Optelec Furthers Commitment to Blind Consumers
Only one month since announcing the appointment of a new Director of Corporate Development for its new blindness products division, Optelec USA, Inc. announced today yet another prestigious hire for the rapidly expanding division. Ms. JoAnn Becker has accepted the position of Blindness Products Manager.
Chelmsford, MA (PRWEB) June 1, 2004 -— Only one month since announcing the
appointment of a new Director of Corporate Development for its new blindness
products division, Optelec USA, Inc. announced today yet another prestigious
hire for the rapidly expanding division. Ms. JoAnn Becker has accepted the
position of Blindness Products Manager.
“JoAnn Becker brings yet another
dimension to our blindness initiative, namely the strong commitment to customer
training and education”, stated Annette Fasnacht, President of Optelec. “JoAnn
is an experienced trainer who will ensure our customers are fully able to
maximize the practical, functional applications of our expanding line of Braille
and speech technologies.” As product manager, JoAnn will play an active role in
the design and development of new blindness products, in the implementation of
marketing strategies and in maintaining close relationships with customers
throughout North America.
JoAnn attended the Iowa School for the Blind
as a child, later mainstreaming into a public high school. After studying at
Wellesley College with a major in psychology, JoAnn attained extensive sales and
marketing experience in the field of blindness technology, including regional
marketing director of Kurzweil computer products and, most recently, as
consultant for Adaptive Technology Consulting. When asked about her new role
with Optelec, JoAnn replied, “I regard the new division of blindness products at
Optelec as a paradigm shift. We are committed to making available to blind
people mainstream applications that are cost effective and user-friendly. We
will not be repeating what has already been done. We will be developing new and
robust cutting-edge products for blind consumers that will allow them to compete
on an equal footing with their sighted peers.”
The addition of Becker is
the third in a series of hiring by Optelec of what can easily be considered high
profile Braille and speech professionals, underscoring the company’s commitment
to its blindness division.
“We’re excited to have JoAnn on our team and
anticipate her contributions to Optelec’s blindness division to be invaluable”,
commented Larry Lewis, Vice President-Blindness Sales. “We’ve witnessed a number
of recent resignations by qualified blind professionals in this industry.
Optelec is demonstrating its commitment to hire the most qualified blind staff
to represent the most innovative product line that the industry has witnessed to
date. JoAnn is the third significant hire who is blind that Optelec has made in
the past 5 months!”
Optelec USA, the North American subsidiary of the
Tieman Group (The Netherlands), has an established reputation for high quality
video magnifiers and daily living aids for people with low vision. The company
is renowned for the quality of its products, service and customer-driven
philosophy. These same characteristics are driving the product development of
its blindness division.
“This is a thrilling opportunity for me to work
in an area with such exciting new technology and that has obvious personal
significance”, said JoAnn. “I have every confidence that Larry Lewis, Mike
Pedersen (Director of Corporate Development), Ivan Illing (Product Line Manager,
Tieman Holding) and I will be a successful and effective team in developing a
product line for meeting the needs of consumers who are, like us,
blind.”
Founded in 1985, Optelec is recognized worldwide as a provider of
innovative solutions for the blind and visually impaired. The company's flagship
ClearView line, magnifies text and photos to over 50 times, bringing life back
into focus for those living with low vision, caused by such conditions as
macular degeneration. The Braille Voyager series provides Braille users with
complete control of their laptop or desktop computer from a Braille display. The
user-friendly Voyager guarantees to Braille users portable access for active
participation in the mainstream, global information community. For more
information, please visit www.optelec.com or call 978-856-2511
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/6/prweb129925.htm