Federated Department Stores, Inc. has named Nirmal K. “Trip” Tripathy as president and chief operating officer of its Miami-based Burdines division, effective immediately. The position of Burdines president/chief operating officer has been vacant since Michael J.
Osborn moved to Macy's West as president/chief operating officer of that Federated division in June 2002.

Tripathy, 45, joined Burdines as executive vice president of
administration in July 2002, after having served since February 2000
as chief financial officer of Limited Stores, a division of Limited
Brands, Inc.

“Trip Tripathy's contributions over the year and a half since
joining the Burdines team make it clear that he is clearly qualified
to assume the position of president and chief operating officer of the
division,” said Terry J. Lundgren, Federated's president and chief
executive officer. “Along with Burdines chairman Tim Adams, and vice
chairman/director of stores J. David Scheiner, I am confident that we
have a strong and dynamic retail management team in place to lead
Burdines through the exciting months and years ahead.”

Burdines will begin operating as Burdines-Macy's throughout
Florida effective January 30, 2004, at which time Burdines also will
assume buying and management responsibilities for Macy's Florida
operations. A total of 56 Burdines and seven Macy's stores will
operate under the combined Burdines-Macy's moniker.

Tripathy, a graduate of Calcutta University, began his career with Union Carbide Corporation as a financial analyst in 1982, moving to an affiliate of KPMG Peat Marwick in India in 1983 as a management services consultant. A C.P.A., he joined Price Waterhouse in Dallas, TX, in 1987, after having earned his masters degree in business from Texas Christian University.

In 1989, Tripathy joined PepsiCo, Inc. where he held various positions of increasing responsibility in financial and planning areas of the business both in the U.S. and overseas prior to joining Limited Stores in 2000.