Sara Lee CEO Taking Medical Leave of Absence

The company’s board of directors has named Marcel Smits, executive vice president and chief financial officer, to serve as interim CEO until Ms. Barnes returns.

17 May 2010 --- Sara Lee Corp. have announced that Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Brenda C. Barnes will take a temporary medical leave of absence, effective immediately. The company’s board of directors has named Marcel Smits, executive vice president and chief financial officer, to serve as interim CEO until Ms. Barnes returns. James S. Crown, lead independent director, will assume the role of chairman.

“We wish Brenda a speedy recovery and look forward to her return,” said Crown. “Out of respect for Brenda’s privacy, we will not be commenting further.”

Crown added, “We are pleased we have an executive of Marcel Smits’ caliber to serve as CEO in the interim.”

In addition, the company announced the formation of an Office of the Chairman comprised of Crown, Smits and Christopher John (CJ) Fraleigh, chief executive officer of North American Retail and Foodservice. The group has been formed to ensure the continued effective execution of strategic initiatives and further enhance operational efficiencies.

The company has named Mark Garvey as its interim chief financial officer. Having joined Sara Lee in 1995, Garvey served in a variety of executive positions for the company. He presently is the company’s senior vice president, Global Business Services and Corporate Controller.

Marcel Smits is executive vice president and chief financial officer of Sara Lee Corporation and is responsible for the corporation’s accounting, tax, treasury, procurement and information technology departments. He joined the company in October 2009. He joined Sara Lee from Dutch telecom leader Koninklijke KPN NV, where he served as chief financial officer and as a member of the management board. At KPN, Smits oversaw a number of acquisitions and restructurings which drove top-line growth and bottom-line savings. Prior to KPN, Smits was chief financial officer and a member of the management board of Vendex KBB (now known as Maxeda), a Dutch retail group, where he also managed the IT function. In addition, Smits held various financial and management positions in Europe, South America and Asia during his 13-year career at Unilever.