Biography

Mr. Appel spent 37 years in finance, administration and operations roles with a variety of companies, most recently at Zale Corporation, a NYSE listed jewelry retailer, where he served as Chief Financial Officer from May 2009 to May 2011 and Chief Administrative Officer from May 2011 to July 2014 and co-led the successful turnaround of the company.

Prior to joining Zale, Mr. Appel was Chief Financial Officer of EXL Service Holdings, Inc., a NASDAQ listed business process solutions company (February 2007 to May 2009); spent four years (February 2003 to February 2007) at Electronic Data Systems Corporation, serving as Vice President, Finance and Administration BPO and Vice President, BPO Management; and held a variety of finance and operations roles from 1984 to 2003 at Tenneco Inc., Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Mr. Appel began his professional career with Arthur Andersen & Company, working there from 1977 to 1984.

Mr. Appel received an MBA in Accounting from the Rutgers University Graduate School of Business in 1977 and a Business Administration degree from Rutgers College in 1976. Mr. Appel is a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Management Accountant.