Ambac Financial Group, Inc. Hires Sean Leonard as Chief Financial Offi

NEW YORK, April 11 /PRNewswire/ --

- Thomas Gandolfo to Assume Operational Responsibilities

Ambac Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: ABK) today announced that Sean T. Leonard, Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP ("PwC"), has accepted an offer to become Chief Financial Officer of the company. Thomas J. Gandolfo, current Chief Financial Officer, will take over responsibility for Ambac's investment and other capital market activities. Those responsibilities shall include Ambac's global structured credit and Financial Services businesses as well as the investment portfolios. It is anticipated that Mr. Gandolfo, after assisting in an orderly transition, will assume his new responsibilities by June 30.

Mr. Leonard is a Partner in PwC's New York office. He has over 18 years of public accounting experience and has been involved with PwC's insurance and capital markets practices over his career, particularly the securitization market for the last ten years and the financial guarantee industry for the last five years. Prior to his admission into the partnership, Mr. Leonard represented PwC on the Financial Accounting Standards Board as a practice fellow where he was actively involved in several financial instrument accounting pronouncements.

Robert J. Genader, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "Ambac has been very fortunate to have Tom leading our accounting and finance teams for the past two years. His dedication and thoroughness have been invaluable to the company. Tom expressed to me his desire to join the business side of the company and I believe his skill set will continue to benefit Ambac in his new role." Mr. Genader continued, "We are equally fortunate to have found an excellent successor in Sean Leonard to take over where Tom leaves off. Sean's exceptional experience in the technical accounting area and his industry experience will be a tremendous asset to Ambac."

In a separate release today, Ambac announced that John Uhlein, Executive Vice President, will assume responsibility for commercial asset-backed securities and Emerging Markets, in addition to his current responsibilities which include consumer asset-backed securities, structured insurance and conduits. Douglas Renfield-Miller, Senior Managing Director, will assume responsibility for Ambac's European operations in addition to his current responsibility for the Australia/Asia-Pacific business.

Ambac Financial Group, Inc., headquartered in New York City, is a holding company whose affiliates provide financial guarantees and financial services to clients in both the public and private sectors around the world. Ambac's principal operating subsidiary, Ambac Assurance Corporation, a leading guarantor of public finance and structured finance obligations, has earned triple-A ratings, the highest ratings available from Moody's Investors Service, Inc., Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, Fitch, Inc. and Rating and Investment Information, Inc. Ambac Financial Group, Inc. common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker symbol ABK).

Web site: http://www.ambac.com