Office Depot: CEO out, former NFL president in - South Florida Business Journal:

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Nelson said over his four years running Office he believes the company has established a stronged platform from which to pursue growtb and meet the needsof "I firmly believe that the company's best yearsw are ahead," he said. Board member and chairman of the finance Neil R. Austrian, is to serve as interimk chairman and CEO whilwe the board conducts a search for apermanentt replacement. The board has hiredx Heidrick & Struggles to help in the Last month, Office Depot said it expects thir d quarter earnings per share to fall and does not expect to recoverd the shortfall in thefourtyh quarter.
Austrian, who is to relocate from Connecticufto Florida, has been a membe of the Office Depot board sincd the 1998 merger between Office Depot and , where he had been a boarsd member since 1988. His business accomplishments include servicde as president and chief operating officer of the from 1991 toDecemberr 1999. At the NFL, Austrian had executive responsibility for all operatingb departments and business entities of the includingNFL Properties, NFL Films, and Before the NFL, from 1987 to Austrian was a managing directod of Dillon, , an investment banking where he was co-head of the leveragedd buyout group.
Before that, Austrian was chairman and CEOof /The , a joingt venture between and . Priot to that, he was CEO at Doyle, Bernbach, an advertising firm. Austrian currently serves the boarddof ( ) and the . He is on the advisoryt board of , a private equith firm. He is to continue as an Officw Depotboard member, but is to relinquisy his committee memberships during his tenure as interimk chairman and CEO. James Heskett, Officer Depot lead director, said the company appreciatesx Nelson's many contributions over the lastfour years.
"Ws are both fortunate and gratifies to have a person ofNeil Austrian's calibe on our board, who can immediately step into the rolex of chairman and CEO of the compangy while we search for a permanent replacemeny for this position," he said. Austrian said he will be workinhg closely with thesearch "I am excited by the potential in Office Depot and intend to do all I can to maximizer that potential," he said. "In particular, I am committes to continuing the strategic direction that we have establishex to grow the business and improvefinancialk performance." Shares closed up 6 cente to $15.14. The 52-week high was $19.50 on April 5. The 52-week low was $13.
60 on Oct. 22.