Russ Hammer Named Chief Financial Officer Of Brown Shoe Company As Mark Hood Resigns

Global footwear company Brown Shoe Company, Inc. (NYSE: BWS) ( brownshoe.com) announced today that Russ Hammer has been named chief financial officer of the company, replacing Mark Hood as of June 11, 2012. Hood will assist with the transition of duties.

“I’m delighted Russ Hammer is joining Brown Shoe Company as chief financial officer,” said Diane Sullivan, president and chief executive officer of Brown Shoe Company. “With his more than 30 years of finance experience, I’m confident he will be able to make an immediate contribution across the company and to the work we’ve been completing in our portfolio realignment efforts.”

“I also want to thank Mark Hood for the positive role he has played at Brown Shoe Company over the past five years,” continued Sullivan. “We appreciate his contributions toward executing the first phase of our portfolio realignment, and this corporate-wide effort has already resulted in a significant improvement in our first quarter adjusted earnings per diluted share. Everyone at Brown Shoe Company wishes Mark all the best in the future.”

Hammer will have responsibility for the company’s finance and accounting, treasury, external reporting, tax, real estate, information technology, and investor relations functions. He will be based at Brown Shoe Company’s corporate headquarters in St. Louis.

“I’m looking forward to returning to the footwear industry with Brown Shoe Company, as it continues to target the strategic Family, Contemporary Fashion and Healthy Living consumer platforms in its efforts to improve profitability and better position itself for success in 2012 and the years ahead,” said Russ Hammer.

Hammer most recently served as chief financial officer of Orbitz Worldwide. Prior to that role, he was chief financial officer of Crocs, Inc., where he led the company's restructuring efforts and supported its successful turnaround. Hammer began his career at Motorola, Inc., where he held a variety of senior executive positions, including chief financial officer of the company's Connected Home Solutions business, chief audit officer, chief financial officer of the Asia Cellular Subscriber business, and chief financial officer of the Global Paging Subscriber business. Hammer holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Master of Business Administration from DePaul University in Chicago.

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