Mark J. Schwartz

MARK J. SCHWARTZ has served as President of Gordon Brothers Group, LLC,
since September 2002 and as President and Chief Executive Officer of
Palladin Capital Group, Inc., a New York-based merchant banking firm,
since August 1997. As part of his role with Palladin Capital Group, Mr.
Schwartz also served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Nine
West Group, Inc., managing its restructuring and integration into Jones
Apparel Group, Inc., from June 1999 to February 2000. From April 1994 to
July 1997, Mr. Schwartz was a member of Rosecliff, Inc., a New York-
based investment firm, most recently as President. At Rosecliff, Mr.
Schwartz acquired and became the Chairman or a Director of various
public and private consumer product companies. From 1985 to 1994 Mr.
Schwartz was a member of the Investment Banking Division of Merrill
Lynch where he primarily managed debt and equity offerings and mergers
and acquisitions for consumer product companies, as well as certain
offshore investments for Merrill Lynch. Mr. Schwartz serves on the
Boards of several private and public companies, including Restoration
Hardware, Inc., and Spencer Gifts, Inc. Mr. Schwartz earned an MBA from
the Harvard Business School and a BS in Economics from the Wharton
School of the University of Pennsylvania.