The Stride Rite Corporation Promotes Frank Caruso to Chief Administrative Officer

TOPEKA, Kan., Dec. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Stride Rite Corporation of Collective Brands, Inc. today announced that it has promoted Frank Caruso to senior vice president and chief administrative officer reporting to Gregg Ribatt, who was named president and chief executive officer of Stride Rite yesterday.

Caruso has been with Stride Rite for 17 years, serving in various roles in finance and most recently, since 2001, as chief financial officer. As chief administrative officer, Caruso will assume an expanded role overseeing Information Technology and general administrative functions, in addition to finance.

"Frank has 17 years of strong experience with Stride Rite, managing through significant changes, acquisitions and shifts in the business," said Matt Rubel, president and chief executive officer of Collective. "We look forward to Frank's expanded role, leadership and historical expertise as we work to grow and expand on the opportunities before us with the Stride Rite unit and its strong brand portfolio."

Caruso was named chief financial officer for Stride Rite in 2001 and in 1998 he was named vice president and controller for the company, a role that also included overseeing operations such as customer service, warehousing and logistics. He started out at Stride Rite in 1990 heading up the finance and operations for the Keds Group, at that time the largest wholesale group at Stride Rite. Prior to joining Stride Rite, from 1982 to 1990, Caruso was employed at Price Waterhouse Coopers, most recently serving as a senior manager. He holds a masters degree in public administration from Boston University and masters degree in accounting from Bentley College and is a certified public accountant.

Collective Brands, Inc. is a leader in bringing compelling lifestyle, fashion and performance brands for footwear and related accessories to consumers worldwide. The company operates three strategic units covering a powerful brand portfolio, as well as multiple price points and selling channels including retail, wholesale, ecommerce and licensing. Collective Brands, Inc. includes Payless ShoeSource, focused on democratizing fashion and design in footwear and accessories through its more than 4,500-store retail chain, with its brands American Eagle(R), Airwalk(R), Dexter(R), Champion(R) and designer collections Abaete for Payless, Lela Rose for Payless and alice + olivia for Payless, among others; Stride Rite, focused on lifestyle and athletic branded footwear and high-quality children's footwear sold primarily through wholesaling, with its brands including Stride Rite(R), Keds(R), Sperry Top-Sider(R), Robeez(R), and Saucony(R), among others; and Collective Licensing International, the brand development, management and global licensing unit, with such youth lifestyle brands as Airwalk(R), Vision Street Wear(R), Lamar(R), Sims(R), LTD(R), genetic(TM), Dukes(R), Rage(R), Ultra-Wheels(R), and Skate Attack(R). Information about, and links for shopping on, each of the Collective Brand's units can be found at http://www.collectivebrands.com/.