The board now includes:
-- R. Brad Oates, Chairman and Chief Strategy Officer of Stone Advisors, LP
-- Tyler M. Ricks, former CEO of Yumnuts Naturals, former Senior Vice President and General Manager of Bear Naked, Inc., and former Vice President of Pepsi-Lipton
-- James J. Zenni, President and Chief Executive Officer of Z Capital, one of Neways' new major shareholders
-- Mark Gudis, a Managing Director of S.A.C. Capital Advisors, L.P., one of Neways' new major shareholders
-- Rahul Sawhney, a Managing Director of Z Capital
-- Sarah Jacoby, a Managing Director of S.A.C. Capital
-- Scott St. Clair, CEO of Neways
The Board will work closely with Mr. St. Clair, who has led Neways over the last few years and through a restructuring that enabled the Company to substantially reduce its debt and position itself to pursue substantial growth opportunities through new product and new market development.
Mr. St. Clair stated, "We are proud of the outstanding group of executives we have assembled to serve on the Neways Board of Directors. Our directors bring global branded consumer products and strategic leadership experience to the Board. The addition of Tyler Ricks and Brad Oates adds substantial depth of strategic leadership and industry experience."
Mr. St. Clair added, "We are also pleased to have the engagement and involvement of Z Capital Partners and S.A.C. Capital, who in the aggregate own a majority of Neways. Coupled with an experienced management team, the new board brings together the right balance of Fortune 500 and international experience across consumer products and financial industries. We believe Neways heads into 2012 positioned for considerable success."
Golden Gate Capital shall have a board observer role on the board of directors.
Biographies of New Directors R. Brad Oates is Chairman and Chief Strategy Officer of Stone Advisors, LP ("Stone Advisors"), a private investment firm with a focus on turnaround as well as early-stage situations. Mr. Oates has had a distinguished career spanning over twenty years leading several turnaround and growth transactions in his capacity at Stone Advisors. Prior to Stone Advisors, Mr. Oates had a successful career in the NFL with the St. Louis Cardinals, the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers. Mr. Oates is a member of the board of directors of CIT.
Tyler M. Ricks is Founder and the former CEO of Yumnuts Naturals. Mr. Ricks has had 19 years of general management, marketing, and sales experience in dynamic consumer products organizations, including Yumnuts Naturals, Bear Naked, Inc., Pepsi-Cola Company and Fisher-Price. Mr. Ricks is a strategic leader with specific expertise in business development, brand marketing, innovation and operations.
James J. Zenni is President and Chief Executive Officer of Z Capital Partners, L.L.C. ("Z Capital") where he is responsible for all portfolio management and business operations. Prior to founding Z Capital, Mr. Zenni was the founder, president and managing partner and 50 percent equity owner of Black Diamond Capital Management, L.L.C. ("BDCM"). During Mr. Zenni's ownership of BDCM, he was responsible for the success, growth and management of its funds and co-managed numerous private equity transactions such as Euro Disneyland S.N.C., Exide Technologies, Inc., Imperial Sugar Company, New World Pasta Company and Smarte Carte Corporation. Mr. Zenni is a member of the board of directors of Mrs. Fields Famous Brands, LLC.
Mark Gudis is a Managing Director at S.A.C. Capital. Prior to joining S.A.C. Capital, Mr. Gudis was a Managing Director and Partner with the Blackstone Group. Mr. Gudis is a member of the Board of Directors of a number of companies in the education, aerospace, transportation, healthcare, packaging, consumer products and business services sectors, and has been involved with more than $10 billion of capital transactions over a 25 year span. Rahul Sawhney is a Managing Director of Z Capital and a member of the investment team. Prior to joining Z Capital, Mr. Sawhney was a member of the investment team at Black Diamond Capital Management, L.L.C. Mr. Sawhney has invested over $1 billion in non-investment grade companies including significant investments in the consumer products space. Mr. Sawhney is a member of the Board of Directors of Thomas Nelson, Inc. Sarah K. Jacoby is a Managing Director at S.A.C. Capital. Prior to S.A.C. Capital Ms. Jacoby was a Vice President at First Atlantic Capital, a private equity firm. Prior to First Atlantic Capital Ms. Jacoby was with New York Consulting Partners.
Scott St. Clair has served as CEO of Neways since September 2010 prior to which he served as interim CEO and CFO. Prior to Neways, during more than 10 years with PricewaterhouseCoopers, Mr. St. Clair worked with many public companies, including several in the MLM and nutritional-supplement industries.
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