Amerigon Appoints Daniel R. Coker President & Chief Executive Officer
DEARBORN, Mich., March 21 -- Amerigon Incorporated announced today that veteran automotive executive and former Company Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Daniel R. Coker, 50, has been promoted to President and Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. He replaces Oscar (Bud) Marx, who is stepping down as Chief Executive Officer, but will remain Chairman of the Board. Coker has also been appointed to the Company's Board of Directors, filling a vacancy on the Board and bringing the total number of Directors to seven.
"Dan has been an integral part of our senior management team for seven years and has proven himself to be a very effective leader," said Marx. "Dan's extensive knowledge and experience in the automotive industry and at Amerigon, along with his track record of successfully establishing and expanding the vehicle programs offering our Climate Control Seat(TM) system make him the right person for the job. We believe his leadership will enable Amerigon to capitalize on its continued growth and to launch its new generation of products successfully in the global marketplace."
Coker has more than 25 years experience in marketing, new product development, operations and general management in the automotive industry. He joined Amerigon in 1996 from Arvin Industries, Inc. (now ArvinMeritor, Inc.), a manufacturer and supplier of automotive parts, products and services, where his last position was Vice President and General Manager of the North American Operations of its Schrader Automotive division.
Coker began his career with Schrader Automotive in 1974 as market research analyst and held increasingly responsible management positions, including General Manager USA Operations, Director of Sales and Marketing and Manager Product Planning.
Coker graduated with a B.S. in Business Administration-Marketing from the Tennessee Technological University. Coker is married and resides with his family in Northville, MI.
About Amerigon
Amerigon develops and markets its proprietary Climate Control Seat (TM) (CCS(TM)) products for automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). This product significantly enhances individual driver and passenger comfort in virtually all climatic conditions by providing cooling and heating to seat occupants, as desired, through an active thermoelectric-based temperature management system. Amerigon is engaged in developing other proprietary thermoelectric-based heating and cooling products for automotive and other market applications. Amerigon maintains sales and technical support centers in Los Angeles, Detroit, Japan and Germany.
Certain matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may be different. Important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from its expectations in this release are risks that sales may not significantly increase, that necessary additional financing may be unavailable, and that adverse conditions in the automotive industry may adversely affect its results. The liquidity and trading price of its common stock may be negatively affected by these and other factors. Please also refer to the Amerigon's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including but not limited to its Form 10-Q for the period ending September 30, 2002, and its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2002.
For further information, please contact: investors, Jill Bertotti, jill@allencaron.com, or media, Len Hall, len@allencaron.com, both of Allen & Caron Inc, +1-949-474-4300, for Amerigon Incorporated.
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