NEW YORK, Sept. 4, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Industrial Enterprises of America, Inc. (Nasdaq:IEAM) today announced that Jorge Yepes is joining the company as Chief Financial Officer. Yepes brings with him years of finance experience running consumer goods/manufacturing operations and Sarbanes-Oxley implementation, having most recently served as Vice-President of Finance, Americas, for Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY), a global 500 company. Prior to that from 2002 to 2005, Yepes served as Director of Finance, Latin America, for The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX).
"Jorge is a tremendous addition to the Industrial Enterprises team, and brings the right mix of talent and experience in running financial operations," said John Mazzuto, Chief Executive Officer of Industrial Enterprises of America. "Having completely restructured the external reporting departments to improve SEC reporting compliance and accuracy, and having implemented Sarbanes-Oxley assessments, audits and reports for 15 countries while at Avery Dennison, Jorge has the potential to contribute immediately to our finance, operations and business strategy."
The CFO position had been vacant since May 15, 2007, when former CFO Dennis O'Neill fell ill and current CEO John Mazzuto was appointed interim CFO. As CFO, Yepes will be responsible for improving Industrial Enterprises' corporate governance and financial transparency while focusing on bottom line results. He will lead the finance department out of the company's Creighton, PA facilities and will be in charge of accounting and reporting, strategic planning and analysis, treasury, tax, audit, and investor relations.
Most recently, Yepes was Vice President of Finance, Americas for Avery Dennison acting as interim Operations VP, leading manufacturing and strategic efforts such as Lean Manufacturing and 5Ss. He finished and developed Sarbanes-Oxley audits and reports for 15 countries, including the US. He led the efforts to standardize the SEC reporting process to include 25 different entities for consolidation. Prior to his tenure at Avery Dennison, Yepes was the Director of Finance, Latin America for The Clorox Company. While at Clorox, he was responsible for establishing short and long-term growth strategies for the company's marketing and finance departments, developing standard financial analytics and cost rules for new product launches. Additionally, while at Clorox, he led a Mergers and Acquisition team, acquiring 5 manufacturing facilities in Colombia, Brazil, Argentina and Chile. Prior to joining Clorox, Yepes was a Consulting Director at Pricewaterhouse Coopers where he developed a uniform external reporting methodology for SEC reporting in 12 American Companies' subsidiaries in Latin America. Before his employment at Pricewaterhouse, he held various positions at Bellsouth International, and Avianca Airlines. Yepes holds a bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering from Xavier University and Master's degrees in Finance, Business Administration and Economics also from Xavier.
About Industrial Enterprises of America
Industrial Enterprises of America, Inc., headquartered in New York, NY, is an automotive aftermarket packager and supplier that specializes in the sale of anti-freeze, auto fluids, charcoal fluids, and other additives and chemicals. The Company has distinct proprietary brands that collectively serve the retail, professional and discount automotive aftermarket channels. For more information please visit www.ieam-inc.com
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release may include forward-looking statements or information. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, including, without limitation, those with respect to the objectives, plans and strategies of Industrial Enterprises of America set forth herein and those preceded by or that include the words ``believes,'' ``expects,'' ``given,'' ``targets,'' ``intends,'' ``anticipates,'' ``plans,'' ``projects,'' ``forecasts'' or similar expressions, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company's management believes that such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot guarantee that such expectations are, or will be, correct. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties which could cause the Company's future results to differ materially from those anticipated, including: (i) the Company's history of ongoing operating losses; (ii) the overall marketplace and clients' usage of products, including demand therefore, the impact of competitive technologies, products and pricing, particularly given the substantially larger size and scale of certain competitors and potential competitors, control of expenses, and revenue generation by the acquisition of new customers; Other risks are detailed from time to time in the Company's 2006 Annual Report on Form 10-K, as amended, its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-QSB, and in its other Securities and Exchange Commission reports and statements. The Company assumes no obligation to update any of the information contained or referenced in this press release.