Contact Information: Contact: John Thompson 303-444-7755
AeroGrow Announces New Board Members
Three Existing Members Retire
| Source: AeroGrow International, Inc.
BOULDER, CO--(Marketwire - July 10, 2009) - AeroGrow International, Inc. (OTCBB : AERO ) (the
"Company" or "AeroGrow") makers of the AeroGarden line of indoor gardening
products, announced that it has elected two new members to its Board of
Directors, Michael S. Barish and H. MacGregor (Greg) Clarke, effective July
08, 2009.
Michael Barish co-founded Lazarus Investment Partners LLLP, a private
investment partnership focused on microcap stocks, in 2003, and served as
the fund's Chief Investment Officer until his retirement on June 30, 2009.
In 1973, Mr. Barish founded Cambiar Investors and grew the firm's assets
from less than $1 million in 1973 to over $2.3 billion upon his retirement
in 2001. Mr. Barish will serve on the Audit and Governance committees.
Mr. Clarke has been CFO of AeroGrow since May 23, 2008. Prior to AeroGrow,
Mr. Clarke was CEO (and previously CFO) of Ankmar, LLC, a private
equity-owned, nationwide garage door manufacturer, distributor and
installer, where he restructured the company's operations and managed the
sale of Ankmar to strategic buyers. Previously, he served as an operating
group CFO, then Vice President and General Manager for Johns Manville
Corporation, a $2.2 billion building materials subsidiary of Berkshire
Hathaway Inc. Mr. Clarke also served as Vice President, Corporate
Treasurer and International Division CFO for The Coleman Company, Inc.
during a period of substantial top-line growth. Prior to Coleman, Mr.
Clarke was with PepsiCo, Inc. for over nine years and served in a range of
financial roles, including Director, Corporate Strategic Planning, where he
led strategy and planning for the worldwide beverage sector.
"Over the past year Greg has made significant contributions to AeroGrow's
ability to recapitalize and survive the economic downturn," said Jack
Walker, AeroGrow's Chairman of the Board. "Mike Barish has been
instrumental in helping the Company source critically needed capital at key
inflection points throughout its development, and his long history
analyzing and investing in microcap companies, including AeroGrow, will
prove valuable in many ways. Adding their combined skills to AeroGrow's
Board of Directors will be critical to our turnaround efforts."
Three AeroGrow Board members, Linda Graebner, Suresh Kumar, and Peter
Michel, have retired after excellent records of service, their terms having
come to an end, and the Company has reduced the size of its Board to five
members.
The current Board is made up of Jack Walker, Chairman, Jerry Perkins,
President and CEO, Michael Dingman, Jr., Michael Barish, and Greg Clarke,
CFO. Michael Dingman serves as Chairman of the Audit Committee and Jack
Walker as the Chairman of the Governance Committee.
About AeroGrow International, Inc.
Founded in 2002 in Boulder, Colorado, AeroGrow International, Inc. is
dedicated to the research, development and marketing of the AeroGarden line
of foolproof, dirt-free indoor gardens. AeroGardens allow anyone to grow
farmer's market fresh herbs, salad greens, tomatoes, chili peppers, flowers
and more, indoors, year-round, so simply and easily that no green thumb is
required. See www.aerogrow.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995: Statements by Jack Walker, and/or the Company, optimism related to
the business, expanding sales, and other statements in this press release
are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are based on current
expectations, estimates and projections about the Company's business. Words
such as expects, anticipates, intends, plans, believes, sees, estimates and
variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify
such forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of
future performance and involve certain risks and uncertainties that are
difficult to predict. Actual results could vary materially from the
description contained herein due to many factors including continued market
acceptance of the Company's products or the need to raise additional
capital. In addition, actual results could vary materially based on changes
or slower growth in the indoor garden market; the potential inability to
realize expected benefits and synergies; domestic and international
business and economic conditions; changes in customer demand or ordering
patterns; changes in the competitive environment including pricing
pressures or technological changes; technological advances; shortages of
manufacturing capacity; future production variables impacting excess
inventory and other risk factors listed from time to time in the Company's
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings under "risk factors" and
elsewhere. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release
speak only as of the date on which they are made, and the Company does not
undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect
events or circumstances after the date of this press release.