Breeden, business partner join Zale board
January 18, 2008

Dallas—Richard Breeden’s foothold in Zale Corp. increased again on Thursday when he and his business partner were appointed to the company’s board of directors.

Zale announced the appointment of Breeden and another new member, James M. Cotter, on Friday. The appointments increased the size of the Zale board from six to eight members.

Breeden, the former chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has been buying up shares of Zale stock through his company, Breeden Capital Management LLC, since September.

He now owns an 18.1 percent stake in the company.

Breeden, who is known as an activist investor, has served on the boards of a number of public and private companies in the United States and Europe. He currently is the non-executive chairman of the board for investment firm H and R Block and sits on the board of BBVA of Spain, one of the largest banks in Europe.

Cotter is a founding partner of Breeden Capital Management and is a senior managing director of Richard C. Breeden and Co.

Prior to joining Richard C. Breeden and Co. in 2005, Cotter was a senior partner and vice chairman of the law firm Simpson Thacher and Bartlett LLP.

Following the appointment of Breeden and Cotter, Zale announced on Friday that it is looking for an additional, independent director to bring the board to its full complement of nine directors.

Editor’s note: For related news, see Breeden’s stake in Zale continues to rise.