MUMBAI: PricewaterhouseCoopers ( PWC), in its endeavour to renew and continue its association with the world-renowned Academy Awards, today announced that Brad Oltmanns, managing partner of the firm's Los Angeles office, has joined the leadership team managing the 2005 Academy Awards balloting process alongside PricewaterhouseCoopers partners Greg Garrison and Rick Rosas.

These three will be fully responsible for the voting results which are scheduled to be announced during the 77th Academy Awards telecast on Sunday, 27 February.

"The Academy Awards balloting and voting demands the highest level of integrity and trust. We continue to find that in our relationship with PricewaterhouseCoopers," said Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences executive director Bruce Davis. "We look forward to welcoming Brad to the stage later this month."

"I am joining an exclusive group of PricewaterhouseCoopers partners who have been entrusted with one of the entertainment industry's best kept secrets for 71 years running," said Oltmanns. "It is a serious responsibility and certainly one of the biggest honors of my career. I am proud to continue the tradition for years to come."

Oltmanns joins the group of individuals who have safeguarded the world's most famous, hand-counted secrets. He has served the firm for 25 years, and is in charge of managing PricewaterhouseCoopers' entire 1,000-person staff in Los Angeles. Oltmanns has also worked in leadership positions in the firm's Chicago, New York and Minneapolis offices.

"I look at Brad and remember when PricewaterhouseCoopers first offered me the opportunity to lead the Academy Awards balloting process -- the excitement, the privilege, the honor," said PricewaterhouseCoopers' longest-time lead balloting partner (retired) Frank Johnson.

"With a few helpful hints, I'm sure that Brad will make his mark among the exclusive group of past partners who have shared in this experience of a lifetime."