Russell Corp. Announces Four Senior Management Changes

SOURCE: Business Wire

ATLANTA - The Board of Directors of Russell Corp. announced that Jonathan R. Letzler has been named president and chief operating officer for the company. They also announced that Cheryl M. Barre, president of JERZEES Retail, and Gilbert J. Roberts, president of Russell Artwear, have been named corporate officers and that Steven B. Farley has been elected treasurer and named a corporate officer.

In his new role as president and chief operating officer, Letzler will have operating responsibility for all U.S. based divisions. As executive vice president, Letzler previously had responsibility for the JERZEES, Cross Creek and DeSoto divisions, which represented approximately 70 percent of Russell's domestic sales.

"Promoting Jon to this position will facilitate identification and sharing of best practices within our organization," says Ward. "While we want our divisions to have the autonomy they need, we also understand the potential for synergies and cost-savings. The change also enables me to focus on broader-based issues such as longer-term strategies, investor relations and acquisitions," Ward adds.

Letzler joined Russell in December 1998 as a senior vice president of the corporation and chief executive officer for JERZEES Activewear. He had previously been with Sara Lee Corp. for 18 years, having held numerous marketing positions there. He also served as president of the Hanes Printables division of Sara Lee Corp. and president of Hanes Hosiery.

Cheryl Barre was recently named president of the newly formed JERZEES Retail group that is responsible for all of Russell Corp.'s business in the mass merchandiser channel. Barre joined Russell in May 1999 as vice president of marketing for the JERZEES artwear operations. She was promoted to president of the retail operations in September of that year and president of retail and artwear in December 2000. Prior to Russell, Barre had been with Pepsi Cola Co. for 15 years. In addition to several marketing positions, she served as market general manager for Pepsi Cola Co. of Atlanta, vice president of franchise business, business unit general manager for the Heartland Business Unit and division vice president for the Fountain Beverage operation.

Roberts rejoined Russell in June of this year and was named president of the newly formed Russell Artwear business unit. He will be responsible for all Russell brands sold in the wholesale distributor channel for the imprintables business. Roberts had first joined Russell in August 1998 as vice president of planning and development and was promoted to president of JERZEES Retail in March 1999. He left Russell in September 1999 to become chief operating officer for Butterfield & Robinson, an international travel company. Prior to joining Russell, Roberts had been with Sara Lee Corp.'s apparel operations for nine years, holding several vice president of marketing positions. He also was vice president of new ventures for Sara Lee Knit Products.

Farley joined Russell as assistant treasurer in May this year. He has an extensive background in financial strategies, capital markets activities and risk allocations. He began his financial career in 1975 and worked with several banks prior to joining First Chicago Capital Markets, Inc. in 1984 as vice president. In 1996, he joined ABN AMRO, Inc. in Atlanta as global relations manager and his most recent position prior to joining Russell was senior vice president with First Union Securities in Atlanta.