Office Depot Announces Its Fifth Annual Success Strategies For Businesswomen Conference Featuring Lineup Of Extraordinary Women

ABC News Correspondent and Emmy-Award Winning Co-Host and Co-Executive Producer of The View, Barbara Walters is Featured Keynote Speaker

December 2004 (Newstream) -- Office Depot (NYSE:ODP) on December 2 announced its exciting lineup for the company's fifth annual Success Strategies For Businesswomen Conference. This year's event features Barbara Walters as keynote presenter and will be held February 27-March 1, 2005 at the Boca Resort & Club in Boca Raton, Florida. 

Office Depot's Success Strategies For Businesswomen Conference is recognized as one of the nation's most prominent and significant events offered annually to female small business owners. It is open to the public, but limited to the first 1,000 registrants. Those interested in registering may do so online at www.officedepotsuccess.com or by calling 1-888-475-3344. 

Early Bird registration for the three-day conference is $499 per person through January 2 and $554 thereafter. 

"This year's event features outstanding keynote presentations and insightful business sessions targeted to the specific interests and needs of women small business owners and entrepreneurs," noted Chuck Rubin, Office Depot's executive vice president and chief marketing/merchandising officer. 

"We are pleased to offer another outstanding lineup with meaningful and valuable content for women business owners -- a growing and important segment of today's economy and one of our most significant core customers," Rubin said. 

Speakers and panelists include: 
Barbara Walters, ABC News Correspondent and Emmy-Award Winning co-host and co-executive producer of The View. Walters is the first woman to co-host network news, a career she began in 1976. She is also a 2000 recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. 
Anne M. Mulcahy, chairman and CEO, Xerox Corporation, one of the most enduring brands in business today. Mulcahy has led the company through a massive transformation -- reinventing Xerox into an innovative technology and services enterprise. She serves as a board director for Target and Citigroup and is a member of the Business Council. Mulcahy received Office Depot's Corporate Visionary Award in 2002. 
Nely Galán, creator and executive producer of Fox's hit reality series The Swan. Galán is the only woman who is currently creating and executive producing reality shows for both English and Spanish-language networks. She is regarded as one of the entertainment industry's most dynamic creative executives, Cuban-born Galán has dedicated her career to bridging the cultural gap between Latin cultures and mainstream American media. 
Debbi Fields, former chairman of Mrs. Fields Cookies, which she founded in 1977. Fields is an accomplished author, most recently writing, Debbi Fields' Great American Desserts. She was a featured keynote speaker at Office Depot's first conference in 2001. 
Barbara Corcoran, chairman of the Corcoran Group who parlayed a $1,000 loan into the founding of the Corcoran Group, a leading New City real estate company with more than $5 billion in revenue. She is the accomplished author of national bestsellers, Use What You Got and Other Business Lessons I Learned from My Mom. 
Additionally, Alexis M. Herman, U.S. Secretary of Labor, who served 1997-2001 will emcee the conference. Herman is America's 23rd Secretary of Labor and the first African American to lead the Labor Department. She serves as a member of the board of directors for MGM Grand, Entergy, Cummins, Inc., and chairs the Toyota Diversity Advisory Board and the Coca Cola Task Force. Secretary Herman is a trustee for her alma mater, Xavier University, holds 20 honorary degrees and is chair and CEO of her own firm, New Ventures, Inc., located in Washington, DC. 

According to Rubin, an important new element in this year's program will be concurrent breakout sessions for attendees on Monday, February 28, prior to Walter's keynote address. 

"The new sessions offer more information, business tools and hands-on strategies so attendees can connect, share and learn," Rubin said. 

Optional breakout sessions include: 
Contingency Planning & Disaster Recovery hosted by Monica Luechtefeld, executive vice president of global e-commerce for Office Depot, examines best practices in disaster preparedness, plus comprehensive and cost-effective contingency plans. 

Selling to the Big Guys/Perfecting Your Pitch hosted by Susan Phillips Bari, president of the Women's Business Enterprise National Council, offers practical information to help women win their fair share of the corporate contracting pie. 

Driving Strategies for Business Success hosted by Marsha Firestone, president of the Women Presidents' Organization, features women business owners sharing the secrets to their success. 

Returning emcee Alexis Herman said, "I am delighted to host this year's conference. Office Depot's commitment to encouraging and promoting women-owned businesses is extraordinary. The addition of breakout sessions provides women with the opportunity to network with other women on a more personal level." 

About the Keynotes, Visionary Awards Gala and Inspirational Luncheon 

Opening keynote speaker on Monday, February 28 is Xerox Chairman and CEO Anne Mulcahy. 

"Businesses today operate in an intensely competitive environment," said Mulcahy. "For women in business, it is critical to have and know where to gain the skills, talents and opportunities that drive success. Office Depot's conference is a wonderful forum for doing just that." 

Later that evening, Office Depot will host its Success Strategies Awards Gala, which honors the accomplishments of women leaders and entrepreneurs who are shaping today's economy by presenting its Office Depot Visionary Awards for Corporate, Non-Profit, Entrepreneur, Sports and Pioneer. The conference closes on Tuesday, March 1 with Office Depot's Inspirational Luncheon. 

About the Business Sessions 
Four business sessions will be conducted throughout the conference on the following topics: 

Building Your Business, Building Your Brand hosted by Debbi Fields, Nely Galán and Josephine Chaus, all of whom are well known business owners with tremendous brand recognition in their respective industries. 
The session provides attendees with meaningful strategies on how to establish a brand and increase profits without breaking the bank through e-mail marketing and public relations. The panel of successful brand leaders will offer a hands-on approach to brand creation and management. 

"The event has grown tremendously since I participated at the first conference in 2001, both in those attending and the content offered," noted Debbi Fields. "Office Depot recognizes the powerful contribution women can make when they have the right venue for learning and connecting." 

Full-Spectrum Financial Advice for Your Business hosted by Myra M. Hart, professor of entrepreneurship, Harvard Business School, who will be joined by financial experts to discuss how to obtain financing and utilize capital in the most effective way to grow your business. 

This session will provide tips, strategies and solutions geared to the unique challenges of planning for the financial future of women-owned firms. 

CEO Success Strategies - Connectivity: People, Ideas, Opportunities hosted by CEO's from the travel, retail, fashion and publishing industries who will share motivational stories about how each of them achieved solid footing and developed successful entrepreneurial ventures. 

Growth Secrets From Sales Divas hosted by Cindy Campbell, executive vice president of delivery sales for Office Depot will address how to achieve consistent revenue with proven tactics and strategies. 

Specifically, this session will offer advice from the entrepreneur's perspective related to product and service pricing, sales revenue collection and reinvestment, and proven methods for making your business more scalable. 

About the Expo and Auction 
The conference includes an Expo featuring exhibitor booths that allow vendors to speak one-on-one with attendees, as well as to share various product and service offerings. 

Attendees will also have the opportunity to bid on more than 200 items during the conference's silent auction. Popular items include an opportunity to have lunch with senior executives from Office Depot, select keynote speakers and city officials from around the country; travel packages; crafts and clothing made by Count Me In Entrepreneurs; and useful tools for women in business. 

Proceeds from the silent auction benefit Count-Me-In.org, a non-profit organization that provides online nationwide access to micro business loans that help women start businesses. Count Me In uses a unique credit scoring system that recognizes the potential in women who have been turned down or discouraged by commercial financial institutions. Since 2002, Office Depot has provided more than $125,000 to Count-Me-In. Loan recipients who benefited from last year's donation will also attend the conference. 

About the Conference 
The Office Depot Success Strategies For Businesswomen Conference was created in 2001 to provide women in business with networking opportunities, while offering programs and seminars that help them manage their businesses more successfully. The conference also spotlights national professional women's organizations and honors top women in business with Office Depot Visionary Awards and Businesswomen of the Year Awards. 

Leading sponsors for the 2005 conference are Xerox, MassMutual and Hewlett Packard. Other supporting sponsors include: Acco, Bic, Canon, Energizer, International Paper, JKG Group, Microsoft and Smead. 

For a schedule of keynote speakers and panel business sessions featured and to learn more about the conference, please visit www.officedepotsuccess.com. 

About Office Depot 
With annual sales of more than $12 billion, no one sells more office supplies to more customers in more countries than Office Depot. Founded in 1986 and headquartered in Delray Beach, Fla., the company conducts business in 23 countries and employs nearly 50,000 people worldwide. 

Office Depot is a leader in every distribution channel - from retail stores and contract delivery to catalogs and e-commerce. The company is the world's number three online retailer -- on track to generate $3B in sales for FY'04. In North America, Office Depot has 923 retail stores in addition to a national business-to-business delivery network supported by 22 delivery centers, more than 60 local sales offices and 13 regional call centers. 

The company's common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ODP and is included in the S&P 500 Index. Additional press information can be found at: http://mediarelations.officedepot.com. 

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Produced for Office Depot 

Contact:

Mindy Kramer
Office Depot
561-438-4276
mkramer@officedepot.com

Lauren Garvey/Lisa Roberson
JKG Communications
561-989-9931 x 101
lauren@jkggroup.com

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