Sonenshine Partners Announces Addition of Jerry Levin to Advisory Board
Company Press Release
January 20, 2009

New York, N.Y. – Sonenshine Partners LLC today announced that Jerry Levin will be joining its Advisory Board.

"We are delighted that Jerry Levin will be joining our advisory board which consists of an accomplished group of seasoned business professionals.  Jerry Levin is a talented business leader and we are looking forward to his meaningful and significant contribution to our Advisory Board" said Marshall Sonenshine, Chairman and Managing Partner of Sonenshine Partners.

Mr. Levin is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of JW Levin Partners LLC, a management and investment firm organized in February 2005. Mr. Levin is an experienced CEO, turnaround expert and mergers & acquisitions specialist.  He has been growing the sales and profits of branded consumer products companies for the past 30 years via internal product development programs, restructurings, acquisitions, and cultural improvements.

From 1974-1989, Mr. Levin worked for the Pillsbury Company (“Pillsbury”).  In his initial capacity as head of corporate development, Mr. Levin completed hundreds of mergers, acquisitions and divestitures.  Some of the transactions Mr. Levin led included Haagen-Dazs, Green Giant, Totino’s Pizza, Steak & Ale, Chart House, and American Beauty Macaroni.  Mr. Levin also became the Chief Executive Officer of several operating units within Pillsbury, including Haagen-Dazs and the second largest restaurant group in the U.S. (comprised of Burger King, Steak &Ale, Bennigan’s, Chart House, and Godfather’s Pizza). 

From 1989 until 1991, Mr. Levin was the Chief Executive Officer of The Coleman Company, Inc. (“Coleman”), a company controlled by MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings Inc. (“MacAndrews & Forbes”).  During his tenure as Coleman’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Levin divested non-strategic businesses and devoted resources to growing the core camping business. 

From 1991 until 1997, Mr. Levin was the Chief Executive Officer of Revlon, Inc., another company controlled by MacAndrews & Forbes.  When Mr. Levin joined Revlon, it was suffering from significant losses and debt load, and had a number three, and declining, market share in the United States mass market for color cosmetics.  By the end of Mr. Levin’s tenure as Chief Executive Officer of Revlon, Revlon was restructured with its debt load significantly reduced and the number one market share in the United States mass market for color cosmetics.   Mr. Levin became Chief Executive Officer of Coleman again from early 1997 to the sale of Coleman to Sunbeam Corporation (‘Sunbeam”) in March 1998. 

From June 1998 until January 2005, Mr. Levin served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of American Household, Inc. (formerly named Sunbeam) (“American Household”), the holding company for Coleman, Sunbeam Products, Inc., Coleman Powermate, Inc., and First Alert, Inc.  Mr. Levin was hired by the Board of Directors of Sunbeam after the termination of Al Dunlap with Sunbeam facing numerous significant financial, operational and legal issues.  Mr. Levin restructured Sunbeam’s operations during 1999 and 2000, and in 2001, in order to restructure Sunbeam’s finances, Mr. Levin led Sunbeam through a chapter 11 restructuring.  American Household, Inc., was sold in two separate transactions during 2004 and at the time of its sale, it businesses were the leading or one of the leading businesses in the markets they served.

Mr. Levin graduated from the University of Michigan with B.S.E. degrees in Electrical and Mathematics and received an MBA from the University of Chicago in 1968.

Mr. Levin is on the Board of Directors and chairs the governance committees of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE: ECL) and U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB).

Sonenshine Partners is a leading independent investment bank focused on providing integrated strategic, financial and corporate advisory services.  The firm was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in New York City.