. 18, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Simon F. Cooper, president and chief operating officer of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company L.L.C., was elected to the board of directors of First Horizon National Corp. (NYSE:FHN) at the board's meeting today. Cooper also will be included in the class of directors to be voted on by shareholders at First Horizon's annual meeting on April 19.
Cooper oversees the operations, development and strategic positioning of one of the world's most powerful brands, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, which is owned by Marriott International, earned the highest ranking in the luxury segment of the J.D. Power and Assoc. 2003 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study, a AAA Five Diamond designation for 21 hotels and recognition as "One of the Top Employers in Asia" by The Asian Wall Street Journal/Far Eastern Economic Review.
Cooper is an executive officer of Marriott International Inc. and has been an executive with Marriott Lodging Canada, Marriott Lodging International, Delta Hotels and Resorts and OMNI Hotels USA. Born in Britain, Cooper began his hospitality career when he immigrated to Canada in 1972 and worked for Canadian Pacific Hotels and Resorts. He was educated in England and earned an MBA from the University of Toronto.
"Simon can give us insights into our efforts to become a world-class brand," said Ken Glass, chairman and CEO of First Horizon National Corp. "He brings additional diversity to the types of companies our directors represent. He's also our 11th independent director, and those are both pluses for us from a corporate governance perspective. I'm especially looking forward to benefiting from his expertise as the leader of a top service provider like Ritz-Carlton. We've said that our mission is to become a premier national financial services company that creates the highest levels of value and produces long-term levels of industry-leading profitability and growth, and I'm excited that Simon has accepted our invitation to help us achieve that as a member of our board of directors."
About First Horizon
The 12,000 employees of First Horizon National Corp. (NYSE:FHN) provide financial services to individual and business customers through hundreds of offices located in more than 40 states. The corporation's three major brands -- FTN Financial, First Horizon and First Tennessee -- provide customers with a broad range of products and services including:
-- Capital markets, with one of the nation's top underwriters of U.S. government agency securities
-- Mortgage banking, with one of the nation's top 15 mortgage originators and servicers, which earned a top-10 ranking in customer satisfaction from J.D. Power and Associates
-- Retail/commercial banking, with seven financial center locations in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, the largest market share in Tennessee and one of the highest customer retention rates of any bank in the country
FHN companies have been recognized as some of the nation's best employers by AARP, Working Mother, Business Week and Fortune magazines. FHN also was named one of the nation's 100 best corporate citizens by Business Ethics magazine. More information can be found at www.FirstHorizon.com.