Mr. James F. Haran has been the Chief Financial Officer of Xcel Brands, Inc. since September 16, 2011 and serves as its Assistant Secretary and Principal Financial & Accounting Officer. Mr. Haran served as an Executive Vice President of M&A and Operations of NexCen Brands Inc. since June 6, 2006. Mr. Haran served as Acting Executive Vice President of Finance of Franchise Management for NexCen Brands, Inc. Mr. Haran served as Chief Financial Officer of IPX Capital, LLC and related subsidiaries, a consumer products advisory firm from 2009 to 2011, Prior to joining NexCen, Mr. Haran served for nine years as the Chief Credit Officer and Executive Vice President of UCC Capital Corporation. Mr. Haran has a broad range of business experience in structured finance, M&A and consulting. For the past eight years, his focus has been on maximizing value and creating leveraged opportunities for IP centric companies and assets. Prior to joining UCC, he was a Partner at Sidney Yoskowitz and Company P.C., a regional diversified certified public accounting firm. During his tenure, which began in 1987, his focus was on real estate and financial services companies. Mr. Haran served his clients on an array of strategic and operational levels. He played a key role in the BCBG Max Azria transaction, winner of the Institutional Investor's Securitization News 2004 Deal of the Year Award. Mr. Haran is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Science degree from State University of New York, at Plattsburgh.