Mervyn's California Department Stores

John Serino joined Mervyns as executive vice president, operations in June 2006. In this role, Serino oversees stores, store operations, store environment and design, distribution, loss prevention, real estate, and property development. Serino joined Mervyns from Coastal Treats Corporation, a family-owned business where he was president. Prior to that, Serino served as chief operating officer for After Hours Formalwear, a division of David's Bridal. Previous to that, he held several senior executive management positions with Wilsons Leather. Serino was responsible for the development of Wilsons' Leather Outlet concept, as well as Wilsons' entry into the travel business both large growth platforms for the company. Serino also served in various senior management roles with Auto Palace, Marshalls department stores, and Brookstone. He began his career as a district manager with Lerner Stores. Serino studied psychology at Kings College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

Vanessa J. Castagna joined Cerberus Capital Management in April 2005 as a full-time senior member of the Cerberus operations team and currently serves in the role of executive chairwoman of Mervyns' board of directors. In this position, Vanessa is responsible for the overall growth and direction of the Cerberus retail portfolio companies. Vanessa is also involved with other Cerberus investment opportunities. Prior to joining Cerberus, Castagna served as chairman and chief executive officer of JCPenney Stores, Catalog and Internet from July 2002 to December 2004. At that time, JCPenney encompassed 1040 department store locations, including its catalog and e-commerce businesses, with total annual sales of $18.4 billion. She served as the Company's president and chief operating officer in 2001, after joining the Company in 1999 as chief operating officer leading a new centralized business format. Prior to that, Castagna was with Wal-Mart from 1994 to 1999. She served as senior vice president and general merchandise manager, where her responsibilities included all women's and children's apparel, intimates, accessories, and home decor. She also established a product and brand development department for the 2,400 domestic store locations. Castagna has worked with several leading retail companies in various senior level merchandising positions, including senior vice president and general merchandise manager with Marshall's stores, a division of TJX Companies, and vice president of merchandising at Target Stores, a division of Target Corporation. Castagna began her retail career in 1972 with Lazarus, a division of Federated Department Stores, where she rose from management trainee to senior vice president and general merchandise manager. In addition to serving as the chair of Mervyns' board of directors, Castagna currently serves on the board of directors for Rafaella Apparel Group, Inc. Vanessa has also served as a member of the advisory board of the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University, the National Minority Supplier Development Council, and as chair of the Women's Leadership Council of the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas. Castagna is actively involved with her alma mater, Purdue University, and was a keynote speaker at Purdue's 2005 "Women in Academia: Institutional Change to Enhance Success" conference, and participates in Purdue's Old Master's program. Passionate about creating value, building teams and making a positive difference in the companies she works with, Castagna is also dedicated to volunteer work with organizations that impact children's lives for the better. An active fundraiser for the Children's Miracle Network and the NYU Medical Center's Rusk Institute, Vanessa's current philanthropic involvement also includes the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and support of the American Cancer Society, American Red Cross, March of Dimes and the United Way through various Mervyns' initiatives. Castagna has been instrumental in the expansion of Mervyns' award-winning program, ChildSpreeSM, which has donated more than $18 million in shopping sprees and served over 180,000 underprivileged children since 1992. Castagna was honored as an industry leader by the Young Menswear Association (YMA) as a 2006 AMY award recipient in recognition of her outstanding support of educational opportunities for young individuals studying for careers in the apparel industry. Vanessa has been listed as one of Fortune Magazine's "The 50 Most Powerful Women in Business" for four consecutive years, as well as two years on Forbes Magazine's "The 100 Most Powerful Women" list. Castagna received her bachelor's of science degree in psychology and speech communication from Purdue University. She resides in Dallas, Texas, and Naples, Florida.