Monday April 16, 8:46 am Eastern Time
Press Release
HouseHold Direct Expands Management Team with Appointment of Interim COO and
CFO
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 16, 2001--HouseHold Direct.com, Inc. (OTCBB: BYIT - news). HouseHold Direct announced today that, through Hartsfield Capital Group, Inc.,
two positions have been appointed in the transition process to expand the Management Team. Gary Melick has been named as Interim Chief Financial Officer, and John H. Banzhaf as
Interim Chief Operating Officer.
Both men currently hold senior management positions with Hartsfield, and will be working closely with HouseHold Direct
for the next six months. Their roles will be to provide strategic operating and financial guidance into the many complexities
related to a series of anticipated acquisitions in the Company's Business Plan and to consolidate elements within the private
wholesale buying club industry. Hartsfield is expected to assess the progress made after the transition period and recommend highly qualified permanent replacements to these positions.
Mr. Melick has extensive senior corporate level experience in managing large, multi-location franchise and retail
organizations such as Pizza Hut, Advantica and AFC. He served as Director of Corporate Planning for Advantica, a $2.5
billion restaurant company, where he led all financial, operational, capital, and strategic planning, achieving a restructuring which created $1 billion in debt reduction. He also served as Vice President of Finance and CFO for the Bakery Cafe Division at AFC Enterprises. During his tenure, Mr. Melick was instrumental in the acquisition and integration of the Cinnabon brand, which helped his division become the fastest growing AFC division with system-wide sales of $200 million.
In addition to his duties as Interim CFO with HouseHold Direct, Mr. Melick is Vice President of Corporate Finance for
Hartsfield Capital Group. Since joining Hartsfield Capital, Mr. Melick has assisted developing companies and existing
corporations through business planning and development, financial planning, and operations management, in addition to
serving as interim CFO for a client. Mr. Melick received his MBA from the Wharton School of Business.
Mr. Banzhaf is an accomplished executive who brings broad operating experience to the management team. Prior to
becoming an investment banker, Mr. Banzhaf was engaged in marketing and retail management with regional and national
chains headquartered in the Midwest and Southeast. As senior officer in charge of marketing and sales for the NYSE
companies ShopKo Stores and Montgomery Ward, Mr. Banzhaf created and led these organizations to dominant positions within their markets.
In addition to his duties as Interim COO with HouseHold Direct, Mr. Banzhaf is Executive Vice President of Hartsfield Capital Group and President of Hartsfield Capital Securities, Inc., a NADS member broker-dealer, specializing in the private placement and trading of securities. Mr. Banzhaf is a graduate of the University of Michigan School of Business Administration.
John Folger will continue as President and Director of HouseHold Direct, concentrating upon Business Plan development and implementation. Ann Jameson will continue as Vice President,
Secretary/Treasurer and Director of HouseHold Direct, concentrating her efforts with SEC filing requirements and all corporate functions. Mr. Folger and Mrs. Jameson will be assisted by the combined capabilities of Messrs. Banzhaf and Melick, and Hartsfield Capital Group.
According to John Folger: ``The expertise and guidance, obtained through Hartsfield Capital Group, and the interim CFO and COO appointments, will enable the Company to properly
channel resources and talent into completing anticipated acquisitions which will position the Company for an aggressive move into the operational stage.'' |
