MDI Incorporated Strengthens Management Team with the Addition of Michael M. Garcia as Vice President of Marketing
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – January 31, 2005 – MDI Security Systems, the foundation of MDI, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDII), a recognized leader in delivering open integrated access control and video security solutions, today announced that Michael M. Garcia has joined the company as Vice President of Worldwide Marketing and Product Marketing. In this position, Mr. Garcia will focus on expanding and strengthening the company’s global market presence with responsibility for all market strategy, branding, product marketing, corporate marketing, field marketing, marketing communications and public relations activities and will report directly to J. Collier Sparks, CEO and President.
Mr. Garcia brings over fourteen years of experience to MDI in the marketing of enterprise products, services and solutions for a variety of organizations, which extend from hi-tech start-ups to Fortune 500 retailers and global Pharmaceutical companies. For the past five years, he has served in a broad range of executive capacities for SecureInfo Corporation, a leading provider of information security risk management solutions and managed security operations for the government and commercial enterprise markets, including Vice President of Marketing, Product Management, Public Relations and Strategic Initiatives.
As a member of SecureInfo’s executive team, Garcia assisted the company in launching and marketing three successful enterprise security products, while growing revenues over 1,200 percent from 2001 to 2004, becoming the 14th fastest growing private company in the United States according to the Inc. 500 list sponsored by Inc. Magazine. In addition, SecureInfo was recently selected by Federal Computer Week as one of their “10 Hot Companies to Watch” and by Washington Technology Magazine as #6 on their “Fast 50” Government IT Solutions list for 2004.
“Michael brings a wealth of marketing expertise and business leadership to MDI,” stated J. Collier Sparks, CEO and President of MDI. “He has a proven track record of successfully planning and executing marketing initiatives, on both a product and corporate level, that effectively generate critical leads to grow our new customer base. 2005 is the year that we will execute on all the positive structural changes made in 2004 and Michael’s depth of experience will prove to be of immediate value to the MDI family including Mobile Video Products (MVP) and ABM Data Systems. We are delighted that he has joined our team in this pivotal role as we move forward with an enhanced and expanded line of security solutions and dealer programs for the new year,” he added.
Besides his business accomplishments, Mr. Garcia has also remained actively involved in the security community. He was the founder of the FBI’s InfraGard Alamo Chapter in 2001, a founding member of the NSA Accredited Center for Information Assurance and Security (CIAS) at the University of TX at San Antonio and a founding organizer of the Information Technology and Security Academy at Kelly, USA. He is on the Executive Board of Directors for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, a frequent speaker on business development for the President’s Forum and in 2002, was chosen as one of the top 40 business people in San Antonio under the age of 40 by the San Antonio Business Journal.
“My initial objective will be establishing the strategic direction for the marketing organization with emphasis on developing a more customer-centric and trusted approach that will meet the business needs of our Value Added Resellers, end users and business partners,” stated Mr. Garcia. “I chose to join MDI based on the combined strength of their SAFEnet Open Security Integration (OSI) Platform and their extensive loyal customer base. With these two factors in our favor, we are positioned to gain market share in this highly competitive space based on our ability to deliver true seamless security integration to the market with our software, versus the mere security interfacing that is being provided by our competitors today,” he added.
About MDI Security Systems
For 25 years, MDI Security Systems has been securing clients across the globe by delivering the most dependable access control and integrated security management solutions available. As a security industry pioneer and technical thought leader, MDI continues to deliver value to its stakeholders through the development of market-driven, technically superior security systems that can be managed from a centralized point of control. By combining a quarter century of expertise with thousands of worldwide users from a variety of industries including financial, transportation, manufacturing, education, government, defense and homeland security, MDI is able to maintain the highest return on investment in the industry for its client base. More information on MDI Security Systems and its solutions can be found at www.mdisecure.com.
Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements
Except for historical information and discussions contained herein, certain statements included in this press release may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, as discussed in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.