Contact Information: CONTACT: Connie Hamblin 616/772-1800 WEBSITE: www.gentex.com
Gentex Promotes Newton to Senior Vice President of Electrical Engineering and Purchasing
| Source: Gentex Corporation
ZEELAND, MI--(Marketwire - July 2, 2008) - Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ : GNTX ), the
leading supplier of automatic-dimming rearview mirrors to the worldwide
automotive industry, today announced that the Company has promoted Mark
Newton, 48, to Senior Vice President of Electrical Engineering and
Purchasing. Newton previously was Vice President of Purchasing and
Advanced Technology.
We are very pleased that Mark has agreed to step into this very
important role in the Gentex organization, said Gentex Chairman of the
Board and Chief Executive Officer Fred Bauer. Mark has over 25 years
of experience in electrical engineering, optoelectronics, sales and
purchasing, and we are fortunate that we have someone so capable to
fill this management position within the Company.
Newton joined Gentex in 2004 after working as Vice President of Unity
Microelectronics in McKinney, Texas, for more than five years. He
began his career in 1984 with a startup company called Carroll Touch
that had invented an infrared touch computer interface, where he served
in various manufacturing and engineering management positions. He also
worked for automotive lighting manufacturer North American Lighting as
well as Eaton Corporation in several positions, including Sales
Engineer, Automotive Manager, and Lighting Manager focusing on
components for automotive lighting applications.
He earned a B.A. in English from Eastern Illinois University and an
A.A.S. in Electrical Engineering Technology from Parkland College, and
has pursued graduate coursework in business. Mark and his wife, Jean,
live in Holland, Michigan, and have three adult children.
Newton is replacing longtime Gentex employee, Robert Knapp, who is
retiring as Vice President of Electrical Engineering. Knapp joined
Gentex 18 years ago and has served in a variety of managerial positions
in the Electrical Engineering department. He has been the longtime
leader of the development of advanced-feature auto-dimming mirrors and
new electronic technologies at the Company.
Bob has made so many contributions to Gentex that its hard to
pinpoint just one of them, said Bauer. He is very well liked at the
Company, we consider him a good friend, and well miss him as he
pursues his retirement plans. We expect to continue to see Bob over
the next nine months as he has agreed to continue to contribute his
expertise to special ongoing projects within the Company, Bauer
concluded.
Founded in 1974, Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ : GNTX ) is an international
company that provides high-quality products to the worldwide automotive
industry and North American fire protection market. Based in Zeeland,
Michigan, the Company develops, manufactures and markets interior and
exterior automatic-dimming automotive rearview mirrors that utilize
proprietary electrochromic technology to dim in proportion to the
amount of headlight glare from trailing vehicle headlamps. Many of
the mirrors are sold with advanced electronic features, and more than
96 percent of the Companys revenues are derived from the sale of
auto-dimming mirrors to nearly every major automaker in the world.