Jan Bennink - director and executive chairman of Sara Lee Corporation

Jan Bennink is director and executive chairman of Sara Lee Corporation. In this role, he is responsible for the leadership and implementation of the company’s spin-off first announced in January 2011, as well as chairing the company’s board of directors.

Most recently, Bennink served as chief executive officer of Royal Numico, a supplier of baby food and clinical nutrition, from 2002 to 2007. Prior to Royal Numico, Bennink was with Groupe Danone from 1995 to 2002, most recently as president of the company’s dairy division. From 1989 to 1995, he held various management positions with Benckiser GmbH. Bennink began his career in brand management with Procter & Gamble.

Bennink is currently a member of the board of directors of Coca Cola Enterprises. He recently served as a director of Kraft Foods, Boots Company, Dalli-Werke GmbH & Co. and on the advisory board of ABN AMRO.

Bennink earned a degree in English and geography from Teachers Training Institute in the the Netherlands in 1979 and a masters in urban and environmental planning from University of Groningen in the Netherlands in 1981

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.