EXTREME PIZZA PRESIDENT AMONG 30 FINALISTS FOR PRESTIGIOUS ERNST & YOUNG AWARD

ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR WINNER TO BE ANNOUNCED JUNE 22

SAN FRANCISCO, CA-- Todd Parent, CEO and President of San Francisco-based Extreme Pizza, has been named a finalist for Ernst & Young's annual Entrepreneur Of The Year Award.

The honor is bestowed by the prestigious accounting firm to recognize exceptional individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the entrepreneurial spirit in America and whose personal leadership style has successfully built a top performing organization through the application of effective leadership principles. Criteria includes personal characteristics of integrity and principle, building an empowered culture within their organization, and leaving a legacy of contribution to the community.

A nominee must be an owner / manager primarily responsible for the recent performance of a company that is at least two years old. Seven to 10 award recipients are selected in several award categories in each of 44 regions by independent panels of judges comprising local business, financial, academic, and media figures.

Winners were honored to celebrate the spirit of success at a regional award banquet at Thomas Fogarty Winery and Vineyards on June 5 and will be inducted into the elite Entrepreneur Of The Year Hall of Fame at the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of the Year International conference held November 15-18 in Palm Springs.

"Being named a finalist is a tremendous honor," said," the 35-year-old Parent. "It's a testament to our management and staff, The Extreme Team, who have worked tremendously hard over the last 7 years to build what was essentially a small pizza operation into a $4,000,000 corporation that is now franchising outside the Bay area."

Parent added that the final winner will be announced at a black-tie gathering to be held June 22nd at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose.

Extreme Pizza's nomination puts the growing pizza outfit in good company. Other finalists include Roger K. Easley of Seven Up Bottling Company of San Francisco, Louis Lange M.D., Ph.D. of CV Therapeutics, Jim Ryley of Cupertino Electric, Inc., and Mark Leslie of Veritas Software.

Past innovative entrepreneurs from previous years are Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com, Herb Kelleher of Southwest Airlines, Andy and Jack Taylor of Enterprise Rent-a-Car, Dr. Irwin Mark Jacobs of QUALCOMM, Inc. Howard Schultz of Starbucks Corporation, and Richard Schulze of Best Buy Co., Inc.

Extreme Pizza is no stranger to awards. Last year the company was ranked #22 in the San Francisco Business Times' "150 Fastest Growing Private Companies." The San Francisco Weekly voted Extreme Pizza the "Best Pizza in San Francisco" in 1998. And in a nod toward globalization, the Calgary Sun in Alberta, Canada gave Extreme Pizza high accolades for being "the most delicious pizza ever".

Extreme Pizza is targeting July 2001 to open its first East Bay store in Berkeley.

If you would like any further information, please contact Stephanie Parent at stephanie@extremepizza.com or telephone at (415) 703-8122.