MANSUETO VENTURES PRESS RELEASES

Highlights of the issue: Fast Company July/August 2009

Cover Story: The Evolution of Amazon, by Adam L. Penenberg, page 66
Fast Company explores how Amazon is tapping its inner Apple, and how Jeff Bezos's push into e-books may be putting him on a collision course with Steve Jobs. Adam L. Penenberg offers insights into a fascinating strategic battle that spans tech firms, publishing houses and even, potentially, entertainment firms.

Beyond the Grid, by Anya Kamenetz, page 80
Staff writer Anya Kamenetz delivers both a compelling call to action and a cautionary tale about the power of entrenched interests in this examination of the "microgrid" - potentially a cheaper, faster, and more effective way to update our energy system. Kamenetz takes dead aim at admired environmental leaders such as Al Gore and politicians such as Senator Harry Reid, both of whom are calling for an "electric superhighway," a parallel to the information superhighway that enables the Internet. "The microgrid poses an existential threat to the business models the utilities have happily depended on for more than a century," Kamenetz writes. "No wonder so many of them are fighting it every step of the way."

The Scarlet Woman of Bentonville, by Danielle Sacks, page 76
Nearly three years after being fired by Wal-Mart, former marketing superstar Julie Roehm faces her toughest rebranding campaign ever. Can Roehm, once the face of innovative advertising for Ford and Chrysler, recover from the scandal that derailed her career and cast her as the "Hester Prynne of Bentonville"? Danielle Sacks goes behind the scenes of Roehm's Arkansas exile and reports that going into hiding is not exactly in the cards. "If I'm going to be stuck with this scarlet letter," Roehm tells Sacks, "I'm going to dress it up and make it the prettiest damn scarlet letter I can possibly make it."

Gavin Newsom Wants a Job, by Ellen McGirt, page 88
Ellen McGirt uses a colorful, controversial character - Gavin Newsom, who wants to be Governor - to explore assumptions about the world's eighth largest economy. "The state is bedeviled by plunging revenues, widespread foreclosures, failing schools, crumbling infrastructure, and a shaky credit rating, all being tackled by an openly loathed legislature with an 11% approval rating - and a governance system that seems frozen in a bygone era," McGirt writes. "By all best estimates, California, the eighth-largest economy in the world, is staring into a $20 billion black hole." Will Californians vote for the hate-him-or-love-him mayor of San Francisco to lead them out of this mess?

The CEO Who Feeds America, by Chuck Salter, page 102
Fast Company takes a look at how Darden Restaurants - the world's biggest casual-dining operation (Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Longhorn Steakhouse) - is using technology, savvy brand management, and a little bit of soul to keep growing even in tough times. Chuck Salter profiles CEO Clarence Otis, the man who helps deliver a tasty profit for Darden as they serve 400 million meals a year.

Media Contact:
Terry McDevitt
McDevitt Media Group LLC
210 822-0066 or 210 232-5759 (cell)
mcdmedia@mac.com