DEERFIELD, Ill.--Fortune Brands Home & Security, an operating unit of Fortune Brands, Inc. (NYSE: FO), today announced that E. Lee Wyatt has joined the business as senior vice president and chief financial officer. Wyatt, 58, was most recently executive vice president and chief financial officer at HanesBrands.

“Lee Wyatt is a talented and proven leader who is a terrific fit for Fortune Brands Home & Security”

“Lee Wyatt is a talented and proven leader who is a terrific fit for Fortune Brands Home & Security,” said Chris Klein, president and chief executive officer of Fortune Brands Home & Security. “As CFO at HanesBrands, Lee helped guide the company through its spin-off from Sara Lee, built a strong finance organization, and was instrumental in building HanesBrands’ reputation on Wall Street. Lee has a long track record of helping create shareholder value and we are excited to welcome him to the FBHS team as we prepare to become a standalone company and build on our considerable strengths.”

Prior to joining HanesBrands in advance of its 2006 spin-off, Wyatt served as a vice president of Sara Lee and as chief financial officer of Sara Lee Branded Apparel from 2005 to 2006. His previous executive leadership positions include serving as executive vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer of Sonic Automotive, Inc. and as vice president of administration and chief financial officer of Sealy Corporation.

Investor Relations and Corporate Communications

Klein also announced the appointments of executives to lead the company’s investor relations and corporate communications functions.

Brian Lantz has joined the company as vice president – investor relations for Fortune Brands Home & Security. Lantz, 48, also comes from HanesBrands where he was vice president – investor relations for the past five years.

Gary Ross has been named Fortune Brands Home & Security’s vice president – corporate communications. Ross, 45, has served in key communications roles at CDW for the past 11 years, most recently as director – corporate communications. He will join the company the week of June 20th.

Wyatt, Lantz and Ross join an executive team at FBHS that will be anchored by several veteran leaders who will join Home & Security from the parent company and also reflect the strength of the current operating leadership. The leadership of FBHS will include:

John Heppner, president, Storage & Security
David Lingafelter, president, Moen
David Randich, president, Therma-Tru
Mark Savan, president, Simonton
Greg Stoner, president, MasterBrand Cabinets
Elizabeth Lane, senior vice president, human resources
Lauren Tashma, senior vice president, general counsel
Miriam Van de Sype, senior vice president, strategy
Ed Wiertel, senior vice president, finance

“We’re determined to inspire the confidence of our investors in everything we do,” Klein added. “The corporate team that we’re building will enable Fortune Brands Home & Security to hit the ground running on day one as an independent public company and deliver as a high-performance organization over the long term.”

As previously announced, Fortune Brands is targeting to complete the separation of its businesses early in the fourth quarter. The separation remains subject to completion of detailed separation plans, customary regulatory approvals and final Board approval.

About Fortune Brands

Fortune Brands, Inc. is a leading consumer brands company. Its operating companies have premier brands and leading market positions in distilled spirits, home and security, and golf products. Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Inc. is the company's premium spirits business. Major spirits brands include Jim Beam and Maker's Mark bourbon, Sauza tequila, Canadian Club whisky, Courvoisier cognac, Cruzan rum, Teacher's and Laphroaig Scotch, EFFEN vodka, Skinnygirl margarita and DeKuyper cordials. The brands of Fortune Brands Home & Security LLC include Moen faucets, Aristokraft, Omega, Diamond and Kitchen Craft cabinetry, Therma-Tru door systems, Simonton windows, Master Lock security products and Waterloo storage and organization products. Acushnet Company's golf brands include Titleist and FootJoy. Fortune Brands, headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol FO and is included in the S&P 500 Index and the MSCI World Index.