Home Depot board names new directors

ATLANTA Home Depot Thursday announced the appointments of Duane Ackerman, Ari Bousbib, and Karen Katen, to the company's board of directors.

These appointments are a part of the company's planned succession process to replace four existing board members, John Clendenin, Claudio Gonzales, Milledge Hart III, and Kenneth Langone, who are scheduled to retire from the board in May 2008. Also, today the company is announcing that Helen Johnson-Leipold, has resigned from the board due to additional demands on her time.

"We could not be more pleased to have executives of this caliber join our board," said Frank Blake, chairman and ceo. "Each of these individuals brings top-notch skills and experience in areas such as corporate governance, consumer focus, business development and strategy. Lastly, I would like to thank Helen Johnson-Leipold for her service as a director during the past year."

Ackerman is the retired chairman and ceo of BellSouth. Mr. Ackerman began his communications career in 1964 and was named president and chief executive officer of BellSouth Telecommunications, the enterprise's largest subsidiary, in 1992.

Bousbib is the president of Otis Elevator, a unit of United Technologies and the world's largest manufacturer, installer, and servicer of elevators, escalators, moving walkways and other horizontal transportation systems. He has held this position since 2002.

Katen currently serves as chairman of the Pfizer Foundation, and recently retired as vice chairman of Pfizer and as president of Pfizer Human Health, the company's principal operating group. Katen joined Pfizer in 1974 and has held numerous leadership roles within the organization until her retirement earlier this year.

With today's announcement, The Home Depot's board currently consists of 14 members, with 13 of them being outside directors.