CLEVELAND, OHIO…Eaton Corporation (NYSE:ETN) today announced the election of John S. Mitchell to the position of Vice President-Taxes, effective immediately. He will report to Adrian T. Dillon, Executive Vice President--Chief Financial and Planning Officer, and be located at the company's Eaton Center corporate headquarters in Cleveland.

In his new position Mitchell, who joins Eaton from The Limited, Inc., in Columbus, Ohio will have responsibility for the management of Eaton's worldwide tax liabilities.

Mitchell, who holds a bachelor's degree in accounting and a master's degree in taxation from the University of Akron, began his career in 1978 with Deloitte Haskins & Sells as a tax accountant. In 1981, he joined the Akron, Ohio-based Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company where he worked in a variety of tax positions until joining The Limited in 1987 as Director of Taxes. He was promoted to his most recent position as Vice President of Taxes in 1997.

During his tenure with The Limited, Mitchell had leadership responsibilities for business, labor, financial and tax aspects of many of the companies joint ventures or subsidiaries, in such locations as Mexico, China, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Hungary, Poland, Western Europe and Australia.

"I am happy to welcome someone of John Mitchell's caliber to the Eaton team," said Dillon. "His background in the taxation field is an excellent fit with Eaton. Not only will his international experience be a plus, John understands the complexities and nuances of working in a multibillion dollar global corporation."

Eaton is a global manufacturer of highly engineered products that serve industrial, vehicle, construction, commercial, aerospace and semiconductor markets. Principal products include hydraulic products and fluid connectors, electrical power distribution and control equipment, truck drivetrain systems, engine components, ion implanters and a wide variety of controls. Headquartered in Cleveland, the company has 64,000 employees and 205 manufacturing sites in 25 countries around the world. Eaton's sales for 1998 were $6.6 billion. On April 9, 1999, Eaton acquired Aeroquip-Vickers, Inc., which had sales of $2.1 billion in 1998.