Center for Leadership Innovation and Mentorship Building

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 12, 2008

Media Contact: Margaret Lutz (760) 750-4010

Cal State San Marcos Leadership Center Honors Mark King

The Center for Leadership Innovation and Mentorship Building (CLIMB) at California State University San Marcos has selected Mark King, president and CEO of TaylorMade-adidas Golf, as the Outstanding Business Leader for 2008. The award, which is designed to honor exemplary business leaders who also display outstanding community leadership, was presented at the College of Business Administration Senior Experience Celebration at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido, on Thursday, Dec. 11.

A scratch golfer, Mark King earned a golf scholarship at Northern Illinois University and earned a bachelor's in general business at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. He began his career in 1981 as a territory representative for a start-up company, TaylorMade Golf, went on to senior level executive positions in the company and rose to his current position in 2002. He increased the revenues of the company from $300 million in 1999 to over $1 billion in 2006 and it is still growing. Under his leadership, the company has transformed the world of golf with the introduction of metal woods and movable weight technology. In an interview with Edward F. Pazdur, chairman and CEO of The Executive Golfer, King observed, "We dared to dream about becoming No. 1 and became determined to do it."

He was inducted into the University of Wisconsin Green Bay Sports Hall of Fame in 2002 and in 2008, he became the first two-time winner of the ING Industry Honors Business Achievement Award. He was the first to donate $1 million to the First Tee, a program designed to get kids excited about golf. His company has been actively involved as title sponsor of the Golf 'Fore' your Heart Pro-Am Tournament benefiting cardiovascular services at the Tri-City Medical Center.

About CLIMB:

The Center for Leadership Innovation and Mentorship Building (CLIMB) at Cal State San Marcos, which was established in August 2004, is associated with the College of Business Administration. The mission of the center is to foster the development of effective leaders at all levels - individual, team, organization and community. The Center conducts research on leadership and related areas and presents the findings at professional conferences. It recognizes leadership achievement in students and the regional communities. It promotes student and faculty interactions with business leaders through the popular breakfast seminar series, hosts the "In the Executive's Chair" course, and offers leadership development programs. In 2006, CLIMB launched an Executive Mentoring Program which matches students with business leaders from the community over the course of a semester. For more information about the Center and its activities, please go to the website at climb.csusm.edu or contact Dr. Rajnandini Pillai, executive director at .