Deborah Fine, President & CEO, DIRECT BRANDS Appoints 2 To Executive Team: David Gitow, Chief Marketing Officer and Alan Katz EVP, Business Development

NEW YORK, Jan. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Deborah Fine, President and CEO of Direct Brands Inc., a leading direct marketer of books, DVDs and recorded music whose holdings include the Book-of-the-Month Club, Columbia House, Doubleday Book Club and Literary Guild, has announced two appointments to her Executive team:  David Gitow to Chief Marketing Officer and Alan Katz as Executive Vice-President, Business Development.

"Hiring these talented, seasoned executives are important steps in driving the Direct Brands' business and alliances forward on multiple platforms on- and off-line," Fine explained. "I look forward to their contributions as I expand the management team, positioning our company for strong future growth."

Fine added, "David's experience at Barnes & Noble, where he served as CMO for 6+ years and the 2 years prior as CMO of barnesandnoble.com, will help propel our business immensely as we lead Direct Brands into 2010 and beyond.  He takes the reins for all of the end-to-end marketing activities at this legendary direct marketing company."  

From 1986-1999, Gitow held several high-level positions at Time, Inc. including Founder/President Time, Inc. Home Entertainment and Consumer Marketing Director for Time Magazine.  He received his MBA, Marketing from The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and his B.A. from Vassar University.  

According to Fine, Alan Katz, in this newly created position of Executive Vice President, Business Development, will develop the business strategies and partnerships for Direct Brands, to increase distribution and generate revenue streams from new products and services.   

Katz has built a track record of innovation and results over the course of a 25-year career as a leader of marketing, sales and brand development at some of the world's most high-profile publications including Vanity Fair and New York Magazine, where he spearheaded the expansion of numerous media businesses into new markets and digital platforms.  

"Alan has demonstrated tremendous business results and his extensive experience and media/client relationships will be critical to our growth," Fine said.  "His contributions will be instrumental to Direct Brands' new business development."

Direct Brands Inc. is the largest direct-to-consumer distributor of media products in the U.S. The company is home to such market-leading music, DVD and book club brands as BMG Music Service, Columbia House, Doubleday Book Club, Book-of-the-Month Club, as well as a number of special interest and lifestyle book clubs. The company serves more than 6.5 million members in the U.S. and Canada through its various club catalogs and online. www.directbrands.com.

SOURCE Direct Brands Inc.