DynaVox Announces Management and Board Changes


PITTSBURGH, March 27, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DynaVox Systems, LLC ("DynaVox"), the world's leading provider of communication and education products for individuals with significant speech, language and learning disabilities, today announced that JEC Capital Partners, LLC ("JEC") and Fondren Management, LP have acquired its senior debt and have replaced all members of the Board of Directors of DynaVox. The senior debt is held by a newly formed entity called JEC-BR Partners, LLC.

The new Board of DynaVox has appointed Derek Harrar as Interim Chief Executive Officer, replacing Michelle Heying-Wilver.

Mr. Harrar stated, "I look forward to working with my colleagues at DynaVox, fulfilling our mission of transforming the lives of our customers through continued innovation. The Company is at an exciting stage, with a strong pipeline of new products, which build on the recent, successful launch of the DynaVox T10. Our new products will be introduced over the next few months and they are specifically aimed at helping our customers in both the speech-generating device and education markets. I am confident that our new financial partners will provide DynaVox with the leadership and capital to profitably grow and maintain our position as the world leader in communication and educational products."

Speaking on behalf of JEC Capital Partners and the Board, Michael Torok said, "In the past few weeks, we have made a few difficult, but necessary changes to position DynaVox to grow and prosper. We believe that Derek is the right person to step in and, together with the existing leadership team, help make key decisions that serve the common interests of our customers and employees. In addition to the launch of the T10 and the strong pipeline of products, DynaVox has a passionate and dedicated employee base, focused on delivering world-class solutions to our customers.  We are committed to DynaVox and we are excited about the future and prospects of the Company. " 

Bob Cunningham, Chief Strategy Officer at DynaVox, added: "We at DynaVox consider ourselves privileged to continue to serve our outstanding customers with the very best augmentative communication and educational products and services. With a fresh start and strong leadership, we look forward to accelerating the development and launch of several new products."

About DynaVox Systems, LLC

DynaVox Systems, LLC, is the leading provider of speech generating devices and symbol-adapted special education software used to assist individuals in overcoming their speech, language and learning challenges. These solutions are designed to help individuals who have complex communication and learning needs participate in the home, classroom and community. Our mission is to enable our customers to realize their full communication and education potential by developing industry-leading devices, software and content and by providing the services to support them. We assist individuals, families, and professionals with an extensive field support organization, as well as centralized technical and reimbursement support. For more information, visit www.dynavoxtech.com.