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Equilar Appoints Peter Browning and Jim Casella to Board of Directors
REDWOOD CITY, CA (January 29, 2013) – Equilar, the leader in executive compensation benchmarking and research, today announced the appointment
of Peter Browning as Lead Independent Director and Jim Casella as Director. Their previous board leadership for other firms and their industry
experience will be instrumental in driving Equilar’s continued growth, as the company enters new markets, expands its product offerings, and
builds on strategic partnerships.
Peter Browning is the Founder and Managing Director of Peter Browning Partners, LLC, an esteemed board advisory consulting firm. Since 1989,
Peter has served on the boards of directors of eleven publicly traded companies, two as CEO. He has served as Chairman, President, and CEO of
the National Gypsum Company, and as President and CEO of Sonoco Products Company. Peter presently serves as Lead Director of Nucor Corporation
and Acuity Brands, and is also a member of the boards of directors of EnPro Industries and Lowe's Companies. He is a founding member of the
Lead Director Network, a member of the faculty for The Conference Board’s Directors’ Institute, the former Dean of the McColl School of Business
at Queens University of Charlotte, and a lifetime member of The University of Chicago’s Council on the Booth Graduate School of Business. In 2004,
Board Alert Magazine selected Peter as one of eight “Outstanding Directors of the Year” for his role in the successful CEO transitions at Lowe's
and Nucor. He is also the 2009 recipient of Boston University's "Gislason Award for Leadership in Executive Development," and he was selected for
the "NACD Director 100 List" in 2011 and 2012.
Jim Casella is Chairman, CEO and Founder of Case Interactive Media (CIM), affiliated with Austin Ventures where he serves as CEO-in-Residence for
their Growth/Private Equity practice. He is Chairman and CEO of Asset International, a leading B2B information and technology company in the
financial information sector. Jim has extensive leadership experience in the information services industry, including: serving as Vice Chairman
of Reed Business (Reed Elsevier's business-to-business division), CEO of U.S. operations for Reed Business Information, Chief Operating Officer at
IDG, President and CEO of PennNet (now PennEnergy), President of ABC Consumer Magazines (a division of Capital Cities/ABC), and Vice President of
Sales and Marketing for HBJ Media Systems at Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. Jim has also served on the boards of directors of two formerly-listed NASDAQ
companies (IDG Books and Ask Jeeves) as well as on the board of Infomedia India LTD. He previously served on the board of Jigsaw Data Corporation,
which was sold to Salesforce.com in 2010. Jim currently sits on the board of Compare Networks.
“Peter Browning and Jim Casella both bring their unique insights and experience to fuel our next phase of growth,” said David Chun, CEO and Founder
of Equilar. “Their addition to our board firmly positions Equilar to execute our mission of helping companies improve corporate governance by
providing high-quality data, unbiased analysis, and industry-leading tools.”
“Equilar has a significant market opportunity and a strong management team, and clearly has momentum as a leading voice in the corporate governance
discussion,” said Browning. “Equilar is an exceptional company poised for considerable expansion. I am honored to be named to the board as the
company enters its next phase of growth.”
“There is significant buzz around Equilar in the industry,” said Casella. “Equilar is uniquely-positioned to be truly transformative in the market.
I’m excited about working with the company’s talented management team as we begin this exciting new journey.”
Headquartered in Redwood City, Calif., Equilar is the leading provider of executive compensation data and governance tools for
corporations, nonprofits, consulting firms, institutional investors, and the media. As the trusted data and executive solutions
provider to 70% of the Fortune 500, Equilar helps companies accurately benchmark and track executive and board compensation, pay
for performance results, and compensation practices. In addition, Equilar offers a leading business and event networking solution
focused on serving executives and board members. Equilar’s research is cited regularly by Bloomberg, The New York Times, The Wall
Street Journal, and other leading media outlets.