Caribou Coffee Company Names New CEO; McDonald's Corp. Executive to Join Company

    MINNEAPOLIS, July 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Caribou Coffee Company announced
 today that it has named the former President/CEO of McDonald's China, Don
 Dempsey, as its Chief Executive Officer.  "Don is the right individual to grow
 our company to the next level," said John Puckett, co-founder and current
 Chief Executive Officer of Caribou Coffee.  "His impressive experience in
 marketing, building high quality operations, and international expansion make
 him an excellent choice.  We have attracted a strong management team to help
 us grow Caribou, and Don will be the perfect person to lead the charge."
 Caribou Coffee co-founders Kim and John Puckett have also recruited Jay
 Willoughby, a former PepsiCo executive as President and Chief Operating
 Officer and Ed Finn, former C.F.O. of Green Tree Financial, to be Caribou
 Coffee's Chief Financial Officer. "John and I look forward to working with Don
 as we continue to build a brand that stands for the friendliest service and
 best tasting coffee," said Kim Puckett.
     Dempsey, age 52, has more than 30 years of operations, marketing and
 international experience, most of it in the restaurant industry.  He worked at
 McDonald's Corporation as its marketing director in Japan from 1980 to 1984
 after leaving McDonald's advertising agency, DDB Needham in Chicago. He joined
 Burger King in 1984 as executive vice president of worldwide marketing and
 helped develop a successful string of campaigns resulting in sustained
 positive increases in same store sales. Dempsey rejoined McDonald's in 1990 to
 head its international marketing group, and in 1995 moved to Hong Kong to
 become president of the company there. In 1998, he was named president and
 chief executive of McDonald's China Development Company.
     "Caribou Coffee has a great customer focused culture, delivering excellent
 service and high-quality products. Equally important is their proven ability
 to consistently and profitably expand the concept to new markets. This has
 attracted a strong management team and I am excited to have the opportunity to
 lead this group and to engineer the further expansion of this special
 company," said Dempsey.
     Dempsey is a graduate of Northern Illinois University where he received
 his B.S. degree.
     Caribou Coffee is privately held and based in Minneapolis. The company
 operates more than 130 stores in eight markets:  Minneapolis/St. Paul;
 Chicago; Atlanta; Detroit; Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio; and Charlotte and
 Raleigh, N.C.
 
 

SOURCE  Caribou Coffee Company