HOUSTON, Jan. 29, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- American Electric Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:AETI), the premium supplier of custom-designed power distribution and control solutions for the traditional and alternative energy industries, announced today that Charles Dauber has been appointed president of the company's flagship M&I Electric business. This appointment marks the next major phase of a new organizational structure being rolled out by the company's chief executive officer and chairman, Arthur G. Dauber, to accelerate the company's growth.
Dauber joined the executive team of American Electric Technologies, Inc. in April 2007 as a senior vice president and initially oversaw and managed the company's marketing and sales efforts. Dauber was also responsible for the public launch of the company at the 2007 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) and for building up the largest backlog in the company's history as of December 2007. He will now be responsible for the company's two major segments in the M&I Electric business - Technical Products and Services and the Electrical and Instrumentation (E&I) Construction. Dauber previously served as a Director of M&I Electric from 1993 to 1995.
"Charles's promotion recognizes his accomplishments since joining the company as well as his experience in building global high-growth high-tech companies in Silicon Valley," said Stuart Schube, president of Acorn Ventures and member of the American Electric board of directors. "He brings a strong mix of leadership, extensive operational experience, business knowledge and a proven track record to this position. We look forward to him taking a leading role to maximize our opportunities and hastening the acceleration of our growth in the future. I'm extremely confident that our customers and investors will benefit from his leadership of our largest business unit."
Dauber has more than 18 years of executive management, operations, marketing, and sales management experience. Prior to joining the company, he served as the president and CEO of Nevis Networks, a venture capital-backed start-up company in Silicon Valley. At Nevis, he managed operations in the San Francisco Bay Area and India, secured more than $30 million in venture capital funding, and successfully led the company's product development and global launch.
Prior to Nevis, Dauber held multiple executive roles at Blue Coat Systems, including vice president of marketing and product management. At Blue Coat, Dauber was instrumental in the successful turn-around of the company, including the strategic company re-positioning and re-launch, resulting in $150 million in annual new revenues and a 2,000 percent increase in the company's market capitalization. In addition, he was responsible for multiple strategic merger and acquisition transactions and strategic partnerships in his role as vice president of corporate development at Blue Coat.
Dauber previously was the CEO of a broadband services start-up and served in management roles with Copper Mountain Networks and Teradyne in the U.S. and in Asia Pacific, where he lived for several years. Dauber earned a bachelor of business administration with concentrations in electrical engineering and marketing from the University of Texas at Austin.
"We have an incredible opportunity at American Electric Technologies to leverage our power distribution and control technologies and expertise to become a market leader in both the traditional and alternative energy industries," said Charles Dauber. "I look forward to building a scalable high-growth business and increasing shareholder value."
American Electric Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:AETI) is the premium supplier of custom-designed power delivery solutions to the traditional and alternative energy industries. AETI offers M&I Electric(tm) power distribution and control products, electrical services, and E&I construction services, as well as American Access Technologies zone enclosures, and Omega Metals custom fabrication services. South Coast Electric Systems L.L.C., a subsidiary, services Gulf Coast marine and vessel customers.
AETI is headquartered in Houston and has global sales, support and manufacturing operations in Beaumont, Texas, Keystone Heights, Fla. and Bay St. Louis, Miss. In addition, AETI has minority interests in two joint ventures which have facilities located in Xian, China and Singapore. AETI's SEC filings, news and product/service information are available at www.aeti.com.