EZCORP Announces Executive Hire

AUSTIN, Texas, April 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- EZCORP, Inc. (Nasdaq: EZPW) announced today that it has hired Anthony (Tony) Sanders as the Senior Vice President Human Resources.  In this role, Sanders will be responsible for all hiring, people development, benefits and compensation activities and succession planning.

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Since 2007, Mr. Sanders has been the Managing Director Human Resources Services and Administration for United Airlines in Chicago.  He is responsible for the global execution of the Six Sigma continuous improvement program, human resource employee services, leadership recruiting and hiring, human resources technology and policy development.  

In 1989, Mr. Sanders began his business career working with Baker Hughes Incorporated in Houston, Texas in the Finance and Tax areas.  He was promoted in 1998 to the position of Director Benefits and Corporate Human Resources for the 35,000-associate company.  In 2000, Mr. Sanders moved to ConAgra Foods, a $14 billion food packaging company, as the Vice President Human Resource Business Center.  At ConAgra, he was responsible for all human resources strategy development, benefits planning and administration, payroll and HR acquisition management.

Included in Mr. Sanders' impressive educational background is a BS degree in marketing at Louisiana State University and both a masters and an MBA in accounting and finance from Rice University in Houston.  He is a licensed CPA in Texas.

Paul Rothamel, President and Chief Operating Officer for EZCORP said, "We are very fortunate to find an executive of Tony's caliber to help us take our company to the next level of our growth strategies.  Tony brings a great deal of human resources and international experience to this team and will be an important asset to our continuing success."

EZCORP provides loans or credit services to customers who do not have cash resources or access to credit to meet their short-term cash needs.  In its pawnshops, the Company offers non-recourse loans collateralized by tangible personal property, commonly known as pawn loans. At these locations, the Company also sells merchandise, primarily collateral forfeited from its pawn lending operations, to consumers looking for good value. The Company also offers a variety of short-term consumer loans, including payday loans, installment loans and auto title loans, or fee-based credit services to customers seeking loans from unaffiliated lenders.

At December 31, 2009, EZCORP operated a total of 920 locations, consisting of 370 U.S. pawnshops, 70 pawnshops in Mexico, 472 U.S. short-term consumer loan stores, and 8 short-term consumer loan stores in Canada. The Company also has significant investments in Albemarle & Bond Holdings PLC (ABM.L), one of the U.K.'s largest pawnbroking businesses with 123 stores, and Cash Converters International Limited (CCV.L and CCV.AUS), which franchises and operates over 500 locations worldwide.

For additional information, contact Brad Wolfe at (512) 314-2289.

SOURCE EZCORP, Inc.