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ANNOUNCEMENT: INTERACTION LABS EXPANDS BOARD OF DIRECTORS - 9/13/2007
SEPTEMBER 13, 2007. BELTSVILLE, MARYLAND, USA – InterAction Laboratories, Inc. (IA-Labs), a leader in the development of active gaming technology, today announced the election of an expanded Board of Directors. The expansion of the Board is concurrent with an infusion of capital from a Series C financing. Terms and size of the financing are being held confidential.
“We are very pleased to bring together this world-class group of experienced executives to serve on our Board,” said Greg Merril, Interaction Lab’s co-Founder and Chairman. “Wildly popular products like Wii, Dance Dance Revolution, and Guitar Hero have opened people’s eyes to just how fun it is to physically interact with digital content. With our growing patent portfolio of innovative physical interface technologies, our talented Board and staff, and our recently completed financing, we are very well positioned to have a large impact on the market.”
Interaction Lab’s four newly elected Directors are:
Dan Hirsch, Vice President of Business Development for Miraval Holdings
Vice President of Business Development and Corporate Strategy for Miraval Holding, the top rated destination spa and healthy lifestyle company, part of AOL founder, Steve Case’s Revolution ventures. Prior to Miraval, Mr. Hirsch served in a variety of senior management roles at AOL, including VP of Operations of AOL’s 24 million member dial-up business focusing on strategic planning and capital allocation. Serving as both COO and as GM for AOL’s Life Management group, he was responsible for business strategy, business development, promotion, marketing and media sales in the Women’s, Health, Travel, Autos and Personal Finance businesses. He also served as Exec Dir of Business Dev for AOL’s Local Group. Prior to AOL, Mr. Hirsch was Sr VP and General Counsel for Masa, Inc., a financial services firm focusing on technology rights acquisitions through strategic investments in early stage companies. Mr. Hirsch began his career as an attorney at McKenna and Cuneo focusing on cross border transactions and government contracts. He received his law degree Magna Cum Laude from Boston University in 1994.
Jim McDermott, Managing Director, Alvarez & Marsal
Mr. McDermott is Managing Director for the North American restructuring practice of Alvarez & Marsal – a leading independent global professional services firm. Prior to joining Alvarez and Marsal, Mr. McDermott lead a restructuring and turnaround as president and CEO of AF&L, Inc. a privately-held specialty insurer. He has over 25 years of financial and operational experience. He co-founded and served as Managing Director of Eagle Rock Advisors, LLC, a business advisory firm specializing in small rapid growth companies. From 1992 through 2000, Mr. McDermott held various executive positions including Executive Vice President and CFO with PennCorp Financial Group, Inc, a $6B, NYSE-traded company. From 1994 through 1998 he was a principal in Knightsbridge Capital Fund, specializing in leverage-equity acquisitions of insurance-related businesses. He was also the founding Chairman of the Internet service provider, Kivex.com. Mr. McDermott is a former senior manager at KPMG.
Andrew Sachs, Managing Director, Sachs Capital
Prior to founding Sachs Capital, Mr. Sachs managed the operating and investment activities for Bethany Partners. Prior to Bethany Partners, Mr. Sachs was President of Capital Investors, LLC, an early-stage venture capital fund whose LP's included many of greater Washington DC's leading entrepreneurs and financiers.??Mr. Sachs began his investment career as an analyst at Morgan Stanley and Co. in the Merchant Banking Division where he analyzed and structured investments for its $1.9 billion private equity fund. Upon leaving Morgan Stanley, Mr. Sachs co-founded KMS Investments, Inc., a private equity boutique located in New York, NY.??Mr. Sachs earned a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from the Georgetown University Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, graduating magna cum laude; a Master of Business Administration from Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business; and a General Course Degree in Economics from the London School of Economics. In addition, Mr. Sachs is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa, Omicron Delta Epsilon and Beta Gamma Sigma honor societies.
Steve Sidel, President of Discovery Education
Steve Sidel is President of Discovery Education, a division of Discovery Communications, Inc. In this role, Mr. Sidel is responsible for the strategic direction, business planning and operations for the nation's leading provider of broadband educational school services reaching 90,000 K-12 schools, 1.5 million teachers and 35 million students each year. Mr. Sidel joined Discovery in 1997 as Director, Legal Affairs. Mr. Sidel earned his J.D. at Harvard Law School and holds a B.A. in Political Science from Brown University. Discovery Communications, Inc. (DCI) is the leading global real-world media and entertainment company. DCI has grown from its core property, the Discovery Channel, first launched in the United States in 1985, to current global operations in more than 155 countries and territories with one billion cumulative subscribers.
Greg Merril and Josh Corn will continue to service as Directors – their bios follow:
Greg Merril, Chairman & CEO of Interaction Laboratories, Inc.
Mr. Merril is an acknowledged leader in the field of human-computer interface technology. In his prior position as Founder (1987) and former CEO/Chairman of HT Medical Systems, Inc. he invented and successfully commercialized force-feedback devices simulating the feel for surgical training. In 1996, for his work in medical simulation, Mr. Merril was designated a “Hero of the Information Age” by the Smithsonian Institution and his success story is part of the National Museum of American History’s permanent research collection on Innovation in Information Technology. His medical products have won awards including BusinessWeek’s “Best Product Design of the Year,” and Popular Science’s “Best of What’s New.” Under Mr. Merril’s leadership, HT Medical Systems was recognized as one of Maryland’s fastest growing technology firms for four consecutive years (1996, ‘97, ‘98, ‘99). In July 2000, Mr. Merril led HT Medical through a $42 million merger with Immersion Corp (NASDAQ: IMMR). He is a 2007 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year for the Maryland Region and has twice previously been a Greater Washington Finalist (‘00 and ‘01). Mr. Merril’s industry work includes publications and he has delivered over one hundred invited lectures and keynote addresses covering business development, virtual reality, and product design.
Josh Corn, CEO of StopAgingNow
Mr. Corn acquired the company Stop Aging Now, LLC in 2007 with a group of investors, and serves as the Company’s CEO. Stop Aging Now is a leading provider of nutritional content with focus on clinical research related to nutrition and preventing age-related illnesses. The Company is also a direct retailer of premium dietary supplements. Prior to Stop Aging Now, Mr. Corn was the co-founder and COO of Inergi Fitness, which operates two internet retail websites, walkerswarehouse.com and bodytrends.com. Walker’s Warehouse is one of the nation’s only websites dedicated solely to selling products for fitness walking. Its flagship product, the PowerBelt® Walking System was invented by Mr. Corn and is endorsed by Denise Austin. BodyTrends, the sister site to Walker’s Warehouse, sells gym oriented fitness equipment. Mr. Corn sold his shares in Inergi Fitness in 2006.
About InterAction Laboratories
Interaction Laboratories, Inc. is making the ‘digital world’ a physically active place. The focus is on developing hardware devices that add ‘real world’ resistance and mass to virtual objects in video games, military simulations and other digital content. Greg Merril, a leader in human-computer interface technology, and an experienced entrepreneur, co-founded the company with Phil Feldman in 2002. The Company has a growing portfolio of intellectual property related to physical interaction with computers. The Company’s products are the 2005 and 2006 CES Electronic Gaming Innovations of the Year and also received an award from Readers Digest as the Top 100 of 2006. Interaction Labs’ strategy is to build market presence through licensing, distribution partners, or where risk/reward merits enter markets directly. The Company is headquartered in Beltsville, Maryland, USA, on the web at: www.interaction-labs.com.
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