CHICAGO, July 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR) today announced the appointment of Charles L. Atwood to the Company's Board of Trustees. Mr. Atwood, who will also serve as a member of the Company's Audit Committee, qualifies as an independent trustee under the New York Stock Exchange's proposed corporate governance rules and as an audit committee financial expert under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20010801/ERPTCLOGO )

Mr. Atwood, age 54, currently serves as Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: HET), the leader in the gaming industry. Mr. Atwood received his M.B.A. in finance from Tulane University and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He has been with Harrah's and its predecessor companies for the last twenty-four years. His responsibilities at Harrah's include all finance functions of the company, including treasury, accounting, internal audit, investor relations, as well as planning and analysis.

"With his extensive financial and accounting experience, we believe Chuck is an excellent addition to the Company's Board of Trustees," said Bruce W. Duncan, Equity Residential's President and CEO. "We expect that he will add valuable insight and advice as an independent member of our Board, and his experience complements the talents of the current members of the Board."

Equity Residential is the largest publicly traded apartment company in America. Nationwide, Equity Residential owns or has investments in 1,014 properties in 35 states consisting of 217,804 units. For more information on Equity Residential please visit our website at www.equityapartments.com .

SOURCE  Equity Residential
    -0-                             07/01/2003
    /CONTACT:  Marty McKenna of Equity Residential, +1-312-928-1901/
    /Photo:  NewsCom:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20010801/ERPTCLOGO
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    /Web site:  http://www.equityapartments.com /
    (EQR)

CO:  Equity Residential
ST:  Illinois
IN:  FIN RLT
SU:  PER





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3013 07/01/200310:55 EDThttp://www.prnewswire.com