May 1, 2003

People's Names Hari Makkala as Senior Vice President, Chief Technology Officer

BRIDGEPORT, CONN. - Hari Makkala, an information technology professional with more than a decade of experience, has been named senior vice president, chief technology officer, People's Bank announced today. He is responsible for continuous improvements of the bank's information technology resources to allow employees to better serve customers.

Makkala is responsible for overseeing Technical Services and Production Operations and will report to Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer Jaci Coleman.

"The addition of Hari helps us to use technology for creating service excellence and to ensure our employees have and use all the necessary tools for success," said Coleman. "After a long search, we're thrilled to have him become part of the People's team."

A resident of Manchester, Makkala most recently served as assistant vice president of Information Management and Technology at CIGNA, where his responsibilities included software development, quality assurance, infrastructure development and IT operations support for one of CIGNA's business units. He also has held positions with Aetna Insurance and Geotrace Technologies. Makkala earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Osmania University in Hyderabad, India and a master's degree in computer engineering from the University of Houston.

"People's is a great company with a strong tradition of innovation," said Makkala. "Technology can assist the bank in providing customers with faster and more efficient service and improved convenience through features like online banking. I look forward to working with the bank's employees and customers to provide technology enhancements that facilitate their experience at People's."

People's (peoples.com) is a diversified financial services company providing commercial, consumer, insurance and investment services. Founded in 1842, it is the largest state-chartered bank in Connecticut with assets of $12 billion, 155 branches and more than 230 ATMs. People's is a leader in consumer and commercial banking, residential lending, insurance sales, supermarket banking and is the nation's 19th-largest issuer of MasterCard and Visa credit cards. People's subsidiaries offer brokerage services, asset management, equipment financing and leasing, and insurance services.