Associated: names Gelco CEO Karen Beckwith to Board

News Release

Jon Drayna, Vice President, Corporate Communications
Associated Banc-Corp

920-491-7006

GREEN BAY, Wis. – April 8, 2004 – Associated Banc-Corp (Nasdaq: ASBC) has
appointed Karen T. Beckwith to its Board of Directors. Ms. Beckwith is
president and CEO of Gelco Information Network, a privately-held provider of
transaction and information processing systems to corporations and
government agencies, based in Eden Prairie, Minn.
She joined Gelco in 1999 as the chief financial officer of Gelco Information
Network. Beckwith then served as chief operating officer of the company’s
Trade Management Group, a division of Gelco Information Network, and was
named its president and CEO in 2001. In January 2003, she was named
president and CEO of Gelco Information Network. Before joining Gelco, she
was with Ceridian Corp. for four years, most recently as senior vice
president for business development and integration with Ceridian Employer
Services. She also served as corporate controller for Deluxe Corp., and as
an auditor with the accounting firm of Deloitte, Haskins & Sells in
Minneapolis.

Ms. Beckwith is a certified public accountant, and holds a master of
business administration degree from the University of Minnesota.
She serves on the board of directors of CNS, Inc., the makers of Breathe
Right Nasal Strips and other health-related products, and on the board of
H-G Holdings Inc., the parent company of Gelco.
“We are pleased to be adding someone with Karen’s depth of experience to our
Board of Directors,” said Paul Beideman, president and CEO of Associated
Banc-Corp. “The company will also benefit from her strong ties to the
Minneapolis market.”

“I am excited to be joining Associated Banc-Corp’s Board of Directors,”
Beckwith said. “I look forward to being able to combine my experience in the
financial and services markets with my Minnesota background to help
Associated achieve its goals.”

Ms. Beckwith’s appointment is effective today. She will stand for election
at the 2005 Annual Shareholder Meeting.
Gelco Information Network, a wholly-owned subsidiary of H-G Holdings,
provides comprehensive outsourced services for travel expense management,
and systems to facilitate trade for consumer goods retailers.

Associated Banc-Corp, headquartered in Green Bay, Wis., is a diversified
multibank holding company with total assets of $15.2 billion, serving
Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota through more than 200 banking offices.
Associated offers a full range of traditional banking services and a variety
of other financial products and services. More information about Associated
Banc-Corp is available at www.AssociatedBank.com.