Vern Fotheringham Joins Board of Meade Instruments Corp.
IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 4, 2001--Meade Instruments Corp. (Nasdaq:MEAD) today announced that Vern Fotheringham, a recognized leader and entrepreneur in the telecommunications industry, has been appointed to the company's board of directors.
Fotheringham is a co-founder and vice chairman of Vectrad Networks, a company pioneering a wireless broadband network infrastructure that is designed to aggregate large numbers of broadband and Internet subscribers onto advanced fiber-optic networks.
Fotheringham also serves on several other corporate boards, including that of TeraBeam Corp., a provider of free-space optical telecommunication services that has engaged Meade Instruments as an OEM manufacturer of optical components and related products.
"We are extremely pleased Vern has joined Meade Instruments as a member of the board of directors," said John C. Diebel, the company's chairman and CEO.
"His extraordinary breadth of experience in the field of telecommunications will be invaluable as we seek to leverage the company's design and manufacturing expertise into high-technology applications, including free-space optics. Vern will make important contributions to molding the future direction of Meade Instruments," said Diebel.
Earlier in his career, Fotheringham was for several years a wireless telecommunications consultant with The Walter Group Inc.; he also served as vice president of marketing for Omninet Corporation, a pioneer in satellite-based mobile data communications that was acquired by Qualcomm; he was president and CEO of NORCOM Networks Corp., now owned by Telenor; and, more recently, he was chairman and CEO of Advanced Radio Telecom Corp., and chairman of Bazillion Inc.
Meade Instruments is the leading designer and manufacturer of telescopes and accessories for the beginning to serious amateur astronomer. Meade also offers a complete line of binoculars for the casual observer to the serious sporting or birding observer. The company distributes its products worldwide through a network of specialty retailers, mass merchandisers and foreign distributors. |
