Office Depot Announces Its Visionary Award Recipients Honored Last Night at Its Third Annual Success Strategies For Businesswomen's Conference.

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DELRAY BEACH, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 25, 2003

Last night, Office Depot, Inc. (NYSE:ODP), the world's largest seller of office products and services, announced the recipients of its Office Depot Visionary Awards, at its Success Strategies For Businesswomen's Conference -- The Power of Vision and Values, one of the most significant women's business conferences ever developed.

The Office Depot Visionary Awards ceremony, now in its third year, recognized six businesswomen whose efforts and noteworthy accomplishments demonstrate the power of vision and values in business today. The awards are presented in the following categories: Corporate America, Pioneer, Special Honoree, Sports, Business Entrepreneur, and Non-Profit. Honorees were recognized at the Company's Gala Awards Dinner, which was held at the Boca Raton Hotel and Club in Boca Raton, Florida.

"The Office Depot Awards honor women in America who are pioneers and role models for other women striving to succeed and make a difference in business, society and the community. We are proud to acknowledge these visionary leaders who have shown leadership, perseverance and a commitment to better themselves, society and humankind. We congratulate each of them on their enormous accomplishments and honor them for their significant contributions to the advancement of women," said Bruce Nelson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for Office Depot.

Office Depot Visionary Award winners included:

Geraldine Laybourne, Chairman and CEO of Oxygen Media received the "Corporate America Award." Ms. Laybourne is the Founder and Chairman of Oxygen Media, a 24-hour cable television network that puts a fresh spin on television for women. With original series by Oprah Winfrey, Isaac Mizrahi, and Carrie Fisher, Oxygen airs more original programming than any other women's network. A pioneer in creating innovative and high-quality television programming for children, Ms. Laybourne spent 16 years at Nickelodeon, taking over the management of the network in 1984. Prior to starting Oxygen, Ms. Laybourne was president of Disney/ABC Cable Networks (from 1996-1998) where she was responsible for overseeing current cable programming for the Walt Disney Company and its ABC subsidiary.

Dr. Antonia Novello, M.D., Dr. P.H., Commissioner of the New York State Department of Health, received the "Pioneer Award." As head of one of the nation's premier public health agencies, Dr. Novello is leading initiatives to protect the public against bioterrorism, reduce the impact of HIV/AIDS, and increase access to health care for the uninsured. Previously, she served as the 14th U.S. Surgeon General, the first woman and the first Hispanic to ever hold that position. As Surgeon General, she advised the President and Americans on many health issues, including smoking prevention and immunization.

Dr. Sally Ride, Former NASA Astronaut and the first American woman in space, received the "Special Honoree Award." She is currently a professor of Physics at the University of California, San Diego. She is also Co-Founder and CEO of Imaginary Lines, Inc., a company dedicated to encouraging more young girls of middle school age to pursue Math and Science. She is a former member of the President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology and has twice been awarded the national Spaceflight Medal.

Billie Jean King, Co-Founder of World Team Tennis and Winner of 20 Wimbledon Titles, received the "Sports Award." Ms. King is a sports legend and a champion for social change and equality. She has created new inroads for women in and out of sports during her legendary career and she continues to make her mark today. She has been heralded as an ardent defender of equal rights for all. She is a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame and the National Women's Hall of Fame and founder of the Women's Tennis Association and the Women's Sports Foundation.

Lurita Doan, President and CEO of New Technology Management, Inc., (NTMI) a high quality, service-oriented company that meets the needs of the IT industry, received the "Business Entrepreneur Award." Ms. Doan founded her company in 1990, and NTMI remains on the cutting-edge of information technology under Ms. Doan's visionary leadership. In 2002, NTMI secured government contracts valued at $134 million.

Linda Fuller, Co-Founder of Habitat for Humanity International, a non-profit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry founded in 1976 with her husband, Millard, received the "Non-Profit Award." Her leadership has helped forge Habitat for Humanity into a worldwide housing ministry, standing as a beacon of success in the face of a low-income housing crisis. Mrs. Fuller's accomplishments and commitments have been widely recognized. She has received six honorary doctorate degrees and numerous awards, including the prestigious Harry S. Truman Public Service Award and the Mark O. Hatfield Leadership Award by the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities.

The Gala Dinner was hosted by Catherine Crier, Court TV Host. Following the awards ceremony, Billie Jean King, Co-Founder of World Team Tennis and Winner of 20 Wimbledon Titles and winner of the Office Depot Visionary "Sports Award," delivered an inspiring closing keynote address. Following Ms. King's keynote presentation, legendary female artist and Grammy Nominated, Patti Austin closed the spectacular evening that celebrated women.

About Office Depot

We believe that no one sells more office products to more customers in more countries through more channels than Office Depot. As the largest seller of office products around the world, the Company operates under the Office Depot(R), Viking Office Products(R), Viking Direct(R) and 4Sure.com(R) brand names. As of December 28, 2002, Office Depot operated 867 office supply superstores in the United States and Canada, in addition to a national business-to-business delivery network supported by 24 delivery centers, more than 60 local sales offices and 13 regional call centers. Furthermore, the Company sells products and services in 20 countries outside of the United States and Canada, including 37 office supply stores in France and 13 in Japan that are owned and operated by the Company; and 121 additional office supply stores under joint venture and licensing agreements operating under the Office Depot(R) name in seven foreign countries.

The Company also operates an award-winning U.S. Office Depot brand Web site at www.officedepot.com where customers can access Office Depot's low competitive prices seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day, as well as a new Spanish language Web site at http://espanol.officedepot.com. The Company also operates 31 other Web sites in the U.S. and 14 international countries including: Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Japan, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

Office Depot's common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ODP and is included in the S&P 500 Index.

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