October 30, 2008

LNK Partners, a private equity firm focused on the consumer and retail sector, today announced that Phil Marineau, a leading consumer products industry executive, has joined the firm. Mr. Marineau is the former President of Quaker Oats Company, the former CEO of Pepsi North America, and the former CEO of Levi Strauss & Co.

LNK is known for its unique blend of investing and operating experience. The addition of Mr. Marineau broadens and deepens the capabilities of the LNK team and its world-class network of industry relationships. “With the addition of Phil,” said David Landau, Partner, LNK Partners, “we now have three individuals who have run multi-billion-dollar iconic consumer brands. We believe this enhances our ability to add tangible value to the companies we back, and continues to position LNK as the partner of choice for great management teams.”

LNK was founded by David Landau, the former head of the U.S. consumer and retail group of private equity firm Apax Partners; Henry Nasella, the former President of Staples and CEO of Star Markets; and Bruce Klatsky, the former CEO of Phillips-Van Heusen. LNK’s investments to date include the recapitalization of Au Bon Pain, a leader in the fast-casual restaurant category, and the recapitalization of Ariat, the world’s premier and fastest-growing performance equestrian brand.

Mr. Marineau said, “I am excited to join the LNK team, which has distinguished itself as a very successful, highly focused consumer fund. I am looking forward to working with David Landau, one of the private equity industry’s most successful investors in consumer and retail companies, and Henry Nasella and Bruce Klatsky, two senior operating executives who have overseen the growth of billion-dollar businesses, and for whom I have a great deal of respect.”

Mr. Marineau will be working with and providing perspective to existing portfolio companies, as well as helping to evaluate and pursue new investment opportunities for LNK.

Highlights of Mr. Marineau’s consumer products career include:

• A 23-year veteran of the Quaker Oats Company, he held positions of increasing responsibility, including President. At Quaker, he played a leading role in building Gatorade into a global brand, from $70 million to $1 billion in sales.

• As President and COO of Dean Foods Company, he led the successful repositioning of milk as a beverage, introducing the “Chug” packaging that revolutionized the dairy business.

• During his tenure as CEO of Pepsi North America, Pepsi outgrew Coke in North America and the Pepsi Bottling Group was spun off into an independent public company.

• As CEO of Levi Strauss & Co., a leading global apparel company with more than $4 billion of sales in more than 110 countries, he and his leadership team were credited with restoring Levi’s financial strength and reestablishing its competitiveness across all dimensions of the business, and revitalizing the Levi’s brand around the world.

Mr. Marineau is Chairman of the Board of Shutterfly Inc. and holds numerous other board positions, including positions with Kaiser Permanente and Georgetown University. He received his MBA from Northwestern University and his BA in history from Georgetown University.