FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:   Elissa Ruffino (NIAF) 202/939-3106 or elissa@niaf.org

(Washington, DC – March 26, 2008) Kenneth Langone, co-founder of Home Depot and founder and president of Invemed Associates Inc., has been elected to the Board of Directors of the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF). The election was held March 14 during the Foundation’s board meeting at the Embassy of Italy in Washington, D.C.

“Ken’s business expertise and financial acumen will further strengthen the unique composition of the NIAF board,” NIAF Chairman Dr. A. Kenneth Ciongoli said.

Best known as co-founder of Home Depot, Langone has worked in the business community for more than 40 years. While at RW Pressprich he met Ross Perot and took EDS public.

In 1974, Langone founded a small investment bank, Invemed Associates, that financed start-up businesses in a variety of fields. He successfully sold Ivac to Eli Lilly in 1977, which is now a multi-billion dollar division of the company. A year after the sale, Langone co-founded Home Depot with Bernard Marcus and Arthur Blank. The company has since grown to become the world’s largest home improvement specialty retailer and employer of more than 300,000 people.

Langone has worked extensively in philanthropy, donating both his time and resources to educational, medical, and social organizations. He serves on numerous boards, including as Chairman of New York University’s Medical School and Hospital and on the board of Overseers of the NYU Stern School of Business. A native of Roslyn Heights in New York, Langone grew up in a close-knit Italian family. He graduated from Bucknell University with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. He later received his MBA from NYU’s Stern School of Business, whose nighttime program now bears his name.

Current members of the NIAF Board of Directors include some of the top business leaders in the country, including Ben Cammarata, chairman of TJX Companies, Inc.; Rocco B. Commisso, chairman and CEO of Mediacom Communications Corporation; Mario J. Gabelli of Gabelli Asset Management, Inc.; and James J. Schiro, CEO of Zurich Financial Services.

Other newly elected NIAF board members are: Gabriel A. Battista, former executive chairman of Talk America; Juanita Campitelli, a NIAF advocate; Robert E. Carlucci, founder and owner of R&R Ventures; John P. Rosa, chiropractor and community organizer; John F. Scarpa, co-founder of American Cellular Network Corporation; and Michael A. Zampardi, business executive and former Senior Managing Director at Bear Stearns.

The National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) is a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., dedicated to preserving the heritage of Italian Americans. Visit www.niaf.org.