Cees J.A. van Lede - Retired chairman and chief executive officer, Akzo Nobel N.V., director since 2002

Cees J.A. van Lede is the retired chairman of the board of management and chief executive officer of Akzo Nobel N.V., a Netherlands-based manufacturer and worldwide distributor of healthcare products, coatings and chemicals, until his retirement in 2003. He was elected to the board of directors of Sara Lee Corporation in 2002. Van Lede serves on the Audit and Finance Committees.

Van Lede joined Akzo Nobel NV in 1991 as a member of its Board of Management. He was appointed vice chairman of the Board of Management in 1992 and became chairman and chief executive of Akzo Nobel in 1994. From 1984 to 1991, he served as chairman of the Federation of Netherlands Industry (VNO), and from 1991 to 1994 he was vice president of the Union of Industrial and Employers’ Confederations of Europe (UNICE).

He serves as the chairman of the Supervisory Board of Heineken N.V. and as a member of the Supervisory Board of Philips Electronics. He is a non-executive director with Air France-KLM Holding and Air Liquide.

Van Lede earned a degree in law from the University of Leiden, and a master’s of business administration degree from INSEAD, the Institute of Business Administration in Fontainebleau, France.

About Sara Lee Corporation
Sara Lee Corp. (NYSE: SLE) and it's leading portfolio of food and beverage brands, including Ball Park, Douwe Egberts, Hillshire Farm, Jimmy Dean, Pickwick Teas, Sara Lee and Senseo, generate nearly $8 billion in annual net sales from continuing operations and employ approximately 20,000 people worldwide.  In January, 2011, Sara Lee Corp. announced that it will divide the company into two pure -play publicly-traded companies, one focused on the international coffee and tea market and the other on North American meats.  For more information on the company, please visit www.saralee.com.