Hot Topic Inc.

Betsy has served as our Chief Executive Officer since August 2000, and has served on our Board of Directors since May 2000. She also served as our President from February 2000 through September 2003. From June 1996 through February 2000, Betsy served as our Senior Vice President and General Merchandise Manager. From May 1993 through May 1996, she was our Vice President, Operations. Prior to joining us, Betsy held various positions with Millers Outpost and The Broadway. She is a member of the Board of Visitors for the Anderson School at UCLA and serves on the board of directors at Noodles & Company, a privately-held casual dining restaurant company.

Chris Daniel has served as President of our Torrid division since November 2006. From September 2006 to November 2006, he was Senior Vice President, Chief Merchandising Officer for Torrid and from October 2004 to August 2006, he was Vice President, General Merchandise Manager for Torrid. From September 1996 until September 2004, he was the Vice President of Design and Product Development for Mervyn’s, a division of Target Corporation. Prior to that, Mr. Daniel held management positions in merchandising and product development with Structure, a division of Limited, Inc., Charming Shoppes, and Dayton-Hudson. Mr. Daniel holds a B.A. degree in English Literature from the University of Richmond in Richmond, Virginia.

Jerry Cook has served as Chief Operating Officer since June 2008. From November 2005 through June 2008, he served as President, Hot Topic Inc. From September 2003 to October 2005, he was President of the Hot Topic division. From February 2001 to September 2003, he was Chief Operating Officer. From February 1999 until joining us, he was the President and Chief Operating Officer of Travel 2000, Inc. From 1995 to 1998, Mr. Cook was Senior Vice President, Operations for The Bombay Company, Inc. and from 1989 to 1995, Mr. Cook was the Vice President, Stores and the Vice President, General Merchandising Manager of Woman’s World Stores. Prior to 1989, he held management positions with Barnes & Noble/B Dalton, The Gap Stores and the Limited, Inc. Mr. Cook holds a B.S. degree in Business Administration from the University of Minnesota.

Jim McGinty has served as Chief Financial Officer since February 2001. Mr. McGinty joined us in August 2000 as Vice President, Finance and was promoted to Chief Financial Officer in February 2001. From July 1996 to July 2000, Mr. McGinty was Vice President-Controller at Victoria’s Secret Stores, the leading brand and largest specialty retailer division of the Limited, Inc. From 1984 to 1996, he held various financial and accounting positions within the Structure and Express divisions of The Limited, Inc. Mr. McGinty holds a B.S. degree in Accounting from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

John Kirkpatrick joined us in April 2007 as Senior Vice President, Chief Music Officer of our Hot Topic division. From 2004 to 2007, Mr. Kirkpatrick served as Senior Vice President, Music and Creative Affairs at Paramount Pictures. Prior to that, Mr. Kirkpatrick served as Senior Vice President, A&R / Soundtracks at Elektra Records from 1996 to 2004. From 1990 to 1996, he held various management positions at Laffitte Entertainment Division. Mr. Kirkpatrick attended the University of South Florida.

Maria Comfort joined us in August 2005 as Senior Vice President and Chief Merchandising Officer. Before joining us, Ms. Comfort served as Executive Vice President, General Merchandise Manager for Lillie Rubin stores, a division of Cache Inc. since April 2004. Prior to that, Ms. Comfort was Vice President and General Merchandise Manager for Lillie Rubin stores from May 2002 to April 2004. From 1999 until 2002, Ms. Comfort served as Executive Vice President for Giorgio Armani. From June 1997 to 1999, Ms. Comfort served as President of 9 & Co., a division of Nine West Group, Inc., a women's apparel company. Ms. Comfort has a B.A. degree in Mathematics from City College of New York, and has completed graduate level mathematics and management courses at Tel Aviv University and Columbia University.

Tom Beauchamp joined us as Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer in June 2004. From October 2001 until joining us, he was Chief Information Officer for CMI Marketing, a provider of loyalty marketing programs. From January 2000 until June of 2001, Mr. Beauchamp was Chief Information Officer of Columbia House. From June 1999 through January 2001, he was Senior Vice President, Chief Information Officer for Oxford Health Plans. From March 1996 through June 1999, he was Senior Vice President, Chief Information Officer for Woolworth Corporation. Prior to 1996, Mr. Beauchamp held management positions with Montgomery Ward, Limited, Inc., Millers Outpost, and The Broadway. Mr. Beauchamp has a B.A. degree in Sociology from the University of Redlands and an M.B.A. from the University of California at Fullerton.

Cindy Levitt has served as Vice President, Licensing since August 2005. From February 2000 to August 2005, Ms. Levitt was Vice President, Hot Topic General Merchandise Manager. From June 1996 to February 2000, she served as Divisional Merchandise Manager, Apparel and Music. Ms. Levitt has held senior buying positions with the company since 1989. Prior to her career at Hot Topic, Ms. Levitt held buying positions at The May Company. Ms. Levitt holds a degree in Fashion Merchandising from Orange Coast College.

Darrell Kinsley has served as Vice President, Store Design and Visual Merchandising, since January 2005. From February 2000 through December 2004, Mr. Kinsley was Vice President, Hot Topic Store Operations. From June 1998 through February 2000, Mr. Kinsley was Regional Director for the western United States. From February 1997 through June 1998, he was Regional Director for the eastern United States. Mr. Kinsley joined us in February 1995 as the District Manager for the eastern United States and was responsible for our expansion into the East Coast. Mr. Kinsley holds a business management leadership certificate from the Anderson School of Business at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Ed Gusman has served as Vice President, Hot Topic Store Operations since January 2005. From January 2004 to January 2005, Mr. Gusman was Senior Regional Director for the Eastern United States. From March 2001 to December 2003, Mr. Gusman was the Regional Director for the Southeast. From September 1999 to February 2001, he was the district manager for Urban Outfitters for the Mid Atlantic, Southeast. From May 1994 to August 1999, Mr. Gusman was a regional director for Zany Brainy, heading up its expansion on the West Coast. From 1990 to 1994, he was regional director for Brentano’s, Waldenbooks Super Store. Prior to that, he held various management positions with Waldenbooks.

Elizabeth Haynes has served as the Vice President of Planning and Allocation for Torrid since December 2006. From May 2004 to December 2006, Ms. Haynes was the Director of Planning and Allocation for Torrid. From April 2001 to May 2004, she served as Director of Planning and Allocation, Accessories for Hot Topic. Ms. Haynes has held various planning and allocation positions with the company since 1997. Prior to her career at Hot Topic, Ms. Haynes held planning and allocation positions at The Broadway. Ms. Haynes has a B.S. degree in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix.

Jackson was the Associate Vice President of Marketing for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art from 2003 until June 2007. From 1999 to 2003, Ms. Jackson held various Director positions in marketing and business development with AG Interactive, the online subsidiary of American Greetings. Prior to that, Ms. Jackson held management positions at Tattoo, a brand consulting agency and Edelman Public Relations Worldwide. Ms. Jackson holds a B.A. degree in International Business from Southern Methodist University.

George Wehlitz joined us in April 2008 as Vice President, Finance. From November 2005 to January 2008, Mr. Wehlitz was Chief Financial Officer at Cycle Gear, Inc., a specialty retailer of motorcycle apparel and accessories. Mr. Wehlitz previously joined us as Vice President, Controller in February 2002, and then served as Vice President, Finance from August 2003 to November 2005. From August 2000 to February 2002, Mr. Wehlitz was Chief Financial Officer at The Popcorn Factory, a catalog company for gourmet popcorn gifts. From 1987 to 2000, Mr. Wehlitz held various financial-related positions, at the divisional and corporate level, for The Bombay Company, Inc. Mr. Wehlitz holds a B.A. degree in Accounting from Texas Christian University and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Jerome Kahn joined us in September 2006 as Vice President of Planning and Allocation. Most recently, Mr. Kahn was the Vice President of Planning and Allocation of Pure Beauty. Mr. Kahn was the Senior Vice President of Planning and Allocation at Ann Taylor from April 2004 to July 2005. From July 1994 to April 2004, Mr. Kahn held various planning and allocation management positions with Victoria’s Secret Beauty and Bath and Body Works, which are divisions of The Limited, Inc. Mr. Kahn has a B.A. in Marketing from Cape Town, South Africa.

John Neppl joined us in October 2001 as Vice President, Real Estate and Construction. From January 1995 to September 2001, Mr. Neppl served as Vice-President of Real Estate and Construction for Eastern Mountain Sports, Inc., a specialty retailer based in New Hampshire. Mr. Neppl served as Director of Real Estate at Millers Outpost/Anchor Blue from October 1987 to December 1994. Mr. Neppl held various financial positions with Mervyn’s department stores, a division of Target Corporation, from October 1978 to September 1987. Mr. Neppl received a B.S. degree in Accounting from Villanova University.

Kelly McGuire Diehl has served as Vice President, Human Resources since April 2009. From April 2006 through March 2009 Ms. McGuire Diehl was Vice President of Employee Relations and Training. Ms. McGuire Diehl joined us in June 2004 as the Director of Employee Relations and was promoted to Vice President of Employee Relations and Training in April 2006. Ms. McGuire Diehl was the Director of Human Resources at VariAsian, Inc., a joint venture start-up fast casual restaurant concept, from June 2003 to April 2004. From 1989 to 2003, Ms. McGuire Diehl held various human resource management positions at Nestlé USA, Inc. Ms. McGuire Diehl has a B.S. in Communications from Texas Christian University.

Mike Yoshida joined us in August 2005 as Vice President, Finance. From December 1998 to August 2005, Mr. Yoshida served as Senior Director of Finance and Controller at Bristol Farms. Mr. Yoshida served as CFO, Vice President Finance at Farmers Market from May 1995 to December 1998. From 1984 to 1995, Mr. Yoshida held various accounting and finance management positions with Ralphs Grocery Co., MTC Video Post Production, and Irvine Ranch Farmers Market. Mr. Yoshida received his B.S. degree in Accounting from the University of Southern California and M.B.A. from the California State University, Los Angeles.

Tricia Higgins has served as Vice President, Distribution since October 2004 and is responsible for the Distribution Center in the City of Industry. From February 2004 to October 2004, she was Vice President, Internet. Before her promotion to Vice President, Internet, she held the position of Director, Internet, beginning in June 2002. Prior to joining us, she was Director, Contact Center Operations for Cooking.com. From 1997 to August 2000, Ms. Higgins was Director, Retail Operations for the Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn and Hold Everything divisions of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. From 1994 to July 1997, she held various positions with The Disney Stores, Inc. in Retail Operations and New Business Development. Ms. Higgins holds a B.A. degree in Psychology from Indiana University.

Andrew Schuon has served on our Board of Directors since January 1998. Mr. Schuon is the co-founder of C Student Entertainment , a boutique radio and mobile-focused media company specializing in compelling content. Since January 2009, Mr. Schuon has been a senior executive of Ticketmaster Entertainment, Inc., the world s leading live entertainment ticketing and marketing company. Mr. Schuon was the founder and President, from July 2004 until January 2008, of Vivendi/Universal s IMF: The International Music Feed, a 24-hour cable TV channel. From August 2002 to February 2004, Mr. Schuon was President of Programming of Infinity Broadcasting. From April 2001 to August 2002, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Pressplay, a joint venture created by Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group. From December 1999 to April 2001, Mr. Schuon was President and Chief Operating Officer of the Universal Music Group s music business, Farmclub.com, Inc. Prior to that, from February 1998 to November 1999, Mr. Schuon was Executive Vice President/General Manager of Warner Bros. Records Inc. From 1992 to December 1997, Mr. Schuon served as Executive Vice President of MTV where he was responsible for programming, music, production and talent for their MTV and VH1 cable channels.

Evelyn has served on our Board of Directors since June 2007. She is the President and founder of D’An Financial Services, Inc., or DFS, an integrated business consulting and financial services firm formed in 2004 that provides accounting, finance, information technology and strategic tax expertise to its clients. Evelyn is currently serving as a director and member of the Audit Committee of Alico, Inc. a publicly-traded land management company operating in Central and Southwest Florida that is involved in various agricultural and real estate operations. From 1998 until prior to founding DFS, Evelyn, a certified public accountant, was an audit and advisory partner at Ernst & Young LLP, where, among numerous responsibilities, she established and led their South Florida Public Sector Practice.

Lisa M. Harper retired as Chairman of the Board and Chief Creative Officer of The Gymboree Corporation in July 2006. Ms. Harper had been Chairman of the Board of Directors of The Gymboree Corporation since 2002 and Chief Creative Officer since January 2006. Ms. Harper also served as Chief Executive Officer of The Gymboree Corporation from February 2001 to January 2006 and as its President and Chief Operating Officer from 2000 to 2001. Ms. Harper joined the Board of Directors of Longs Drug Stores Corporation in 2006. She is a member of the Compensation Committee.