Christine Komola appointed Chief Financial Officer of Framingham, MA based Staples Inc.

FRAMINGHAM, MA - Staples, Inc. (Nasdaq: SPLS) announced today the promotion of Christine Komola to Chief Financial Officer effective February 1, 2012. Christine will report to John Mahoney, Staples' Vice Chairman.

Mahoney, who joined Staples in 1996 as Chief Financial Officer himself and was subsequently named Vice Chairman, (in 2006), said his responsibilities as CFO will transition to Christine over the next year.

"Christine has established herself as a respected leader in the Finance organization since joining Staples 14 years ago," said Mahoney in a press release. "She has deep knowledge of Staples' global businesses and an excellent track record in leading our Finance teams in partnering with our operations to achieve our goals. I am confident Christine is well prepared to assume greater responsibility in leading our finance functions in the years ahead."

Christine joined Staples in 1997 and has served in various leadership roles including Vice President, Planning and Control; Chief Financial Officer of Staples.com; Vice President, General Merchandise Manager, Furniture & Wholesale, and her most recent role as Senior Vice President and Corporate Controller with responsibility for the company’s global financial operations. Prior to joining Staples, Christine was an audit manager at Ernst & Young, LLP. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

About Staples

Staples Inc., headquartered in Framingham, MA (USA), is the world’s largest office products company with annual sales of $25 billion. With 90,000 associates worldwide, Staples operates in 26 countries throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

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