Dean Haskell, Veteran Analyst and Former Restaurant CEO, Joins Morgan Joseph Equity Research Group; Newest Addition to Research Team to Cover Restaurant Industry.

NEW YORK -- Morgan Joseph & Co., Inc., a full service investment banking firm specializing in middle market companies, announced today that Dean Haskell, a securities analyst who also spent almost three years turning around a restaurant chain he headed, has joined the firm's equity research department to cover the restaurant industry.

"Dean obviously brings an unusual background to this position," said David Kestenbaum, Managing Director and Director of Equity Research at Morgan Joseph. "There are few, if any, restaurant equity analysts who can combine a strong analytical perspective with practical hands-on experience running a restaurant of just the type he will be covering. We're very pleased to have him with us."

"I'm delighted to have the opportunity to join Morgan Joseph," said Mr. Haskell. "Not only is the firm a growing organization, it provides me with a niche that I know is important to Morgan Joseph and one where I am certain I can add value. I'm looking forward to our association."

Prior to joining Morgan Joseph, Mr. Haskell, who as a restaurant analyst is highly regarded and quoted extensively by the media, had served since 2003 as Director, Senior Analyst, covering the restaurant, food production and related service sectors at JMP Securities LLC. From 1999-2002, Mr. Haskell was President and Chief Executive Officer at Real American Restaurants (RAR), a multi-unit, multi-concept restaurant company based in Northern California. He succeeded in turning around a struggling company, making it profitable within three years. Before joining RAR, Mr. Haskell was for five years Senior Vice President and Equity Analyst at First Union Securities, also covering the restaurant industry. Prior to that, he spent three years as an assistant analyst at Morgan Keegan.

Mr. Haskell holds an MBA in Finance from the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University, Tennessee, and a BBA in Finance and Economics from Kennesaw State College, Georgia.

About Morgan Joseph

Morgan Joseph & Co. Inc. is a full service investment bank serving middle market companies. The firm is involved in providing financial advisory and capital raising services including M&A and restructuring advice, and equity and debt private placements and public offerings. In addition, Morgan Joseph provides equity and high yield debt research and trading for institutional clients. Morgan Joseph's staff of more than 125 includes over 65 investment bankers, who are highly experienced professionals mostly from major Wall Street firms and intimately familiar with the issues facing middle market companies.