ANDOVER, Mass., Aug. 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Byrna
Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: BYRN) today announced that Mike Gillespie has been named Chief Operating
Officer (COO), effective August 23,
2021. In his newly created role, Mr. Gillespie will
report directly to Bryan Ganz,
Byrna's Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and will have responsibility
for overseeing Byrna's day-to-day global operations.
Specifically, Mike will be responsible for coordinating the
activities of Byrna's critical departments including research and
development, supply chain, engineering, manufacturing and
distribution. His goals will be to: (1) improve product
quality; (2) reduce costs; (3) shorten lead times; (4) bring new
products to market more quickly; (5) reduce the risk of supply
chain disruption; (6) enhance operating efficiencies; and (7)
increase overall customer satisfaction.
"We are extremely pleased to have Mike join our senior
leadership team, particularly given his demonstrated passion for
our mission," said Mr. Ganz. "Our ability to scale operations
and continue to bring to market exciting and relevant new products
is critical in order to maintain a strong growth trajectory.
Over the course of his more than 30-year career, Mike has
demonstrated the ability to do just that. His extensive
experience and expertise in product engineering, driving
operational efficiencies, growing sales, and getting the best out
of people gives him the necessary toolset to make Byrna a world
class company. Perhaps more importantly, with Mike focused on
the operational aspects of the business, I can now focus more of my
time on the strategic aspects of the business such as identifying
acquisitions, developing strategic partnerships, and landing
significant customers. By having Mike assume a number of my
day-to-day responsibilities, I will also have more time to interact
with Byrna's key constituencies, including our customers, vendors,
employees and shareholders."
Mr. Ganz continued, "I am confident that with Mike aboard we now
have the right team to take Byrna to the next level by driving
continuous improvement in all areas of the business, with the goal
of enhancing Byrna's profitability, reputation and ultimately,
shareholder value. On behalf of our entire management team
and our Board, I'd like to welcome Mike to Byrna Nation."
Mr. Gillespie commented, "Worldwide, there is great interest in
personal-safety solutions that provide effective self-defense
without the drawbacks of using lethal arms, and I believe that
Byrna got it right. The Byrna team is smart, innovative, and
laser-focused on providing the most compelling non-lethal security
products on the planet, and I am proud to be joining such an
outstanding and essential company."
About Mike
Gillespie
Mike has more than 30 years of experience
managing large domestic and international manufacturing
operations. Since 1996, Mike was with Linear Technology (now
part of Analog Devices), a semiconductor manufacturer. Most
recently, from 2016 to 2019, he was the General Manager of Wafer
Fab Operations in their Camas, WA
plant, the largest fab in the company. There, he significantly
reduced site expenses, shortened cycle times, optimized
work-in-process inventory and increased operator
productivity. In this role, Mike was responsible for a
division that generated over $1.1
billion in revenue with annual profits of over $100 million.
Prior to his role as General Manager, Mike was a Managing
Director of Global Assembly Operations from 2014 to 2016. In that
role, he was responsible for the turnaround of underperforming
operations, including inventory management, cycle times, and
back-end output, among other things. During his 23 years with
Linear Technology, Mike also held roles as Director of Sales in the
Western U.S. and Canada, Pacific
Northwest Sales Manager, and Technical Sales Engineer. Prior to
starting at Linear Technology, Mike began his career as a wafer fab
process engineer at International Rectifier Corporation from 1991
to 1996, and at Unisys Corporation from 1989 to 1991. Mike has also
served on numerous boards of directors including Linear
Semiconductor Sdn Bhd, Frepenca Business Association, and the
Pacific Northwest Academy.
Mike holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from
the University of California at San
Diego with a focus on semiconductor physics and IC
processing.
About Byrna Technologies Inc.
Byrna is an emerging
non-lethal technology company, specializing in the development and
manufacture of innovative less lethal equipment and munitions. For
more information on the Company, please visit the corporate website
here or the Company's investor relations site here. The Company is
the manufacturer of the Byrna®HD personal security
device, which looks to be the leading choice in the consumer and
private security markets for non-lethal home protection, personal
safety, and security.
About the Byrna® HD
The Byrna HD is a
handheld, CO2 powered, non-lethal option for home safety and
personal security with the form factor of a compact handgun. It
provides a safety zone of 60 feet and comes with multiple easily
reloadable magazines that can hold five .68 caliber hard kinetic
rounds or highly effective payload rounds designed to burst on
impact. Payload rounds include the Company's proprietary chemical
irritant and pepper rounds designed to burn an assailant's eyes and
respiratory system upon contact.
Forward Looking Information
This news release contains
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. and
Canadian securities laws. All statements contained in this news
release, other than statements of current and historical fact, are
forward-looking. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements
can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects",
"projects", "intends", "anticipates" and "believes" and statements
that certain actions, events or results
"may", "could", "would", "should", "might,"
"occur" or "be achieved" or "will be taken." Forward-looking
statements include descriptions of currently occurring matters
which may continue in the future. Forward-looking statements in
this news release include, but are not limited to, Mr. Gillespie's
significance to scaling the Company's operations as part of the
Company's growth strategy, his ability to integrate the Company's
operations and create a cohesive organization, his ability to help
improve the Company's profitability and add shareholder value, and
the Company's plans for an aggressive schedule of new product
introductions. Forward-looking statements are not, and cannot
be, a guarantee of future results or events. Forward-looking
statements are based on, among other things, opinions, assumptions,
estimates and analyses that, while considered reasonable by the
Company at the date the forward-looking information is provided,
inherently are subject to significant risks, uncertainties,
contingencies and other factors that may cause actual results and
events to be materially different from those expressed or
implied.
Any number of risk factors could affect our actual results and
cause them to differ materially from those expressed or implied by
the forward-looking statements in this news release, including, but
not limited to: global supply chain issues or pandemic
related delays or constraints that delay the integration or scaling
of the Company's operations, and the Company's reliance on Mr.
Gillespie to improve its operations despite Mr. Gillespie having no
history working at the Company on which the Company can
evaluate. The order in which these factors appear should not
be construed to indicate their relative importance or priority. We
caution that these factors may not be exhaustive, accordingly, any
forward-looking statements contained herein should not be relied
upon as a prediction of actual results. Investors should
carefully consider these and other relevant factors, including
those risk factors in Part I, Item 1A in our most
recent Form 10-K, Item 1A Risk Factors in our most recent
Form 10-Q, and subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission ("SEC"), should understand it is impossible to
predict or identify all such factors or risks, should not consider
the foregoing list, or the risks identified in our SEC filings, to
be a complete discussion of all potential risks or uncertainties,
and should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.
The Company assumes no obligation to update or revise any
forward-looking information, except as required by applicable
law.
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SOURCE Byrna Technologies Inc.