- Veteran Public Policy Expert to Head Government Affairs; Archipelago to Open Office in Washington DC -

CHICAGO, March 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Archipelago Holdings, Inc. (PCX: AX), owner and operator of the Archipelago Exchange(R) (ArcaEx(R)), the nation's first totally open, all-electronic stock exchange, today announced the appointment of Margaret Lauderback as Managing Director, Government Affairs.

In this newly created position at Archipelago, Lauderback will be responsible for representing the interests of Archipelago before Members of Congress, the White House, other government entities, and think tanks, along with maintaining and growing Archipelago's already strong relationships and awareness in Washington, DC.

"Appointing Margaret, a seasoned public policy, government affairs and technology industry expert, along with establishing an office in Washington is important since many significant issues in our industry are debated and decided there," said Kevin O'Hara, Chief Administrative Office and General Counsel of Archipelago Holdings. "As both an operator of a stock exchange and a publicly-traded company, we believe it to be strategically important to have a permanent voice in Washington to engage and advocate on our behalf."

Lauderback possesses strong relationships within the technology industry. She most recently served as a Vice President of the Technology Network (TechNet), a network of CEOs that promotes the growth of technology and the innovation economy, where she was responsible for policy, advocacy and political activities with elected officials in Congress as well as the White House. Prior to this position, she was the Vice President of Membership, where she was responsible for membership retention, recruitment and expansion. Preceding her work at TechNet, Lauderback has held government affairs positions with companies and organizations including Chicago-based Ameritech. She has also worked for several senior elected officials during her career.

"As a leader in innovation in an ever changing industry, it's absolutely vital that a company like Archipelago continue to work closely with government decision makers to remain successful," commented Lauderback. "Archipelago has built a business model based on 'do the right thing by the investor' and has advocated that model in the market structure policy debate at the SEC and on Capitol Hill. I look forward to building on this foundation to enhance Archipelago's presence and influence in our nation's capital."

Lauderback holds a Bachelor of Journalism from The University of Texas at Austin. She will be based in Archipelago's soon to be established Washington, DC offices.

About Archipelago Holdings

Archipelago Holdings (PCX: AX) operates The Archipelago Exchange(R) (ArcaEx(R)) the first totally open all- electronic stock exchange in the United States. ArcaEx trades all Nasdaq-listed equity securities and exchange listed equity securities, including those listed on the New York Stock Exchange(R), American Stock Exchange(R), and Pacific Exchange(R). In addition to offering core execution services, ArcaEx provides corporate clients with listing services and innovative data products. In 2004, Archipelago launched ArcaVision to provide corporate and trading clients with more transparent market data, analytical tools and access to market-wide and ArcaEx specific trading information. Archipelago Holdings completed its initial public offering in August 2004. For more information please visit http://www.archipelago.com.

ArcaEx's, past transaction performance is not necessarily indicative of its future results. Periodically, ArcaEX's transaction performance will experience fluctuations due to unforeseen factors effecting trading activity, including seasonality, general economic, political and market conditions, unforeseen market closures or other disruptions in trading. A description of the factors that may influence ArcaEx's volume of securities transactions are identified in Archipelago's Prospectus, dated August 12, 2004.

Certain statements in this press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on Archipelago's current expectations and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause Archipelago's actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the statements. There can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Factors that could cause Archipelago's results to differ materially from current expectations include: general economic and business conditions, industry trends, competitive conditions, regulatory developments as well as other risks or factors identified in Archipelago's Prospectus, dated August 12, 2004, and form 10-Q dated November 9, 2004, each of which are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and available on Archipelago's website: http://www.archipelago.com.

Archipelago Contact:
Margaret Nagle
312-442-7083
SOURCE Archipelago Holdings
03/16/2005
CONTACT: Margaret Nagle of Archipelago Holdings, +1-312-442-7083
/Web site: http://www.archipelago.com
(AX)