CNC Centene Corp

ST. LOUIS, March 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Michael F. Neidorff, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC), a leading multi-line healthcare enterprise headquartered in St. Louis, has been elected to the Board of Directors of Brown Shoe Company, Inc. (NYSE:BWS). "Michael will be a real asset to our board," said Brown Shoe Chairman and CEO Ron Fromm. "As a sitting CEO and chairman of a publicly held corporation, he brings us the kind of absolutely top-level business experience that we know will be valuable as we continue to grow Brown Shoe." Mr. Neidorff, 63, was appointed to his current position of Chairman and CEO of Centene in May 2004. He served as a director and the President and CEO of Centene since May 1996. Under Mr. Neidorff's direction, Centene expanded from its original markets of Wisconsin and Indiana to include Kansas, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio and Texas. He is responsible for turning Centene from a closely held corporation to a publicly traded company with a $1.3 billion market cap. Prior to joining Centene, Mr. Neidorff started Physicians Health Plan of Greater St. Louis, a subsidiary of United HealthCare Corporation, and served as the President and CEO from 1985 to 1995. He served as Regional Vice President of Coventry Corporation, a publicly traded managed care organization, and as the President and CEO of one of its subsidiaries, Group Health Plan, Inc., in St. Louis from 1995-1996. Mr. Neidorff also spent 18 years in progressive roles at Bayer AG and Miles Laboratories affiliates in the United States and Canada. Mr. Neidorff currently serves on the boards of directors of several arts and cultural organizations. They include the St. Louis Symphony, Boy Scouts of America and Grand Center. He also serves as a member of the boards of trustees for Webster University, the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, the St. Louis Science Center, Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas and the National Children's Cancer Society. In 2005, Centene's long-standing commitment to cultural arts and the St. Louis community was recognized by The Arts and Education Council with the Corporate Support of the Arts Award. Brown Shoe is a $2.3 billion footwear company with global operations. The Company operates the 900+ store Famous Footwear chain, which sells brand name shoes for the family. It also operates 300+ specialty retail stores in the U.S. and Canada under the Naturalizer, FX LaSalle and Via Spiga names, and Shoes.com, the Company's e-commerce subsidiary. Brown Shoe, through its Wholesale divisions, owns and markets leading footwear brands including Via Spiga, Naturalizer, LifeStride, Nickels Soft, Connie and Buster Brown; it also markets licensed brands including Franco Sarto, Dr. Scholl's, Etienne Aigner, Bass and Carlos by Carlos Santana for adults, and Barbie and Disney character footwear for children. Brown Shoe press releases are available on the Company's web site at http://www.brownshoe.com/ . DATASOURCE: Brown Shoe Company, Inc. CONTACT: Beth Fagan, Vice President, Public Affairs, of Brown Shoe Company, +1-314-854-4093 Web site: http://www.brownshoe.com/

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