OBIT/IEC President David Fradin Dies Suddenly; Russell Stingel, Chairman, appointed Interim CEO

Business Wire, Dec 13, 1999

NEWARK, NY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 13, 1999--

David W. Fradin, Ph.D., 53, named President and Chief Executive Officer of IEC Electronics Corp. (NASDAQ: IECE) earlier this year, dies suddenly over the weekend. Russel E. Stingel, Chairman of IEC and former Chief Executive Officer of the company until his retirement in September 1999, has been named interim CEO.

IEC will immediately commence a search for a candidate to assume the permanent duties of President and Chief Executive Officer.

"David's death was a sudden shock to all of us at IEC as well as our shareholders, clients and suppliers. We all join together to express our deepest sympathies to his family. David was instrumental in assisting IEC in redirecting itself during the past two years. Although this has been a difficult transition, we believe that his efforts are beginning to bear fruit, and that this will be one of the many legacies that he will leave behind," said Mr. Stingel.

Dr. Fradin joined IEC in June 1997 following his position as President of Harvard Custom Manufacturing, LLC. Dr. Fradin was well known in the industry from his position as CEO and President of EMD Associates, Inc., where he led EMD through a number of transitions, including significant diversification of its customer base. He was active in the industry's trade association, the IPC, chairing many committees and frequently representing the industry at business and government forums.

Prior to his work in the EMS industry, Dr. Fradin held a number of management positions with the General Electric Company. He was also a Division Manager with Alcoa Laboratories. He held a B.S. in Engineering Physics from Cornell University, a Ph.D. in Physics from Harvard University and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

IEC is a full service, ISO 9002 certified contract manufacturer employing state-of-the-art production utilizing both surface mount and pin-through-hole technology. IEC offers its customers a wide range of manufacturing and management services, on either a turnkey or consignment basis, including design prototyping, material procurement and control, concurrent engineering services, manufacturing and test engineering support, statistical quality assurance and complete resource management. Information regarding IEC can be found on its World Wide Web page located at http://www.iec-electronics.com.

The foregoing, including the discussion regarding the Company's future prospects, contains certain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including uncertainties associated with economic conditions in the electronics industry, particularly in the principal industry sectors served by the Company, changes in customer requirements and in the volume of sales to principal customers, the ability of the Company to assimilate acquired businesses and to achieve the anticipated benefits of such acquisitions, and competition and technological change. The Company's actual results of operations may differ significantly from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements as a result of these and other factors, including factors set forth in the Company's 1998 Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 29, 1998.