SUNNYVALE, Calif., Apr 21, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO) announced that Jeff Russakow will join the company on April 24, 2009, as senior vice president of customer advocacy. In this role, Russakow will have global responsibility for all of Yahoo!’s customer support functions, including audience, small business, ad operations, and search network quality. Russakow will report to Yahoo! CEO Carol Bartz.

“Jeff has a tremendous track record as a transformational leader, and we’re very excited to have him joining Yahoo! in this critical new role,” said Bartz. “We need to do a better job of listening to Yahoo!’s users and advertisers and incorporating their feedback into our products and processes. Jeff will develop and lead initiatives to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty, and he’ll ensure that we’re laser-focused on the needs of all our users and advertisers at every level of our company.”

Before joining Yahoo!, Russakow served in executive management roles at Symantec, including leadership of global enterprise support services, global services product management and solutions engineering, and corporate strategy. While at Symantec, he helped increase customer support satisfaction to record levels. Prior to Symantec, Russakow was vice president of worldwide sales operations and customer support at Adobe Systems. Before that, he served as vice president of strategy and field operations at SAP America. Russakow began his career at McKinsey & Company.

“Yahoo!’s community of users is one of the largest and most engaged in the world, and we have an incredible opportunity to transform their Yahoo! experience,” said Russakow. “I’m excited to join Carol’s management team and I look forward to working with the company’s leaders to unlock all of Yahoo!’s amazing potential.”

Russakow holds a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from Princeton University and master’s and PhD degrees in mechanical engineering from Stanford University.

About Yahoo!

Yahoo! Inc. is a leading global Internet brand and one of the most trafficked Internet destinations worldwide. Yahoo! is focused on powering its communities of users, advertisers, publishers, and developers by creating indispensable experiences built on trust. Yahoo! is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. For more information, visit pressroom.yahoo.com.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=5945373&lang=en

SOURCE: Yahoo! Inc.

Yahoo! Inc.
Kim Rubey, 408-349-8910
(Media Relations)
krubey@yahoo-inc.com
or
Cathy La Rocca, 408-349-5188
(Investor Relations)
cathy@yahoo-inc.com

More Yahoo! News:

Washington, D.C., April 20, 2009 — The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged a Philadelphia-area investment adviser and its principal with misappropriating millions of dollars in client assets, and obtained an emergency court order freezing their assets.

The SEC alleges that through a commingled brokerage account, Donald Anthony Walker Young of Coatesville, Pa., and Acorn Capital Management, LLC misappropriated more than $23 million from investors buying limited partnership interests in Acorn II LP, which invested in publicly traded securities. Young used investor funds to pay other investors in the nature of a Ponzi scheme, and directly stole some of the money to purchase a vacation home in Palm Beach, Fla., and pay personal expenses related to horse ownership and racing, construction, boats, limousines, chartered aircraft and other luxuries. According to the SEC’s complaint, the defendants refused to provide Commission staff with client files, account statements, general ledgers and other documents that are statutorily required to be maintained and produced by registered investment advisers.

“As alleged in our complaint, Young covered up his thefts by giving phony information to accountants who kept track of each investor’s capital balance, and giving false statements to investors that didn’t reflect the thefts,” said Robert Khuzami, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “Young led investors to believe their money was being invested properly when in reality he was spending it unscrupulously.”

Daniel M. Hawke, Director of the SEC’s Philadelphia Regional Office, said, “Young repeatedly refused to provide Commission staff with required documents that would have revealed his scheme. The staff has gone to great lengths to develop the evidence necessary to halt this fraud.”

The Honorable John R. Padova, U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, issued an order on April 17 granting a temporary restraining order, freezing assets and imposing other emergency relief for investors.

According to the SEC’s complaint, Young established Acorn II LP in 2001 and has nearly complete control of all aspects of the operations and makes all of the investment decisions. In addition, he has complete control of and access to the assets of Acorn II LP held at a broker-dealer. Young also controls the information provided to investors, accountants and the broker-dealer and he has used this information flow to provide false information about investor deposits and withdrawals, and to perpetuate the scheme.

The SEC alleges that although the Acorn II LP account currently holds approximately $3 million for approximately 40 investors, Young has told investors through quarterly and annual statements that their account balances are much higher. In February 2009, Young gave phony documents to employees at the broker-dealer to deceive them into believing that Acorn II LP held an additional $23 million at two other broker-dealers.

The SEC’s complaint alleges violations of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and Sections 204, 206(1), 206(2) and 206(4) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and Rules 204-2 and 206(4)-8 thereunder. In addition to the emergency relief, the Commission’s complaint seeks disgorgement of the defendants’ ill-gotten gains plus pre-judgment interest, financial penalties, and permanent injunctions barring future violations of the charged provisions of the federal securities laws.

The SEC’s investigation is continuing.

The SEC acknowledges the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

# # #

For more information, contact:

Daniel M. Hawke, Regional Director
Elaine C. Greenberg, Associate Regional Director
David S. Horowitz, Assistant Regional Director
SEC’s Philadelphia Regional Office
215-597-3100

http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2009/2009-85.htm

Global Marketer Attains World-Class PCI DSS and ISO Credentials

NORWALK, Conn., April 20 /PRNewswire/ — Affinion Group, a global leader in customer engagement solutions and provider of programs that enhance and extend the relationship of millions of consumers for financial service, retail and e-commerce companies, has been awarded the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standards (DSS) Level 1 compliance certification, the highest level of security standards for billing transactions in North America and the United Kingdom.

This achievement adds to the company’s growing list of prestigious security certifications, including the ISO 27001 for Information Security Management and Cybertrust Enterprise Certification. Affinion’s Cybertrust and ISO designations make it one of only 85 companies in the United States carrying these leading-edge credentials, and the company is the only affinity marketer with the ISO designation.

The PCI DSS certification is the highest security standard and recognizes that the company provides its customers with the most stringent security standards in the credit card industry. Affinion, which has been PCI compliant since that measurement’s inception in 2004, now also joins a select group of companies with the Level 1 PCI DSS compliance.

“Achieving the highest level of PCI DSS certification reinforces Affinion’s longstanding commitment to leadership in information protection as we continuously seek to raise the bar for these practices in our industry,” said Robert G. Rooney, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Affinion Group. “We place the utmost priority on the protection of our customers and our clients, and taking this extra step demonstrates how important this is to us.”

PCI DSS certification signifies that a company has implemented an information security management system that meets the most stringent security standards.

“Receiving this certification signals to the world that we proactively make information security a top business and management priority,” said Scott vonFischer, chief information security officer for Affinion. “By adopting the highest security standards in the industry we are leading the way as a world-class data security company for our clients, customers and partners.”

The PCI DSS certification is an ongoing process, and Affinion will continually strive to meet the rigorous standards as the industry evolves in the future. PCI DSS compliance and other security measures will protect Affinion clients and customers against lost transactions and financial penalties generated from credit card fraud, ID theft, breaches, Internet viruses and more.

PCI DSS is defined as:

* A set of comprehensive requirements for enhancing payment account data security, which were developed by the founding payment brands of the PCI Security Standards Council, including American Express, Discover Financial Services, JCB International, MasterCard and Visa, to help facilitate the broad adoption of consistent data security measures on a global basis.(1)
* A multifaceted security standard that includes requirements for security management, policies, procedures, network architecture, software design and other critical protective measures. This comprehensive standard is intended to help organizations proactively protect customer account data.
* Governed by the PCI Security Standards Council, composed of representatives from the founding payment brands.

Key attributes of the PCI DSS include:

* Building and maintaining a vulnerability management program that incorporates and updates next generation anti-virus software, secure systems and applications.
* Implementing strong access control measures such as restricting access to cardholder data, assigning a unique encrypted ID to each employee with computer access and restricting physical access to cardholder data.
* Monitoring and testing of all networks, security systems and processes.
* Maintaining a strict information security policy for employees, vendors and contractors.

As Affinion continues to position itself on the leading-edge of information security in the direct marketing industry, the company has established a solid foundation to build best practices in data protection in 2009 and beyond. A key priority in maintaining the highest standards of privacy is to work closely with current and future partners to insure that all information — either supplied or created through product development — is treated with the utmost confidentiality, integrity and protection. As part of this commitment, Affinion will leverage its comprehensive risk management strategies in the design, implementation and maintenance of an advanced information security management system.

Affinion is also dedicated to complying with all regulatory, voluntary and corporate standards, while establishing consistent policies that support its industry-leading information security position around the globe.

About Affinion Group

As a global leader with nearly 35 years of experience, Affinion Group (www.affinion.com) enhances the value of its partners’ customer relationships by developing and marketing valuable loyalty, membership, checking account, insurance and other compelling products and services. Leveraging its expertise in product development and targeted marketing, Affinion provides comprehensive customer engagement and loyalty solutions that enhance or extend the relationship of millions of customers with many of the largest and most respected companies in the world, while helping to generate significant incremental revenue for more than 5,500 affinity partners worldwide, including many of the largest and most respected companies in financial services, retail, travel, and Internet commerce. Based in Norwalk, Conn., the company has approximately 3,000 employees throughout the United States and in 14 countries across Europe. Affinion holds the prestigious ISO 27001 certification for the highest information security practices, is PCI compliant and Cybertrust certified.

More information on Affinion:

Inaugurates gold LEED-certified green building ‘Odyssey’. Investment at its Bangalore centre now totals $US 175 million.

Bangalore, March 6, 2009 – With its LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) gold certification, the new Odyssey building at JFWTC – GE’s largest integrated multidisciplinary Research and Development Center in Bangalore – officially opened today. It’s green building status fits in beautifully with GE’s ecomagination initiative, which represents the company’s commitment to solve the world’s toughest environmental challenges and to set an example for environmental stewardship within our own operations as well.

Spread over 3,85,000 sq ft., this new Odyssey building will house close to 2000 employees. The facility will accommodate the significant growth and expansion that has occurred at JFWTC over the past few years.

Inaugurating the green building today, Dr Mark Little, Senior Vice President – GE Global Research remarked, “GE greatly values the well developed intellectual capital that India has to offer. The Odyssey building illustrates the increasing role our Center in Bangalore has in GE’s global innovation strategy and for local technology development here in India. It also is a shining example of how JFWTC continues to be a leader across the company in meeting our own ambitious environmental goals through ecomagination.”

As part of GE’s ecomagination commitment, the company has set aggressive targets to reduce both its greenhouse gas emissions and water usage and improve the energy efficiency of its own operations. GE has committed to reducing its absolute greenhouse gas emissions 1 percent by 2012, which is substantial when considering that GHG emissions otherwise would have grown by 30 percent under current business growth projections. GE also is committed to achieving a 20% reduction in water use by 2012.

When compared to a standard building, the Odyssey building will offer a 30% to 40% reduction in operating costs; 25% savings in energy (equivalent to powering close to 550 Indian homes); and 20% reduction in water consumption (equivalent to supplying water to close 250 people). The most tangible ecological benefit will be reduced consumption of energy and water. The direct energy savings from this project will help prevent around 1593 tonnes/annum of GHG emissions into the environment.

Dr. Guillermo Wille, Managing Director, John F. Welch Technology Center (JFWTC), “Since its inception in 2000, the center has grown from 200 to close to 4200 today, while adding competencies and skills required to innovate and develop technology for GE businesses globally. Our efforts to help make the world greener is seen through our technology efforts in developing environment-friendly products and various initiatives in our center that engage our employees.”

As part of GE’s ecomagination initiative, the company is doubling its level of investment in clean technologies from $700 million in 2005 to more than $1.5 billion by 2010. Scientists and engineers at JFWTC are playing a significant role in this campaign, supporting global research endeavors in wind and solar power, gas turbine technologies, locomotives and aircraft engines.

In addition to ecomagination, research and product development related to healthcare also is increasing. Global innovation support for the Healthcare business as well as specific in country for country initiatives for India are both areas where more work is being done.

Amongst many initiatives, JFWTC has rolled out other environmental initiatives such as ’Eco-Fest’ and Eco Idea’ that helps create awareness and engages employees around various aspects of the environment.

About John F. Welch Technology Centre:

The John F. Welch Technology Centre(JFWTC) in Bangalore is GE’s largest integrated multidisciplinary Research and Development Center, and the first to be located outside the US. Close to 3800 scientists, researchers and engineers are helping redefine what is possible in the energy transportation and healthcare industries. In addition to India (Bangalore), GE has Research Centers in the US (New York), Shanghai (China) and Munich (Germany) that are helping create game-changing technologies and innovations to ensure GE’s growth and leadership.

For further information (press only) kindly contact:

GE JFWTC
Communications Leader
Vikram Kanth
vikram.kanth@ge.com
+91 9845 249 586

Genesis Burson Marsteller
Shiwani Varma Vyas / Rajiv Sarkar
shiwani.varma@bm.com / rajiv.sarkar@bm.com
+91 9986 362 430 / +91 9986 414 823

More information on the GE Odyssey Project:
New Evolve LED and Odyssey Road Lighting Lantern.

(New York, NY – February 18, 2009) Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P. (KKR) and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) today released initial results of their partnership, confirming that environmental management can drive business success even in today’s challenging economic climate. At three companies – US Foodservice Inc., PRIMEDIA Inc. and Sealy Corporation – the partnership has already saved $16.4 million and prevented more than 25,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2008. KKR and EDF will soon implement the initiative at four additional KKR portfolio companies: Accellent, Biomet, Dollar General and HCA.

“These initial results provide a high note in this low economy,” said Gwen Ruta, vice president of corporate partnerships, EDF. “By generating cost savings through environmental innovation, these companies are improving their competitive position in today’s volatile marketplace.”

“One of KKR’s core strengths is driving operational improvements that build business value,” said Dean Nelson, Head of KKR Capstone. “By focusing on improving environmental performance across our portfolio and providing a framework to help companies take environmental initiatives to scale, we’re finding new ways to help the portfolio companies save money while simultaneously improving the environment.”

Ken Mehlman, Head of Global Public Affairs at KKR said: “Today’s announcements are good examples of how smart companies can cut costs and support the environment. Going forward we will continue to implement Green Portfolio Project tools to generate more cost savings and environmental benefits at other portfolio companies including Accellent, Biomet, Dollar General and HCA.”

KKR and EDF have been working together since May 2008 to develop and test a set of analytic tools and metrics to help companies improve in several key environmental performance areas, including greenhouse gas emissions, waste, water, forest resources and priority chemicals.

US Foodservice, PRIMEDIA and Sealy participated in the pilot phase of the project, using these tools to evaluate environmental impacts, identify areas for environmental and business improvement, establish baselines and metrics and develop goals and action plans for future improvement. The process helped managers to cost-effectively improve efficiency and reduce waste, while addressing the environmental impacts of their business.

Specific results to date include:

US Foodservice, one of the country’s premier foodservice distributors, implemented new driver policies, business processes and truck technologies to improve its operational efficiency and reduce emissions from its delivery fleet. During 2008, US Foodservice:

* Saved $8.2 million in fuel costs and avoided 22,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions (equivalent to more than 4,400 cars) by improving the efficiency of its fleet (gallons/ton of product moved) by more than 4% compared to a 2007 baseline.

This year, US Foodservice plans to further improve fleet productivity by scaling up successful initiatives, such as driver awareness programs, automatic idle shutoff, maximum speed controls and assessing and implementing new initiatives, including improved trailer cooling practices and other technology solutions.

PRIMEDIA, a leading provider of print, Internet and mobile solutions designed to enable consumers to find a place to live, increased online efforts and resized its publications to reduce its use of forest resources. During 2008, PRIMEDIA:

* Saved $2.9 million in material costs and reduced more than 3,000 tons of paper use (equivalent to over 40,000 trees) by improving efficiency (paper use/revenue) by 22% compared to a 2007 baseline.

This year, PRIMEDIA plans to reduce paper consumption an additional 20% by redesigning publications and pursuing additional online strategies and is exploring opportunities to expand publication recycling programs currently encouraged at all locations. Also in 2009, PRIMEDIA will focus on measuring and reducing its greenhouse gas emissions 10% by improving sales and delivery routing and continuing efforts to consolidate office and warehouse space.

Sealy Corporation, the largest bedding manufacturer in North America, recycled raw materials used for producing bedding and improved delivery fleet efficiency through improved driver policies and truck technologies to reduce waste and decrease greenhouse gas emissions. During 2008, Sealy:

* Saved $1.2 million in fuel costs and avoided more than 3,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions (equivalent to more than 600 cars) by improving the efficiency of its fleet (gallons/stop) by almost 9% compared to a 2007 baseline. In addition, Sealy saved more than $4 million in material costs and avoided 650 tons of solid waste (equivalent to the capacity of more than 46 garbage trucks) by reducing scrap per bed (pounds/unit) by 16% compared to a 2007 baseline.

This year, Sealy plans to roll out improved fleet routing software, install speed governors on its trucks, reduce idling time and incentivize drivers to improve fuel economy. The company will continue reducing solid waste by improving manufacturing processes and reducing packaging. In addition, Sealy will focus on improving the energy efficiency of its facilities.

In 2009, KKR and EDF will continue to work together to extend the program across KKR’s U.S. portfolio. Already, KKR has launched a Web site that provides sample tools, best practices and case studies for cost-effectively improving environmental performance to promote action among its portfolio companies.

To drive broader change across the private equity and other industries, the tools and best practices developed through the partnership will be available through the EDF Innovation Exchange in the fall of 2009 and KKR and EDF will continue to publicly share results.

About Environmental Defense Fund
A leading national nonprofit organization, Environmental Defense Fund represents more than 500,000 members. Since 1967, Environmental Defense Fund has linked science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships to create breakthrough solutions to the most serious environmental problems. Environmental Defense Fund has a 20 year track record of success in partnering with business. To maintain its independence and credibility, EDF accepts no money from corporate partners; generous individuals and foundations fund its work. For more information, please visit www.edf.org.

About Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co
Established in 1976, KKR is a leading global alternative asset manager. KKR’s franchise is sponsoring and managing funds that make investments in private equity, fixed income and other assets in North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Throughout its history, KKR has brought a long-term investment approach, focusing on working in partnership with management teams of its portfolio companies and investing for future competitiveness and growth. Funds that KKR sponsors include traditional private equity funds and KKR Private Equity Investors, L.P. (NYSE Euronext Amsterdam: KPE), a permanent capital fund that invests in KKR-identified investments; two credit strategy funds, KKR Financial Holdings LLC (NYSE: KFN) and the KKR Strategic Capital Funds, which make investments in debt transactions; and separately managed accounts focused on a variety of asset classes. KKR has offices in New York, Menlo Park, San Francisco, Houston, Washington D.C., London, Paris, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Beijing, Mumbai and Sydney. More information about KKR is available at: www.kkr.com.

Gwen Ruta, Vice President – Corporate Partnerships, EDF
Gwen Ruta directs Environmental Defense Fund’s Corporate Partnerships program. She spearheads its work with leading multinational companies to develop innovative, business-based solutions to environmental challenges and to drive change through the corporate value chain.

Ranked #1 among environmental organizations for credible and effective partnerships by the Financial Times, Gwen’s group has kicked off transformations in market sectors from catalogs to shipping to retail to food service. Partner companies have included Wal-Mart; UPS; FedEx; DuPont; McDonalds and Citigroup.

Dean Nelson, Head of KKR Capstone
Dean B. Nelson founded KKR Capstone in 2000. He was formerly a senior partner with The Boston Consulting Group, ran the firm’s Chicago office and was on the management committee. At The Boston Consulting Group, he focused primarily on the consumer goods and retail, industrial goods and the high technology industries. Mr. Nelson previously worked at Shell Oil Company. At KKR Capstone, he has worked with Alliance Imaging, Dollar General, Energy Future Holdings (formerly TXU Corp.), Owens-Illinois, PRIMEDIA, Rockwood/Dynamit Nobel, Sealy, Toys ‘R’ Us, The Nielsen Company (formerly VNU Group) and Yellow Pages Group. Mr. Nelson is Chairman of PRIMEDIA and is a Sealy and Dollar General board member. He holds a B.S., Summa Cum Laude, from Purdue University and an M.B.A., with High Honors, from The University of Chicago.

Ken Mehlman, Head of Global Public Affairs at KKR
Ken B. Mehlman joined KKR in 2008 and is Head of Global Public Affairs. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Mehlman was a partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld with a bi-partisan practice in legislative and regulatory counseling. He previously served in high level positions on Capitol Hill and the White House, including as Chairman of the Republican National Committee and Campaign Manager of President Bush’s successful re-election campaign. Mr. Mehlman graduated with a B.A. from Franklin & Marshall College and holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

CONTACT:

Melanie Janin, Environmental Defense Fund, 202.572.3240, mjanin@edf.org
Peter McKillop or Kristi Huller, KKR, 212.750.8300, media@kkr.com

Responsible Purchasing Network (RPN) Honors Office Depot’s Yalmaz Siddiqui as Only Private Sector Recipient to Win Inaugural Award

BOCA RATON, Fla., Apr 09, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Office Depot (NYSE:ODP), a leading global provider of office products and services, today announced that the Company’s Director of Environmental Strategy, Yalmaz Siddiqui, was recognized by the Responsible Purchasing Network (RPN), an influential network of buyers focused on socially responsible and environmentally sustainable purchasing, as “Responsible Purchaser of the Year.”

A panel of judges comprised of green purchasing professionals selected four individuals and organizations from among more than 200 organizational members of the Responsible Purchasing Network. These individuals were honored for their outstanding commitment to using the power of purchasing to advance social responsibility and ecological sustainability. The awards were presented at the Seattle Green Festival on March 28, 2009.

According to Chris O’Brien, Senior Director of the Responsible Purchasing Network, “Yalmaz’s work developing the 2009 Office Depot Green Book catalog of green office products demonstrates his extraordinary commitment to advancing sustainable procurement. Yalmaz sought RPN input for the standards and specifications portion of the new Green Book and then implemented many of our key recommendations. Yalmaz’s approach on behalf of Office Depot, reflects corporate best practices in stakeholder engagement, green product definition and green marketing.”

The 2009 Green Book acknowledged by RPN is Office Depot’s fifth annual catalog of environmentally preferable products and contains over 2,200 of Office Depot’s “greenest products.” Siddiqui was instrumental in designing the catalog, defining the stringent specifications for product inclusion, and writing the educational content to help readers understand what is green, and why and how to go green at the office.

“This award is a true honor,” said Siddiqui. “The other recipients are pioneers in the world of green purchasing, and to be recognized among this group is humbling. What’s important to note however is that although this award is for individuals, we all rely on supportive organizations that enable us to achieve our goals. Office Depot, and its merchandising and marketing teams in particular, deserve much of the credit for this award.”

About the Responsible Purchasing Network

The Responsible Purchasing Network (RPN) is an international network of buyers dedicated to socially responsible and environmentally sustainable purchasing. Our membership program and consulting services provide institutional purchasers with cutting edge procurement tools and resources designed to save money, conserve resources, reduce waste, and improve efficiency. Visit RPN at www.responsiblepurchasing.org.

About Yalmaz Siddiqui

Yalmaz Siddiqui is Office Depot’s Director of Environmental Strategy. He is responsible for advising the company on the development and integration of a wide range of environmental programs into the global organization.

Office Depot’s industry-leading environmental programs span all parts of the company – from the supply chain (buying green) to internal operations (being green), to business and consumer markets (selling green). Siddiqui’s role includes improving the understanding of environmental issues and opportunities among suppliers, associates and customers. His goal is to help improve the environmental performance of Office Depot and its range of stakeholders.

Siddiqui also oversees Office Depot’s five-year, $2.2 million Forest & Biodiversity Conservation Alliance (www.forestryalliance.org), which develops critical information, standards and tools for global forest and biodiversity conservation. The Alliance is Office Depot’s collaboration with Conservation International, NatureServe and The Nature Conservancy, three of the world’s most respected science-based conservation organizations.

Siddiqui came to Office Depot in April of 2006 from IBM Business Consulting Services in Canada where he was a Senior Consultant in Customer Relationship Management, and author of the first global study on environmental procurement of wood and paper products. Before joining IBM, Siddiqui was a management consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he focused on the forest, paper and packaging industries.

Siddiqui holds a Master’s Degree in Environment & Development from Cambridge University in England, and a Bachelor of Commerce Degree in Marketing & International Business from McGill University in Canada.

About Office Depot

Every day, Office Depot is Taking Care of Business for millions of customers around the globe. For the local corner store as well as Fortune 500 companies, Office Depot provides products and services to its customers through 1,713 worldwide retail stores, a dedicated sales force, top-rated catalogs and a $4.8 billion e-commerce operation. Office Depot has annual sales of approximately $14.5 billion, and employs about 43,000 associates around the world. The Company provides more office products and services to more customers in more countries than any other company, and currently sells to customers directly or through affiliates in 48 countries.

Office Depot’s common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ODP and is included in the S&P 500 Index. Additional press information can be found at: http://mediarelations.officedepot.com. Media materials specific to Office Depot’s environmental initiatives are available at http://mediarelations.officedepot.cc/environment.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=5936334〈=en.

SOURCE: Office Depot

Office Depot
Melissa Perlman, 561-438-0704
Melissa.Perlman@officedepot.com
or
New American Dream
Latoya Peterson, 301-891-3683
Latoya@newdream.org

CINCINNATI, Ohio, March 17, 2009 – Customers and associates of The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) and its family of stores donated $10.6 million to support The Salvation Army’s annual Red Kettle campaign during the 2008 holiday season.
The total represents an increase of 13 percent over the $9.4 million raised at Kroger locations last year. Overall, The Salvation Army received a record $130 million nationwide in 2008. Contributions made at Kroger family stores represent 8% of that amount.

“Support from our friends at Kroger is all the more critical during these challenging economic times and we appreciate the company’s long-standing commitment to helping those in need,” said Major George Hood, National Community Relations Secretary for The Salvation Army. “Without Kroger’s support, we could not provide critical services to thousands of poor and underprivileged people throughout the country.”

The traditional holiday kettles were placed in front of Kroger’s family of stores in 31 states. Kettles were staffed by Salvation Army volunteers, including many Kroger associates. The Salvation Army estimates that 25,000 bell ringers participate in the Red Kettle campaign annually. Customers also were able to contribute via virtual Red Kettles through Kroger’s holiday website.
The Salvation Army uses funds raised through the Red Kettle campaign to provide assistance to more than 29 million people in 5,000 communities across the country. About 83 cents of every dollar is used on direct social services to help people in need, well above the industry standard. All of the donations fund programs in the community in which they were given.

Kroger, one of the nation’s largest retail grocery chains, employs more than 326,000 associates who serve customers in 2,481 supermarkets and multi-department stores in 31 states. Kroger operates stores under two dozen local banner names including, Kroger, Ralphs, Fred Meyer, Food 4 Less, Fry’s, King Soopers, Smith’s, Dillons, QFC and City Market. In addition, Kroger associates serve customers in 771 convenience stores, 385 fine jewelry stores and 781 supermarket fuel centers the Company operates. Kroger also operates 41 food processing plants in the U.S. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Kroger focuses its charitable efforts on supporting hunger relief, health and wellness initiatives, and local schools and grassroots organizations in the communities it serves. For more information about the Company, please visit www.kroger.com.

Contacts:

Media:
Meghan Glynn (513) 762-1304

Investors:
Carin Fike (513) 762-4969

Salvation Army Contact:
Matt Meenan: (202) 289-4001

For more information:

General Shaw Clifton: A Passionate Look towards the Future.

General Convenes International Conference of Leaders (ICL) for July 2009.

Kroger to participate in 2009 Morgan Stanley Retail Field Trip.

Details of Kroger dividends for 2008.

6 April 2009 – Mayer Brown LLP, a leading global law firm, is pleased to announce that its Supreme Court & Appellate practice was named as one of the best in the country by a leading legal publication.

In the second annual edition of its prestigious “Appellate Hot List,” the National Law Journal (NLJ) recognized Mayer Brown among the law firms with “stellar records in appellate advocacy.” The NLJ noted in the article from the April 6 issue that the firms chosen for this list “contributed in meaningful ways to the most important appeals of the year, whether through drafting the main briefs, presenting oral arguments or as friends of the court.”

In its overview of Mayer Brown’s accomplishments, the NLJ focused on the firm’s extensive track record of arguments before the Supreme Court and highlighted three of the firm’s most significant wins from the past year: Fitzgerald v. Barnstable School Comm.; Republic of the Philippines v. Pimentel; and Andrews v. Chevy Chase Bank.

As part of the “Appellate Hot List” feature section, the NLJ also published a separate article titled “Insight Into Court’s Thinking Paid Off,” which detailed the Supreme Court’s decision in Republic of the Philippines v. Pimentel. The article described how Mayer Brown attorneys Kenneth Geller, Charles Rothfeld, David Gossett, Elizabeth Oyer and Brian Netter, on behalf of client Philippine National Bank, persuaded the court that $35 million allegedly looted by former President Ferdinand Marcos should go to the Philippine government rather than to private citizens. Mr. Rothfeld argued the case.

The lawyers of Mayer Brown’s Supreme Court & Appellate practice have argued more than 200 cases before the Supreme Court and hundreds more in federal and state appellate courts across the nation. Client representations include briefing and arguing cases on the merits, petitioning for and opposing certiorari, submitting amicus briefs in cases that affect clients’ interests, and assisting the firm’s trial practices with pre- and post-trial motion support.

Mayer Brown was selected to last year’s “Appellate Hot List” as well.

The entire “Appellate Hot List” feature section for this year can be viewed at http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202429644137.

Media Contacts:
Bob Harris
Director of Public Relations
+1 312 701 7665
bharris@mayerbrown.com

Brian Pitts
Assistant Director of Public Relations
+1 312 701 8576
bpitts@mayerbrown.com

HONG KONG, March 18, 2009 – As a result of the decision of the China Ministry of Commerce (MOC) to decline approval for the proposed purchase of the Huiyuan Juice business, The Coca-Cola Company said today that it will not be able to proceed with the acquisition.

“We are disappointed, but we also respect the MOC’s decision,” said Mr. Muhtar Kent, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Coca-Cola Company.

“We put a tremendous effort into providing all the relevant materials to the MOC to ensure that they had all the information available and understood the transaction,” Mr. Kent said. “We were looking forward to working with the excellent Huiyuan team to stimulate new growth for the Huiyuan brand.”

“We will now focus all of our energies and expertise on growing our existing brands and continuing to innovate with new brands, including in the juice segment. Our recently opened USD 90 million Global Technology and Innovation Centre in Shanghai will play a key role in bringing this innovation to life,” Mr. Kent said. “We hold a long-term view of the China market, and are committed to ensuring that Chinese consumers have a wide variety of top quality beverage options available to them.”

Coca-Cola recently announced its commitment to invest USD 2 billion in China over the next three years in new plant and distribution infrastructure, sales and marketing, and R&D. This is in addition to the USD 1.6 billion already invested in China since the Company’s return in 1979.

“We will also continue our community investments in China. Whether it is working with Project Hope to help build schools and libraries across China, or working with educators to construct technology and multimedia centers for Chinese schools, or partnering with Government authorities to promote environmental education, or the World Wildlife Fund to help conserve and protect China’s precious water resources – we are firmly committed to a sustainable and prosperous future for all of China.”

About The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company is the world’s largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with nearly 500 sparkling and still brands. Along with Coca-Cola®, recognized as the world’s most valuable brand, the Company’s portfolio includes 12 other billion dollar brands, including Diet Coke®, Fanta®, Sprite®, Coca-Cola Zero®, vitaminwater, POWERADE®, Minute Maid® and Georgia® Coffee. Globally, we are the No. 1 provider of sparkling beverages, juices and juice drinks and ready-to-drink teas and coffees. Through the world’s largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy the Company’s beverages at a rate of nearly 1.6 billion servings a day. With an enduring commitment to building sustainable communities, our Company is focused on initiatives that protect the environment, conserve resources and enhance the economic development of the communities where we operate. For more information about our Company, please visit our website at www.thecoca-colacompany.com.

More than 50,000 children’s books and coloring books were distributed to local schools and community organizations for Nevada Reading Week.

United States of America (Press Release) February 27, 2009 —
Las Vegas, Nevada – In preparation for Nevada Reading Week, Spread the Word Nevada, Inc., a local nonprofit children’s literacy program in Henderson, distributed over 50,000 books and coloring books to local schools and community organizations on Saturday, February 21. Twenty-eight volunteers who participated at the event helped distribute the materials to forty-five groups that came through Czarnowski’s warehouse.

These Preschool and Kindergarten materials were also available to Focus Schools designated by the Clark County School District, as at-risk schools.

On the distribution day, books and coloring books were given to various schools, health groups, charities, and churches. The children served through these schools and programs will receive the materials during Nevada Reading Week. Kids to Kids, a flagship program of Spread the Word Nevada, Inc. will also participate in Nevada Reading Week from March 2nd through March 6th. The books received at Saturday’s event will be distributed to the seventeen elementary schools adopted by Kids to Kids.

Kids to Kids, a flagship program of Spread the Word Nevada, Inc., a nonprofit, 501(c) (3) corporation, serves at-risk children and helps them create home library collections of books to read and share with family members. While developing a love of reading, these libraries promote future academic achievement and higher self-esteem, which impacts lifelong success. Since 2001, Kids to Kids, a flagship program of Spread the Word Nevada, has distributed gently used and new books to hundreds of thousands of Nevada’s youth. Contact (702) 564-7809 or visit www.SpreadtheWordNevada.org to learn more about the program.

For more information:
260 E. Desert Rose Drive Henderson, NV 89015 702-564-7809
http://www.spreadthewordnevada.org

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