FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RENOWNED GROWTH COMPANY LEADER WAYNE BOS JOINS NATROL AS CEO DESIGNATE
PREMIER BRANDED NUTRACEUTICAL PROVIDER PLANS INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION, ORGANIC GROWTH AND ACQUISITIONS
CHATSWORTH, CA., February 16, 2006 -- Natrol Inc. (NASDAQ: NTOL), a premier manufacturer and distributor of nationally branded nutritional products, today announced that its Board of Directors has elected Wayne Bos, a globally prominent entrepreneur, investor and growth-company leader, as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and President designate. Mr. Bos, presently a resident of Australia who also has been appointed to Natrol’s Board of Directors, is scheduled to assume his new duties next month.
“I am tremendously excited to be joining Natrol Founder and Executive Chairman Elliott Balbert and the rest of the Natrol team as we embark on achieving three primary objectives – to develop Natrol as a solid, profitable growth company, to focus on growing internationally and to ensure that we are opportunistic with regard to acquisitions,” Mr. Bos said. “We will be laser-focused on achieving sustainable, profitable growth while maximizing the value we bring to our shareholders, partners and customers.”
“Natrol has extraordinary growth potential in a rapidly expanding global market for nutritional and wellness products,” Mr. Bos continued. “Natrol is recognized by customers, not only in the United States but in 49 other countries, for unsurpassed quality and an unrivaled brand. That is a credit to Elliott Balbert, an industry icon, who has created and grown the highly respected company I am so pleased to be joining. Now, with a concentrated international focus, Elliott and I are confident that Natrol is capable of extending our vanguard position in product quality to leadership in the global market.”
“Natrol could not have attracted a more dynamic, innovative and accomplished leader than Wayne Bos to accelerate our growth,” said Mr. Balbert, Natrol’s Founder and Executive Chairman. “Wayne’s global track record is one of growth – in industries ranging from technology, telecommunications and finance to chemicals, media and consumer products. Now Wayne and I are setting our sights on the multibillion-dollar U.S. nutraceutical market that independent analysts expect to continue its robust growth. I greatly look forward to working with Wayne as we endeavor to make the most of this remarkable opportunity.
In conjunction with his nomination, Mr. Bos has been awarded 6,029,500 fully vested options with a strike price of $2.282. The grant price reflects the market price of Natrol’s stock at the time of the grant. For a period of three years, Mr. Bos's ability to sell the majority of the shares he receives upon exercise of these options is restricted, with the restrictions lapsing based upon the stock price reaching defined hurdles. The grant is subject to shareholder approval.
Among his most notable successes, Mr. Bos worked closely with the management team of Uniqema, a division of Imperial Chemical Industries in London, to complete an acquisition of one of the business units. Following completion of the acquisition in 2000, Symex Holdings Limited was established as a 100 percent owned Australian company and successfully listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. Today, Symex is Australia’s largest producer of Oleo products.
Mr. Bos also served as CEO and Director of Sausage Software, an Australian public company. Under his leadership, Sausage grew from a single product company with 35 people and revenues of $5 million, to an eBusiness solutions house with over 1500 people and revenues of more than $150 million. Sausage Software, with wholly owned subsidiaries in the UK, USA and Asia, became Australia’s fastest growing company as it grew to a market capitalization of more than $2 billion during the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Mr. Bos is a founding member of the World Economic Forum’s Technology Pioneers Network. He became a founding director of the Technology Empowerment Network (TEN) with a focus on the Digital Divide, a project of the WEF.
About Natrol
Founded in 1980, Natrol, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTOL) is a diversified nutrition company that manufactures and markets premium branded nutritional products, functional teas and sports fitness products under the Natrol®, Laci Le Beau® Tea and Prolab® Sports Nutrition labels. Natrol markets more than 200 nutritional products designed to meet a wide range of consumer needs. The products are available at more than 50,000 food, drug, mass market and independent health food stores, catalogs and Internet sites, gyms and specialty stores nationally and in select foreign countries. For more information, visit
www.natrol.com.
