Chicago March 30, 2006 – Sara Lee Corporation (NYSE: SLE) today named Lee A. Chaden to the position of executive chairman of Sara Lee Branded Apparel, and Richard A. Noll to chief executive officer of Sara Lee Branded Apparel, effective April 1, 2006.
Last year, Sara Lee announced its intent to spin off as an independent, publicly held company its Americas/Asia apparel business, Sara Lee Branded Apparel, a move that is expected to be completed between June and September, 2006. Once that spin-off is complete, the new company will be known as Hanesbrands Inc.
“As we finalize our preparations to spin off Sara Lee Branded Apparel, it is important that we formalize the management organization that will lead the new company,” said Brenda C. Barnes, chairman and chief executive officer of Sara Lee Corporation. “Both Lee and Rich are proven business leaders who not only possess a wealth of global apparel industry knowledge and experience, but also have a strong track record of developing and executing successful business strategies.”
In their new roles, Chaden will concentrate on preparing the enterprise to be spun off as an independent, publicly traded company, including recruiting a board of directors to govern Hanesbrands Inc., while Noll will focus on managing the global business.
Chaden, 63, currently serves as an executive vice president of Sara Lee Corporation and chief executive officer of Sara Lee Branded Apparel. He joined Sara Lee in 1991 as the North American president of Playtex Apparel, Inc., which Sara Lee acquired that year. Over the next 10 years, Chaden held various leadership roles of increasing responsibility in Sara Lee’s apparel organization. In 2001, he was appointed senior vice president of human resources for Sara Lee Corporation. Two years later, Chaden was named to lead the company’s first-ever global marketing and sales function, and was the primary architect behind Sara Lee’s brand segmentation strategy, the company’s long-term strategy for investing in its strongest brands.
He has held his current position since 2004.
Chaden earned his bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Purdue University and a master’s of business administration degree from the University of California at Berkeley. He serves as a member of the board of directors of Stora Enso, a paper, packaging and forest products company based in Helsinki, Finland, and Carlson Companies, a global hospitality and travel enterprise based in Minneapolis.
Noll, 48, is a senior vice president of Sara Lee Corporation and president and chief operating officer of Sara Lee Branded Apparel. He joined Sara Lee in 1992 as chief executive officer of the U.S. sock business, adding increased responsibilities for various domestic and international apparel businesses over the next decade. In July 2002, Noll was appointed chief operating officer of the Sara Lee Bakery Group where he led the integration of Sara Lee’s largest acquisition, The Earthgrains Company, and significantly grew the corporation’s flagship Sara Lee brand. He became chief executive officer of that business in 2003.
He was appointed to his current position in 2005 to develop and implement the operational strategies necessary to prepare the apparel business for its spin off into a stand-alone, publicly traded company.
Noll earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Pennsylvania State University and a master of business administration degree with distinction from Carnegie-Mellon University.