Ruby Tuesday, Inc., Becker Drapkin Management, L.P., and Carlson Capital, L.P. announced that Steven R. Becker and Matthew A. Drapkin have been appointed as independent members of the board of directors of Ruby Tuesday, effective June 30, 2011.
The company will increase the size of its board from eight to nine members with the appointment of Becker and Drapkin.
“Steve, Matt, and I recently met in person, and have subsequently worked quickly and cordially to reach a win/win scenario which we believe is in the best interests of our shareholders," says Sandy Beall, founder, chairman, and CEO. "I am pleased to welcome both Steve and Matt to our board of directors and look forward to their future contributions to Ruby Tuesday as we continue to make progress on our strategic plans to create long-term value for our shareholders.
"Steve’s and Matt’s appointment to the Board will further enhance the quality of our corporate governance, in addition to bringing potential new ideas to the table given their previous board experiences,” Beall says.
"We appreciate the hard work Sandy and the board put forth to reach a fair and expeditious settlement," Becker says. "We believe that Ruby Tuesday has a unique set of valuable assets and we look forward to working with Sandy, his team, and the board to deliver shareholder value.”
Becker has served as managing partner and founder of Becker Drapkin since 2004. Prior to founding Becker Drapkin, Becker was a partner at Special Situations Funds, a New York-based asset manager. Previous to this position, Becker worked at Bankers Trust Securities in distressed debt and leveraged equities research. He holds a B.A. from Middlebury College and a J.D. from the University of Florida.
Drapkin has been a Partner at Becker Drapkin since 2009. Prior to joining Becker Drapkin, he served as head of research, special situations, and private equity for New York-based hedge fund ENSO Capital. He also previously served as senior vice president, corporate development for the private investment firm MacAndrews & Forbes. Drapkin holds a B.A. in American History from Princeton University, an M.B.A. in Finance from Columbia University School of Business, and a J.D. from Columbia University School of Law.
