China Nepstar Chain Drugstore Ltd (Nepstar), the largest retail drugstore chain in China, announced the appointment of Ian Wade, a retail industry veteran with an outstanding track record of success, as the co-chief executive officer. Concurrently, the company announced the appointment of William Weili Dai as the new chief financial officer. Both appointments will be effective on January 5, 2009.

Formally with AS Watson as the Group managing director for 25 years, Ian Wade managed one of the world's largest and fastest growing global retail companies, with over 7,700 stores in 37 countries. During his tenure at AS Watson, he turned the Hong Kong based business, which then had 16 stores, into a highly profitable, international retail chain with extensive reach throughout Asia and Europe. Under his leadership, Watson opened 270 stores in mainland China and 400 stores in Taiwan, and launched groundbreaking hypermarkets in mainland China. In addition, Wade also managed Watson's retail operations and private label businesses in many countries in Europe.

William Weili Dai brings to Nepstar over 15 years of experience in financial management and accounting. Prior to joining Nepstar, Dai was the chief financial officer of MicroPort Medical, a leading medical device company in China. From 1996 to 2006, Dai served as finance manager in charge of China operations for three leading global companies, Mundipharma Pharmaceuticals, Boston Scientific and Case Corporation. During his tenure at Mundipharma and Boston Scientific, he was involved in multiple strategic M&A and business development projects in China. Dai began his financial management career with Ford Motor Company in Michigan in 1993 as financial analyst and later became the component department controller and then the assistant to the CFO of Ford's joint venture in China. Dai received his MBA from Michigan State University and his BA from Shanghai University.

"We are excited to welcome Wade and Dai to our management team. With their breadth of experience, we are confident that they will be valuable contributors to Nepstar," commented Simin Zhang, chairman of China Nepstar.

Jiannong Qian, co-chief executive officer, will continue to focus on new business development, acquisitions and partnership development, while Wade will focus on maximizing operating efficiencies and profitable growth. Upon the appointment of Dai, Zixin Shao, the interim chief financial officer, will resume his role as financial controller.