Obama Administration Taps Longtime Domino's Pizza Board Member
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Obama Administration Taps Longtime Domino's Pizza Board Member

Dennis Hightower Nominated to Become Deputy Secretary of Commerce

ANN ARBOR, Mich. // PRNewswire-FirstCall // -- Domino's Pizza, Inc. (NYSE: DPZ), the recognized world leader in pizza delivery, announced that Dennis F. Hightower has departed its Board in order to accept President Obama's nomination for Deputy Secretary of Commerce. The post requires that the nominee hold no other Board or management positions. Mr. Hightower served on the Domino's Pizza Board of Directors since February 2003, serving on all three of the Board Committees during his tenure. Most recently Mr. Hightower was Chairman of the Audit Committee and a member of the Compensation Committee. Ms. Diana F. Cantor, a Director of Domino's Pizza since October 2005, will replace Hightower as head of the Audit Committee. Ms. Cantor also serves on the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.

In his resignation letter to Chairman and CEO David Brandon, Hightower said: "It has been both a privilege and a pleasure to have served the shareholders of this outstanding company since February 2003. The executive team that you have assembled over the years and that you have so ably led is "First in Class" in my experience serving on eight other boards over the past 14 years. I wish you, the members of the Board of Directors, the Leadership Team, and the many dedicated Domino's team members throughout the world all the best for continued success."

David Brandon said: "Dennis has served our company with distinction and will now be serving his country with the same passion and commitment. He has once again answered an important call to public service. We thank him for his many years of service to our shareholders and our company. We will miss him; and wish him all the best."

He added: "We are very fortunate to have Diana Cantor to take over for Dennis as the Chair of our Audit Committee. Her experience as a member of the Board of Domino's Pizza, combined with her many other qualifications, make her the perfect fit for this position. Our thanks go out Diana for accepting this important role."

Over a 30-year career, Hightower has become a seasoned business executive gaining broad respect from professionals across many industries - from the entertainment industry; to management consulting and manufacturing; to higher education. His global management experience spans the private and public sectors, including experience in corporate oversight, global marketing, strategic planning, operations and international general management. A leader in corporate governance and accountability, Hightower has served on the Boards of Directors of Accenture, the Gillette Company, Northwest Airlines, and PanAmSat Corporation, among others, in addition to his serving on the Domino's Pizza Board. Mr. Hightower holds an M.B.A. degree from the Harvard Business School and a B.S. degree and honorary doctorate from Howard University.

If he is confirmed by the Senate, Hightower will take control of an office that provides management oversight to the Department's twelve bureaus, overseeing operations totaling more than $17 billion dollars.

Diana Cantor, C.P.A, replacing Hightower as Audit Committee Chair, is a Managing Director of New York Private Bank and Trust, the wealth management division of Emigrant Bank, and was the founding Executive Director of the Virginia College Savings Plan, the state's 529 college savings program, from 1996 through 2007. Ms. Cantor served seven years as Vice President of Richmond Resources, Ltd. from 1990 through 1996, and as Vice President of Goldman, Sachs & Co. from 1985 to 1990.

Ms. Cantor holds a JD from the New York University School of Law and is a member of the State Bar Associations of Virginia, New York and Florida. Cantor also serves on the Board of Directors of Media General, Inc. Ms. Cantor currently resides in Richmond, Virginia with her husband Rep. Eric I. Cantor, and their three teenagers.

About Domino's Pizza

Founded in 1960, Domino's Pizza is the recognized world leader in pizza delivery. Domino's is listed on the NYSE under the symbol "DPZ." Through its primarily locally-owned and operated franchised system, Domino's operates a network of 8,873 franchised and Company-owned stores in the United States and 60 international markets. The Domino's Pizza brand, named a Megabrand by Advertising Age magazine, had global retail sales of over $5.5 billion in 2008, comprised of nearly $3.1 billion domestically and over $2.4 billion internationally. During the second quarter of 2009, the Domino's Pizza brand had global retail sales of over $1.2 billion, comprised of over $702 million domestically and nearly $542 million internationally. Domino's Pizza was named "Chain of the Year" by Pizza Today magazine, the leading publication of the pizza industry. In 2009, Domino's ranked number one in customer satisfaction in a survey of consumers of the U.S. largest limited service restaurants, according to the annual American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI).

SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995:

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. You can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as "believes," "expects," "may," "will," "should," "seeks," "approximately," "intends," "plans," "estimates," or "anticipates" or similar expressions that concern our strategy, plans or intentions. These forward-looking statements relating to our anticipated profitability, ability to service our indebtedness, operating performance, trends in our business and other descriptions of future events reflect management's expectations based upon currently available information and data. However, actual results are subject to future risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially include: our level of long-term and other indebtedness; the uncertainties relating to litigation; consumer preferences, spending patterns and demographic trends; the effectiveness of our advertising, operations and promotional initiatives; the strength of our brand in the markets in which we compete; our ability to retain key personnel; new product and concept developments by Domino's and other food-industry competitors; the ongoing profitability of our franchisees and the ability of Domino's and our franchisees to open new restaurants and keep existing restaurants in operation; changes in food prices, particularly cheese, labor, utilities, insurance, employee benefits and other operating costs; the impact that widespread illness or general health concerns may have on our business and the economy of the countries in which we operate; severe weather conditions and natural disasters; changes in our effective tax rate; changes in government legislation and regulations; adequacy of our insurance coverage; costs related to future financings; our ability and that of our franchisees to successfully operate in the current credit environment; changes in the level of consumer spending given the general economic conditions including interest rates, energy prices and weakening consumer confidence; availability of borrowings under our variable funding notes and changes in accounting policies. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations ("cautionary statement") are more fully described in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including under the section headed "Risk Factors" in our annual report on Form 10-K. We do not undertake to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE Domino's Pizza, Inc.

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