BURLINGTON, N.J., Sept. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Franklin Electronic Publishers, Incorporated (AMEX:FEP) today announced the election of Frank Musto as Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Toshihide Hokari as Vice President, Chief Corporate Development Officer, to fill out its senior management team.
With the upcoming retirement of Arnold Levitt, Franklin's Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer for the past eight years, Mr. Musto has assumed the position of Chief Financial Officer for the Company while Mr. Levitt remains with the Company as Senior Vice President until his retirement this November.
Prior to joining the Corporation, Mr. Musto had served as Chief Financial Officer of Polarome International, Inc., a manufacturer and distributor of flavor and fragrance ingredients. Mr. Musto was a member of the Executive Committee and Advisory Board of Directors of Polarome since 2002. From July 2000 through September 2001, Mr. Musto served as Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer, and Secretary, and a member of the Board of Directors, of Matchbook FX Holdings, Inc. Previously, Mr. Musto was Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and a member of the Board of Directors of JLM Industries, Inc., (NASDAQ) from 1986 through 2000.
"I first wish to thank Arnold for his eight plus years of service to me and the Company. We will all miss Arnold's wisdom and leadership and wish him happiness in his retirement," said Barry J. Lipsky, President and Chief Executive Officer of Franklin. "Frank was selected from a myriad of candidates and I'm thrilled to have him join me here at Franklin. Frank brings with him a wealth of experience and energy that is essential for the growth plans we have," he added.
"I am excited to have the opportunity to join a company with a strong outlook for growth and a solid balance sheet," Musto said. "Franklin has a talented executive management team that has the company structured and focused on growth and expansion. I look forward to providing value added contributions to facilitate the company reaching its strategic goals." Mr. Musto, age 50, is a graduate of Bernard M. Baruch College of the city of New York where he holds a BBA degree in accounting. He currently resides in River Edge, New Jersey with his wife and two children.
Toshihide Hokari, a returning Franklin veteran, brings a wealth of experience, vision, consumer insight and diligence with him. Prior to his return, Mr. Hokari was Senior Director, Product Management of Altec Lansing (a Division of Plantronics, Inc.), a consumer electronics company. Mr. Hokari previously held various positions at Franklin including Vice President, Product Management, and at CDNow (a Division of Bertelsmann AG) an online retailer, and Inline Translation Services, a translation and localization company.
Mr. Hokari will be responsible for all strategic growth initiatives working hand in hand with Mr. Lipsky and Franklin's management team.
"All of us at Franklin are elated to have Toshi back. He's a bright, capable and diligent individual and will be my right hand in fulfilling our longer term strategic initiatives," said Mr. Lipsky. "Toshi and I have worked very well together in the past on both strategic and tactical planning and I have 100% confidence that tasked with an initiative, it will get done, get done on time, and get done right." "I am thrilled to be returning to Franklin," said Hokari. "As the world gets more and more connected through broadband and wireless, there is nothing more important than the need to communicate with and understand each other. Franklin has the perfect combination of core competencies, channel reach and consumer insights to deliver meaningful solutions in this changing marketplace. I look forward to working with the team." Mr. Hokari, age 37, holds a Bachelor of Arts degree, Magna Cum Laude, from the University of Pennsylvania, a Master of Arts degree from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and a Certificate in Business Administration from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He is fluent in both English and Japanese and is currently a resident of Oak Ridge, NJ where he resides with his wife and daughter.
About Franklin Franklin Electronic Publishers, Incorporated (AMEX:FEP) is a world leader in electronic handheld information, having sold more than 39,000,000 electronic books since 1986. Current titles available directly or through partners number more than 40,000 in sixteen languages under license from world class publishers, such as Merriam-Webster and HarperCollins, focused in five genres: Learning, Language Learning, Travel, Spiritual, and Leisure. The Company also licenses its underlying technology to an array of partners including Adobe, Sun Microsystems and Ademco (a division of Honeywell). Franklin distributes ROLODEX(R) Electronics branded organizers worldwide and SEIKO branded reference products in North and South America, Australia and the European Community. Franklin's products are available at 45,000 retail outlets worldwide, through catalogs, and online at http://www.franklin.com/.
ROLODEX(R) is a registered trademark of Berol Corporation, a subsidiary of Newell Rubbermaid Inc. SEIKO is a registered trademark of SEIKO Corporation.
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed throughout this release, including, but not limited to, those that are stated as Franklin's belief or expectation or preceded by the word "should" are forward looking statements that involve risks to and uncertainties in Franklin's business, including those that may be detailed from time to time in Franklin's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. DATASOURCE: Franklin Electronic Publishers, Incorporated CONTACT: Robin Kelman of Garfield Group Public Relations, +1-215-867-8600 ext. 244, , for Franklin Electronic Publishers, Incorporated Web site: http://www.franklin.com/
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