John R. Torell III

John R. Torell III

"Mr. Torell is a Partner of Core Capital Group, a private equity investment firm. He has been Chairman or President of a number of major American banking institutions and has participated in virtually all phases of the financial services industry. For the last ten years, his focus has been private equity investment. He has also been active in selected turnaround situations.

"He is also Chairman of the International Executive Services Corps ("IESC"), which is the world's largest organization providing executive volunteers to developing countries. IESC's focus is to develop and strengthen the private sector of host countries in manufacturing, trade, financial services, tourism, as well as information and Internet technology through its Geekcorps subsidiary.

"Mr. Torell is the former President of Manufacturers Hanover Corporation and Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company, in New York; and former Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of CalFed Inc. in Los Angeles. He was part of a New York group that acquired control of Fortune Bancorp, Tampa, the largest independent financial institution on the West Coast of Florida, where he was Chairman and CEO. He was also Chairman of Telesphere, Inc., an electronic distributor of financial data.

"He is currently a Director of Wyeth and a number of private companies. He previously served as a Trustee of Columbia University's Graduate School of Business as well as a Director of the Juilliard Foundation, the Financial Services Corporation of New York, the New York State Banker's Association and the New York State Banking Board.

"He graduated from Princeton University with a B.A. in Economics and studied at New York University's Graduate School of Business and the Graduate School of Credit and Financial Management at Dartmouth.“