POMPANO BEACH, Fla., March 29, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- MEDirect Latino Inc. (Pink Sheets:MLTO) (www.medirectlatino.org), the first national provider of direct-to-consumer Medicare reimbursed medical products focused exclusively on chronic diseases afflicting the Hispanic community, today announced that it has named Mr. James R. LeGates as Chief Financial Officer effective March 26, 2007.
Mr. LeGates most recently served as Chief Financial Officer to Mainstream Holdings, a privately funded Internet start-up with four co-located data centers in NY, CA, TX and Ireland. He was responsible for the accounting, auditing of the company's and managed risk in the areas of insurance, legal and audit, while improving insurance coverage, adherence to GAAP, intercompany transactions, strategy, and forecasting. Previously, Mr. LeGates was Chief Financial Officer of Neovest Holdings, Inc., Neovest, Inc. and Neovest Trading, Inc., which was sold to JP Morgan in 2005. During his tenure with Neovest, a software company specializing in international securities trading software, Mr. LeGates was responsible for accounting and financial reporting, risk management, human resources and legal oversight and was elected to Office of the President as one of four operating managers to oversee all company operations, he also served as Secretary to the Board of Directors as the only senior manager and non-shareholder. Upon joining Neovest, Mr. Legates produced a 55% reduction in cash burn rate in 5 months and improved cash flows through expense cutting, resource allocation and restructuring. During the Company's sale to JP Morgan, Mr. LeGates was an integral participant in the venture capital funding and acquisition processes.
Mr. LeGates served as Vice-President of Finance for WH Smith, USA, a $500M aggressive acquisition retailer with over 625 stores located in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Chile, Argentina and the Dominican Republic. Mr. LeGates headed projects which included technology evaluations, strategic planning, infrastructure downsizings, executive information systems, business process assessments, and acquisition feasibility analysis. Prior to joining WH Smith, USA, Mr. LeGates, was a consulting manager for KPMG and worked as a senior advisor to corporate client's senior management in the United States and Germany, in the areas of manufacturing, distribution and banking.
MEDirect Latino's Board, President and CEO, Ms. Debra Towsley stated, "Jim adds additional depth and strength to our management team, and his financial expertise and experience make him perfectly suited to take on the CFO role at MEDirect Latino. Jim will be a tremendous asset to the Company on the operational and strategic fronts as we explore various opportunities for expansion, through organic growth, partnerships, and acquisitions."
In discussing his appointment as CFO, Mr. LeGates said, "The services MEDirect Latino provides are critical to meeting the healthcare needs of our underserved Hispanic senior citizens. I look forward to expanding the foundation of quality and service the Company is known for, and in playing a central role in helping to grow our existing business, as well as expand beyond our current demographic focus." LeGates added, "Looking to the future, I share a common belief with the management team that the Company's growing base of loyal Latino customers with chronic illnesses provides a robust platform on which to build and expand the products and services we offer. The Company's infrastructure has created a distinct competitive barrier and we will look to scale our ability to manage large Hispanic chronic illness populations by developing strategic alliances with leading Anglo healthcare providers looking to enter the lucrative Latino market."
MEDirect Latino's Board, Chairman and Executive Vice President, Mr. Raymond Talarico stated, "We are very excited that Jim is joining the Company. He is an executive with extensive leadership experience who has achieved success at every stage in his career." Further, Talarico said, "Jim's passion for success and his proven business skills provide an ideal match for the culture we have created at MEDirect Latino. The Board and I are looking forward to working with Jim as we grow MEDirect and take the Company to the next level."
About MEDirect Latino:
MEDirect Latino (Pink Sheets:MLTO) (www.medirectlatino.org) is the first national provider of direct-to-consumer Medicare reimbursed medical products focused exclusively on chronic diseases afflicting the Hispanic community. MEDirect Latino is rapidly growing and uniquely positioned to service the Hispanic community in the United States and Puerto Rico. MEDirect is the only company currently positioned to serve the U.S. Hispanic healthcare market as a direct-to-consumer Medicare provider on an authentically national level. Type II diabetes was targeted because of its unique status within the Medicare reimbursement regime and due to its high degree of correlation to other chronic conditions such as high blood pressure and heart disease. These and other conditions represent considerable future market potential, MEDirect will scale its model by leveraging its existing client base and infrastructure in introducing new products and services to existing customers as they are identified.
The MEDirect Latino Inc. logo is available at http://www.primezone.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=1873
Safe Harbor Disclosure:
This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws, commonly identified by such terms as "believes," "looking ahead," "anticipates," "estimates" and other terms with similar meaning. Although the Company believes that the assumptions upon which its forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these assumptions will prove to be correct. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's projections and expectations are disclosed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements in this press release are expressly qualified by such cautionary statements and by reference to the underlying assumptions.