NEW YORK -- September 15, 2004 -- Marvel Enterprises, Inc., a global entertainment licensing company, today announced that Alan Fine, President & CEO of the Company's Toy Biz division, will expand his duties to also include the role of President & CEO of the Publishing division. Mr. Fine's strengths in design and marketing uniquely position him to drive growth in both divisions by leveraging synergies among these important consumer product categories. Joe Quesada remains as Editor in Chief and Dan Buckley remains as Publisher of Marvel Comics. Marvel also announced the appointment of David Cho, 45, a business-oriented senior technology executive, as the Company's new Chief Information Officer. Gui Karyo, who previously held the titles of President of Publishing and Chief Information Officer, has recently left Marvel in order to pursue new business opportunities.
Mr. Fine, 54, has held the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of Toy Biz since October 1998, except for a brief tenure as an independent consultant to Marvel during 2001. Previously, he served as Chief Operating Officer of Marvel, a position to which he was appointed in September 1996. Prior to joining Marvel, Mr. Fine was Senior Vice President, General Merchandise Manager and then promoted to President and Chief Operating Officer of Kay-Bee Toys, a national toy retailer.
New Chief Information Officer
David Cho comes to Marvel with more than twenty years of experience managing technology-driven information businesses that serve professionals and consumers, including the last ten years in various positions at The McGraw-Hill Companies. During his tenure at McGraw-Hill Mr. Cho most recently served as Senior Vice President, Applications & Operations at McGraw-Hill Corporate and as Senior Vice President, Technology & Communications where he identified $100 million in incremental revenue by commercializing technology-enhanced products and services. Mr. Cho earned a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering with a Minor in Electrical Engineering from Kettering University and an MBA in Operations Management from Columbia University.
Toy Biz Division Management Promotions
Solidifying the senior management leadership of its toy division, Marvel recently promoted Ralph Lancellotti and Joann McLaughlin to the newly created positions of Co-Chief Operating Officers of its Toy Biz division. In their new roles, Mr. Lancellotti, who was most recently Executive Vice President of Sales and has been with the Company for 8 years, and Ms. McLaughlin, who had served as Senior Vice President of Product Development and has been with the Company for 12 years, will play a greater role in managing the day-to-day operations of the toy division. Mr. Lancellotti and Ms. McLaughlin continue to report directly to Mr. Fine and continue to oversee the Company's toy sales and product development efforts, respectively.
Commenting on the appointments, Marvel CEO Allen Lipson stated, "Having worked closely with Alan for nearly five years, I know that he possesses the ideal set of management skills to expand his leadership to our publishing operations. Alan has broad retail and leisure and consumer product experience, as well as a strong base of retail and distribution relationships. We expect that he will be able to utilize these important assets to develop avenues for the long-term growth for our publishing business as well as to better leverage publishing as a driver for our core licensing engine.
"We are also excited to welcome David as Chief Information Officer of Marvel. David is a seasoned technology executive with broad management skills and a track record for profit improvement in diverse consumer industries. We look to his guidance in developing further operational efficiencies as well as in extending our ability to leverage our intellectual property through online opportunities and other emerging technologies."
About Marvel Enterprises
With a library of over 4,700 proprietary characters, Marvel Enterprises, Inc. is one of the world's most prominent character-based entertainment companies. Marvel's operations are focused in three areas: licensing and entertainment (Marvel Studios), comic book publishing and toys (Toy Biz). Marvel facilitates the creation of entertainment projects, including feature films, DVD/home video, video games and television programming based on its characters and also licenses its characters for use in a wide range of consumer products and services including apparel, collectibles, snack foods and promotions. Marvel's characters and plot lines are created by its publishing segment that continues to expand its leadership position in the U.S. and worldwide while also serving as an invaluable source of intellectual property.
