Farmer Bros. Announces Financial Management Transition

Farmer Bros. Co. (NASDAQ: FARM) today announced the appointment of Jeffrey A. Wahba as treasurer and chief financial officer, effective June 1. The Company said Peter B. Knepper will continue in his current role as interim CFO and will assist with the executive transition.

Mr. Wahba, 53, has extensive experience as a financial executive. He currently serves as CFO of Nero AG, a digital-media software provider that is based in Glendale, Calif. and Karlsbad, Germany. He has agreed to assist Nero in the transition to a CFO successor before he steps into his new role at Farmer Bros. He will report to Roger M. Laverty III, chief executive officer.

“Jeffrey Wahba brings financial skills and business acumen that Farmer Bros. needs as it drives toward its next level of growth,” Mr. Laverty said. “We are pleased that Peter Knepper has agreed to continue his contributions to our executive team during this interim period and to assist with this transition.”

Earlier, Mr. Wahba served as CFO of HireRight, Inc., a global leader in employment background screening solutions, based in Irvine, Calif, which he helped lead through its initial public offering in 2007. Previously, he served as CFO of the Henry Group of Companies, an international manufacturer of building products and a distributor of premium wines, from 1986 to 2006. He also served as CFO of Vault Corp., a software security firm, and as international controller of Max Factor and Co., a cosmetics manufacturer. He graduated from Stanford University with a B.S. and M.S. in Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management and earned an M.B.A. degree from the University of Southern California.

Mr. Knepper, a partner with Tatum, a division of the SFN Group, an executive services firm, has advised and held senior financial management positions at several major corporations. His recent engagements were with International Rectifier Corp., a semiconductor manufacturer, as acting CFO and as vice president of finance and accounting. Earlier, he served as interim CFO of MDI, Inc., a publicly traded company serving the security products industry, and as CFO of Key3Media Group. Mr. Knepper served 10 years as CFO of Ticketmaster Group, an automated ticketing services company, and began his career with Price Waterhouse & Co. after graduating from the University of Southern California.