The 2005 KeyBank Diversity Thought Leadership Series is an expansion of what began last year as an internal program at KeyCorp in which a group of internal dialogues engaged the company's senior executives and managers in topical issues important to cultivating inclusive work environments. These internal dialogues will continue this year, with each speaker providing important perspectives relative to Key's business objectives. However, now is the time to broaden the message, according to Margot J. Copeland, executive vice president and director of corporate diversity at KeyCorp.

"Cleveland has a significant opportunity at its doorstep to enjoy the same business excellence and regional prosperity through multiculturalism that distinguishes truly great communities," says Copeland, who also serves as chair of the Key Foundation. "There's no substitute for the kind of economic, educational and social vitality gained through diversity and inclusion. The variety of voices and viewpoints heard through The City Club of Cleveland make it an ideal arena for exploring pervasive issues important to achieving this kind of success."

Key is one of 71 area companies that have joined with the Cleveland Commission on Economic Partnerships and Inclusion to help meet inclusion and diversity goals. "We're holding ourselves accountable for ensuring diversity and inclusion at Key," says Copeland, "Bringing people together in a business environment who did not grow up in the same neighborhoods or attend the same places of worship, and collectively leveraging these natural assets and resources, is challenging lifetime work. This is but a microcosm of what we should all be more broadly and collaboratively striving to achieve in our society. An enlightened city is a smart city and, to that end, it's time we start holding ourselves accountable as a community."

All 2005 KeyBank Diversity Thought Leadership Series speeches will be broadcast live on WCLV 104.9 at 12:30 p.m. and transmitted to The City Club radio network of more than 140 stations around the country. They will also be broadcast by WVIZ ideastream(R) at 10:30 a.m. the following Sunday. More than 400,000 people listen to The City Club Forums each week.

The City Club of Cleveland
Established to encourage new ideas and a free exchange of thought, The City Club is the oldest continuous free speech forum in the country, renowned for its tradition of debate and discussion. Its mission is to inform, educate and inspire citizens by presenting significant ideas and providing opportunities for dialogue in a collegial setting. For more information about the City Club of Cleveland call 888-223-6786 or visit www.cityclub.org.

KeyCorp
Cleveland-based KeyCorp is one of the nation's largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $88 billion. Key companies provide investment management, retail and commercial banking, consumer finance, and investment banking products and services to individuals and companies throughout the United States and, for certain businesses, internationally.

Note to Editors: For up-to-date company information, media contacts and facts and figures about Key lines of business, visit our Media Newsroom at www.Key.com/newsroom.