FirstMerit Appoints Russ Strobel To Board Of Directors

AKRON, Ohio, July 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- FirstMerit Corporation (Nasdaq: FMER) announces the appointment of Russ M. Strobel to the company's board of directors.

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Strobel is the recently retired chairman, CEO and president of Nicor Inc. and Nicor Gas Company, headquartered in Naperville, Ill. In those positions, he was responsible for all of the operations of Nicor and its companies. Prior to joining Nicor in 2000 as general counsel and corporate secretary, Strobel served as partner in the law firms of Altheimer & Gray, Jenner & Block and Friedman & Koven. During that time, he represented publicly and privately held companies on a wide variety of subject matter areas including corporate finance, governance and accounting.

"FirstMerit is pleased to welcome Russ to the board of directors," said Paul G. Greig, chairman, president and CEO. "His experience and perspective will provide our board and management team with new insight relating to our business and our ability to succeed despite constantly changing economic challenges and opportunities. With the addition of Russ to our board, we look forward to continuing to provide the best service to our customers and increasing value to our shareholders."



Strobel is a member of The Commercial Club of Chicago and a member of its Civic Committee; a trustee of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra where he chairs the Audit Committee and serves on the Finance and Executive Committees; a director and member of the Executive Committee of the Economic Club of Chicago; a director and secretary/treasurer of the Illinois Business Roundtable; and a member of the Dean's Advisory Committee for the University of Illinois College of Law. He received a bachelor's degree from Northwestern University and earned his law degree with high honors from the University of Illinois. Strobel is also a director of MWH, a privately held global engineering firm, and serves on the Capital Advisory Committee and the Compensation and Executive Personnel Committee.

About FirstMerit

FirstMerit Corporation is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Akron, Ohio, with assets of $14.7 billion as of March 31, 2012 and 205 banking offices and 213 ATMs in Ohio, Western Pennsylvania, and Chicago, Illinois areas. FirstMerit provides a complete range of banking and other financial services to consumers and businesses through its core operations. FirstMerit was named a 2011 Greenwich Associates Small Business Banking Excellence Award winner in two national categories, Financial Stability and Treasury Management – Customer Service, and was recognized for Treasury Management – Overall Satisfaction in the Midwest for Middle Market Banking. Principal wholly-owned subsidiaries include: FirstMerit Bank, N.A., FirstMerit Mortgage Corporation and FirstMerit Title Agency, Ltd.

FirstMerit CorporationMedia Contact: Rob TownsendPhone: [phone]E-mail: [e-mail]

SOURCE FirstMerit Corporation

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