Austrian, who will relocate from Connecticut to Florida, has been a member of the Board of Office Depot, Inc. since the 1998 merger between Office Depot and Viking Office Products, where he had been a board member since 1988. Austrian has an extensive list of business accomplishments. From 1991 to December 1999, he served as President and Chief Operating Officer of the National Football League. At the NFL, he had executive responsibility for all operating departments and business entities of the League, including NFL Properties, NFL Films, NFL Enterprises and International.

Prior to his role at the NFL, from 1987 to 1990, he was a managing director of Dillon, Read & Co., an investment-banking firm, where he was co-head of the leveraged buyout group. Before Dillon Read, Mr. Austrian was Chairman and CEO of Showtime/The Movie Channel, a joint venture between Warner Communications and Viacom, and prior to that he also served as Chief Executive of Doyle, Dane, Bernbach, the advertising firm. Austrian serves currently on the boards of Hughes Electronics (DirecTV) and the Community Anti-Drug Coalition of America. He is on the advisory Board of Mid-Ocean Partners, a private equity firm. He will continue as a member of the Office Depot Board, but will relinquish his committee memberships during his tenure as Interim Chairman and CEO of the Company.

James Heskett, Lead Director of Office Depot, stated, “We appreciate Bruce Nelson’s many contributions to our Company over the past four years and wish him well in his future endeavors. We are both fortunate and gratified to have a person of Neil Austrian’s caliber on our Board, who can immediately step into the roles of Chairman and CEO of the Company while we search for a permanent replacement for this position. Neil has been an important contributor to our Board, and he will bring a high level of energy to a role that, while ‘interim’ in duration, will be anything but that in the terms of the level of Neil’s engagement.”

Said Austrian, “I am excited by the potential in Office Depot and intend to do all I can to maximize that potential. In particular, I am committed to continuing the strategic direction that we have established to grow the business and improve financial performance. I will be working closely with the search firm to find a world-class executive to provide ongoing leadership for our Company. Our entire Board is committed to finding the right leader to build upon a solid foundation and ignite significant growth for the benefit of our shareholders."

Said Bruce Nelson, “I am proud of what I have accomplished over the past four years at Office Depot and believe that we have established a stronger platform from which the Company can pursue growth and continue to do more to meet the needs of customers. I firmly believe that the Company’s best years are ahead.”

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, FL, 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 two online retailer – generating $2.6B in sales for FY’03.  In North America, Office Depot has 900 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.