James S. Crown - President, Henry Crown and Company, director since 1998

James S. Crown is president of Chicago-based Henry Crown and Company. He was elected to Sara Lee Corporation’s board of directors in 1998 and serves as lead independent director. He also serves as the chair of the Corporate Governance, Nominating and Policy and Executive Committees and is a member of the Audit Committee.

Crown joined Henry Crown & Company in 1985, where he manages real estate, operating companies and security investments. Prior to that, he worked in positions of increasing responsibility for Salomon Brothers Inc., where he was responsible for a variety of advisory services. He was promoted to vice president of the Capital Markets Services Group in 1983.

Crown serves on the boards of General Dynamics Corporation and JPMorgan Chase. He serves as trustee for the University of Chicago, the Aspen Institute, the Museum of Science and Industry and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Crown earned a bachelor of arts degree in political science from Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass. He also received a law degree from the Stanford Law School, where he was projects editor of the Stanford Law Review and a member of the Stanford Public Interest Law Foundation.

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.