WESTPORT, Conn., Feb. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Cognizant Corporation (NYSE: CZT)
today announced that William C. Van Faasen, president and chief executive
officer of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts, will join Cognizant's
board of directors.
    "Bill's knowledge of the healthcare industry and his extensive experience
managing market-driven, customer-focused health services organizations are
valuable assets as Cognizant expands its role as the leading provider of
global health information solutions," said Robert E. Weissman, Cognizant
chairman and chief executive officer.
    Van Faasen, 49, joined Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts in 1990
as executive vice president and chief operating officer, and was named
president in 1992.
    Previously, he was senior vice president of operational services at Blue
Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan, where he served in various operational,
marketing, and healthcare affairs capacities over a 20-year period.
    Van Faasen is involved in the leadership of a wide array of business and
community activities, and is a member of the board of directors of the Bank of
Boston and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts.  He holds a B.A.
degree from Hope College and an MBA degree from Michigan State University.
    Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts is a non-profit health
services company providing a full range of managed care and traditional health
benefits, products and services to business and individual customers, to
healthcare providers and to federal, state and local governments.
    Based in Westport, Conn., Cognizant Corporation integrates information
with technology to create business insight.  Principal operating units are:
IMS, which offers global information solutions to the pharmaceutical and
healthcare industries, and Nielsen Media Research, the leader in audience
measurement for electronic media.
    Cognizant also is the largest shareholder of Gartner Group, the premier
provider of research and advisory services to the information technology
industry.

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