John Paul DeJoria Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Paul Mitchell Systems

Mr. John Paul DeJoria was born on April 13, 1944 in Los Angeles, California, one of two children of immigrant parents (his father from Italy and his mother from Greece), who lived in Echo Park, California. His parents divorced before he was two years of age.

At six years of age, Mr. DeJoria spent considerable time in the company of a street gang in East Los Angeles. At nine years of age, he sold Christmas cards door-to-door. At ten years of age, he delivered newspapers to help support his family. In what would become a memorable moment, a teacher at John Marshall High School said that he and classmate Ms. Michelle Gilliam (later known as Michelle Phillips of "The Mamas and The Papas" singing group and the long running network television program "Knot's Landing") would "never, ever succeed at anything in life."

Mr. DeJoria enrolled in the United States Naval Reserve while in high school, and after graduation, spent two years in the United States Navy, before being honorably discharged in 1964. He sold encyclopedias (earning US$17,000.00 in the first year), he sold photocopying machines, he sold dictating equipment, he sold insurance, he worked as a janitor, he pumped gasoline, he repaired bicycles. He had been fired from several companies. He had been homeless on two separate occasions, earning money by collecting cans and bottles. Eventually, he obtained an entry-level position with Time magazine, and within a short period of time was promoted to Los Angeles Circulation Manager.

In 1971, Mr. DeJoria joined Redken Laboratories, Inc., the leading professional salon products company in the United States at the time. Within eighteen months at Redken Laboratories, he was promoted to National Manager of Redken Laboratories' Scientific Schools and Chain Salons.

In 1975, Mr. DeJoria left Redken Laboratories and soon after was appointed National Manager of Management and Staff Training Education at Fermodyl. His next position was as Vice President of the Institute of Trichology. He then served as an independent consultant to Line Away and to Chez Maggio Cosmetics, before becoming a consultant to Mr. Paul Mitchell, his friend and one of the most influential hair designers of the 1970's and 1980's, who owned a small company which produced hair care products under the brand name PM.

Messrs. DeJoria and Mitchell sought financing to further develop the PM brand as a professional hair care system along with a new product, Hair Sculpting Lotion, to be used for a revolutionary hair setting and styling method known as hair sculpting. With no funding sources identified, they then established in 1980, with a borrowed US$750.00, a partnership which eventually became known as John Paul Mitchell Systems and marketed hair care products under the brand name, Paul Mitchell®, because Mr. Mitchell was the hair stylist and the hair stylists were the customers.

John Paul Mitchell Systems initially had such limited resources that its now famous black & white Paul Mitchell® product packaging was actually a result of not being able to afford color ink.

"The company should have gone bankrupt perhaps fifty times during the first year," said Mr. DeJoria. At one point, the company consisted of a post office box and an answering machine with a female friend (with an English accent) producing the message recording to convey that there was, indeed, an "office."

To sell their products, Messrs. DeJoria and Mitchell would visit cities to conduct demonstrations at no cost to salon owners- and would guarantee to sell all of the products or the products could be returned. This strategy was a first for the hair care industry.

Mr. Mitchell's vision to maximize the hairdresser's time and talents by providing them with modern styling tools and Mr. DeJoria's marketing prowess would eventually lead to John Paul Mitchell Systems becoming one of the fastest growing privately-held companies in the United States. Mr. Mitchell died of pancreatic cancer in 1989.

John Paul Mitchell Systems has continued growing, with sales at retail exceeding US$600 million annually. The company currently produces more than 90 products (including brands Paul Mitchell®, Modern Elixirs™, and JPMS the Color™). All Paul Mitchell® hair care and skin care products are manufactured within the United States.

The products are sold through 35 distributors within the United States to more than 90,000 hair salons. Internationally, John Paul Mitchell Systems has 27 distributors and three sub-distributors located in forty-five countries who market company products to approximately 15,000 hair salons. John Paul Mitchell Systems was the first United States-based company to market and distribute a complete line of professional hair care products within the People's Republic of China.

The company has 97 employees, while industry norms find competing companies at the same level of revenues with 300 employees or more. During the last eighteen years, a total of only fifteen employees have left the company.

John Paul Mitchell Systems provides lunch each day for all employees. The company reimburses employees who car pool (on a per mile basis). All office employees of the company are compensated well-above industry norms.

John Paul Mitchell Systems does not test its products on animals. The company uses recycled paper, unbleached paper, and soy-based ink wherever possible. Products are shipped using "Bio Pack" containers constructed from unbleached, 100% recycled fiber. Packing materials are created in-house, using shredded paper products. John Paul Mitchell Systems aerosol products meet the most stringent Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC's) standards. By 1992, VOC's in Paul Mitchell® aerosol products complied with 1993 State of California Air Resource Board requirements (mandated by law) and with the 1994 State of New York Clean Air Standards.

John Paul Mitchell Systems has long been an industry leader in vigorously protecting consumers, commencing more than thirty lawsuits during the last three years resulting in the removal of unauthorized Paul Mitchell® products by retailers. Paul Mitchell® products can only be guaranteed when purchased from a professional hair stylist.

John Paul Mitchell Systems is a leader in the national effort to protect all consumers from unscrupulous individuals who tamper with products and decode products, thus endangering the safety of everyone, especially children.

The efforts by John Paul Mitchell Systems to protect all consumers have been profiled by the Associated Press, ABC News, WMUR-TV, The Union Leader, and The New York Times, among hundreds of other media organizations.

On 21 October 1999, Mr. DeJoria testified before the Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property of the Committee on the Judiciary of the United States House of Representatives at a hearing in Washington, D.C., to discuss H.R. 2100 (the "Antitampering Act of 1999"), which has bipartisan support. H.R. 2100 will criminalize tampering with product identification codes used to trace a product to its original production batch and date of manufacture.

John Paul Mitchell Systems received the 1999 Authentification NewsÔ Global Anticounterfeiting Award for Outstanding Achievement. The award recognized efforts by the company in protecting its brands from counterfeiting and/or diversion.

Mr. DeJoria was the keynote speaker at the 1999 annual meeting in Seattle, Washington, of the Washington, D.C.-based International Anticounterfeiting Coalition (IACC), the largest multinational organization devoted exclusively to combating trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy. Mr. DeJoria was the keynote luncheon speaker at the January 1999 Product Counterfeiting & Diversion Protection Conference held in San Francisco, California.

Mr. Dejoria was a guest of President and Mrs. Clinton at the first White House Conference on Philanthropy held at The White House in Washington, D.C., in October 1999.

John Paul Mitchell Systems has donated millions of dollars in value (cash and services) to a variety of philanthropic causes including: American Paralysis Association, Autism Now, Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, Sea Shepard Conservation Society, Pancreatic Cancer Research Center at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, The Plant Charter Group of Botanical Gardens Conservation International, United States Olympic Committee, Entertainment Industry Foundation, IMPACT Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center, The Roar Foundation, Children's Advocacy Center, Weaving for Freedom Foundation, Fund for Coastal Preservation, The Earth Communications Office, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), Raptor Rehabilitation Center, American Oceans Campaign, Ark Trust, Muscular Dystrophy Association, Eco-Heroes Program, Cousteau Society, Las Vegas Rescue Mission, Los Angeles Rescue Mission, Houston Humane Home, The Rainforest Foundation, Salvation Army, AIDS Project Los Angeles, Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, Children's Network, Colorado River, Cri-Help, Operation USA, Maryville Academy, Cri, David & Margret Home, Phoenix House, Brother to Brother, Off the Beaten Path, American Lung Association, Blazer House, Variations Salon, Brandywine Hospital, Travis County Children, Interfaith Housing, Camp Baywatch Foundation, See A Child-Save A Child, Global Green USA, March of Dimes, Direct Relief International, Friends of Elk River, Santa Clarita Sheriff's Department, Muhammad Ali Center, The Betty Ferguson Foundation (Leukemia Society), Peer Partners in Environment, City of Hope, Wisconsin AIDS Association, The Flo-Jo Memorial, Malibu Coastal Land, American Equine Rescue, Palm Springs Charities, and Marine Mammal Fund among many others.

John Paul Mitchell Systems has donated 10% of the profits from sales of Paul Mitchell® Super Clean Spray during special months to the Oregon-based Friends of Elk River, an organization which seeks to create the 11,000-acre Copper Salmon Wilderness Area to permanently protect the steep headwaters of the Elk River and to protect the last remaining North American rainforest.

John Paul Mitchell Systems was instrumental in establishing, with a commitment of US$500,000.00, the AIDS Relief Fund For Beauty Professionals, which provided beauty industry professionals with HIV/AIDS with immediate monetary relief.

From October 1998 to March 1999, John Paul Mitchell Systems sponsored at the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., the 200-photograph retrospective, "A Visual Journey: Photographs By Lisa Law, 1964-1971."

For the past eight years, John Paul Mitchell Systems has sponsored the Paul Mitchell® Evening of Dance at the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater in Vail, Colorado, a cultural exchange program begun in 1989 which brings together the finest ballet dancers from cities throughout the world.

John Paul Mitchell Systems was a principal sponsor in 1998 of "Shaqtacular 3"at Universal Studios Hollywood on behalf of the not-for-profit Athletes & Entertainers for Kids. This one-day annual event supports the California Mentor Initiative which establishes a partnership of public agencies and private businesses to help at-risk children avoid drugs and alcohol, teen pregnancy, gang violence, and academic failure.

John Paul Mitchell Systems sponsored the development of "Mana La," a solar-powered vehicle, in advance of the first International Solar-Powered Cross-Country Continental Race held in Australia.

The company provided financial support to the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) for the production of a music compilation entitled, "Tame Yourself." The company provided financial support to Ms. Jolie Jones for the production of "Take it Back," an environmentally-focused Public Service Announcement (PSA). The company provided financial support to The Big Blue Foundation and The Humane Society for the production of "Ebudae," a two-minute anti-cruelty-focused Public Service Announcement (PSA) shown in motion picture theaters throughout the United States.

Mr. DeJoria has received awards from many organizations, including People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and the Anti-Vivisection Society (for pioneering the first nationwide brand of salon products not tested on animals). He received The Christopher Award from the not-for-profit Last Chance for Animals for his "Outstanding Animal Advocacy."

The National Beauty Care Council for the City of Hope National Medical Center presented Mr. DeJoria with its annual "Spirit of Life" Award. With donations of US$180,000.00, the John Paul Mitchell Research Fellowship in AIDS was established at the City of Hope National Medical Center.

Mr. DeJoria received the "Partners Award" from the American Oceans Campaign and the "Shofar of Peace" award presented by Maimonides Academy.

For his support of the Special Olympics, Mr. DeJoria was presented with an Olympic Torch by The Honorable Janet Reno, Attorney General of the United States, and by The Honorable Rudolph Giuliani, Mayor of New York City, New York.

Before the Holidays each year, the Secretary of Defense of the United States of America travels to visit members of the United States Armed Forces. He is normally accompanied by a small group of entertainers and Members of Congress. In December 1999, The Honorable William S. Cohen, Secretary of Defense of the United States of America, traveled to Naples, Italy (USS Bataan); Aviano, Italy (Aviano Air Force Base, 31st Fighter Wing); Skopje, Macedonia (Camp ABLE SENTRY); Kosovo (Camp Bonsteel); and Tuzla, Bosnia (US Army, 10th Mountain Division). For the first time, the traveling party included a representative from the United States business community, Mr. John Paul DeJoria.

In 1994, Mr. DeJoria was appointed a Special Emissary to the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP). As a Special Emissary, Mr. DeJoria assisted in the arrangement of a meeting between representatives of the Ogoni peoples, located in the southern region of the African nation of Nigeria, and with representatives of Shell Oil Company.

During a visit to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), Mr. DeJoria discussed with senior-level government officials a plan to convert the existing demilitarized zone (DMZ), which divides the Korean Peninsula at the 38th Parallel, into an ecological zone once reunification with the Republic of Korea (South Korea) is completed. Mr. DeJoria's visit was chronicled in an interview shown worldwide on Cable News Network (CNN).

Mr. DeJoria visited the Republic of Cuba under license from the United States Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to discuss opportunities in telecommunications. Mr. DeJoria has an investment in Santa Monica, California-based Global Communications, Inc., a long distance service provider.

Mr. DeJoria has given presentations about management techniques, motivation, and global thinking, to departments and to agencies of the United States government, including to the United States Navy and to the Central Intelligence Agency.

Mr. DeJoria was the keynote speaker at the annual meeting in Seattle, Washington, of the Washington, D.C.-based International Anticounterfeiting Coalition (IACC), the largest multinational organization devoted exclusively to combating trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy. Mr. DeJoria was the keynote luncheon speaker at the January 1999 Product Counterfeiting & Diversion Protection Conference held in San Francisco, California.

Mr. DeJoria is a principal benefactor of The Special Operations Fund (SOF) in Washington, D.C., established in 1992 to provide benefits to family members of those who have died in the line of duty while serving with various operations units of the United States armed forces. The Special Operations Fund provides financial support (scholarships, emergency assistance, etc.) for the children of deceased servicemen and servicewomen.

Mr. DeJoria received an award from the Association of Former Agents of the United States Secret Service for his "most visible support" of the annual North American Ski Championships.

In 1999, Mr. DeJoria became the owner of one of the 1,366 seats on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), thus becoming a member of the NYSE.

Mr. DeJoria has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the American Beauty Association. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF). He is a member of the Council of Advisors of Global Green USA, the United States affiliate of Green Cross International, whose President is His Excellency Mikhail S. Gorbachev, former President of the U.S.S.R. Mr. DeJoria is an Honorary Secretary of State of the State of Louisiana. Mr. DeJoria's work habits are the subject of a reference and photograph in the 1998 Encyclopedia Britannica's Medical and Health Annual.

Mr. DeJoria has lectured throughout the United States at universities and colleges, including the University of Southern California at Los Angeles (USC), Rice University in Houston, Texas, and Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. In 1998, Mr. DeJoria received an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the Pepperdine University in Malibu, California.

Mr. DeJoria is married and has six children and four grandchildren.