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August 28, 1998

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SECTION: No. 172, Vol. 175; Pg. 14; ISSN: 0149-5380

IAC-ACC-NO: 21095824

LENGTH: 515 words

HEADLINE: YANKOWSKI TO HEAD REEBOK BRAND.

BYLINE: Feitelberg, Rosemary

BODY:

NEW YORK -- Carl Yankowski has been named president and chief executive officer

of the Reebok branded division at Reebok International, the company announced

Thursday.

He will join the $ 3.6 billion athletic

footwear and activewear maker on Sept. 8. He will be based at corporate headquarters in

Stoughton, Mass., and report to Paul Fireman, chairman and ceo of Reebok

International.

Yankowski will oversee all product development for Reebok footwear and apparel

as well as licensing, sales, marketing and advertising of the brand.

Most recently, Yankowski was president and chief operating officer of Sony

Electronics, a division of the Sony Corp., where he focused on development and

implementation of emerging audio,

video, communications and computer-based technologies. In heralding his arrival

at Reebok, the Reebok announcement pointed out that under his leadership, Sony

Electronics was the first Sony subsidiary to exceed $ 10 billion in annual

sales.

Yankowski will assume a post currently held by

Robert Meers, a 14-year veteran with the company. Following Yankowski's

arrival, Meers will remain at the company as executive vice president who will

work on special projects with Fireman, a Reebok spokesman said.

"The Reebok brand is Carl's to run in its entirety," the

spokesman said.

In 1995 when Meers was promoted to president and ceo of the branded division,

he made a three-year commitment to work with the brand, the spokesman said.

However, like several others in the athletic footwear industry, Reebok branded

goods have suffered from the impact of a mature men's business, with

athlete endorsements losing their cachet, and the Asian economic crisis,

leading to heavy promotion and excess inventories.

In the first quarter of this year, Reebok eliminated 500 positions in its

branded division.

Asked whether the Yankowski appointment -- overseeing the company's core

business -- might signal Fireman's exit, the Reebok

spokesman said Fireman is not planning to leave the company.

Displeased with the company's stock performance, shareholders have pressured

Fireman for the past two years to step aside or to name a successor. At last

year's Super Show in Atlanta, Fireman formally dismissed the suggestion that he

step

aside and pledged his commitment to the company.

Yankowski, who could not be reached for comment, said in a statement,

"In a very challenging year for the industry, Reebok has been steadfast in its

focus on product innovation, the communication of a distinct brand message and

improving customer satisfaction."

Fireman said in a statement,

"Carl's breadth of experience, including his technical expertise and involvement

in developing innovative marketing campaigns, fits perfectly with the direction

we've mapped for the Reebok brand. Under Carl's leadership, Reebok will be even

more focused on bringing to the

market performance-enhancing technologies, which are supported by breakthrough

marketing campaigns."

Prior to joining Sony, Yankowski was group vice president of Polaroid

Corporation's Asia/Pacific region.

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

IAC-CREATE-DATE: September 4, 1998

LOAD-DATE: September 05, 1998

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1998 LEXIS®-NEXIS®, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.

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