Alex Blanco has joined Ecolab as executive vice president and chief supply chain officer, effective Jan. 1. Blanco will oversee the company's global supply chain operations, including Ecolab's 98 manufacturing plants and more than 200 distribution and other supply chain facilities around the world.

"Alex is a superb leader who has a track record building world-class supply chain capabilities," said Douglas M. Baker, Jr., chairman and chief executive officer, Ecolab. "We are delighted to have him join our leadership team."

Blanco joins Ecolab after 30 years with Procter & Gamble Co. (P&G). Most recently, he served as vice president, Product Supply Global Beauty Sector, responsible for strategy, planning, procurement, manufacturing, engineering, quality assurance and logistics. In previous roles, Blanco led Supply Chain operations for other key P&G divisions and held several international assignments.

Blanco received a bachelor's degree in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University.

About Ecolab
With 2011 pro forma sales of $11 billion and more than 40,000 employees, Ecolab Inc. (NYSE: ECL) is the global leader in water, hygiene and energy technologies and services that provide and protect clean water, safe food, abundant energy and healthy environments. Ecolab delivers comprehensive programs and services to the food, energy, healthcare, industrial and hospitality markets in more than 160 countries. For more Ecolab news and information, visit www.ecolab.com.

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Ecolab Inc.
Roman Blahoski, 651-293-4385
MediaRelations@Ecolab.com