Colonel (Ret.) Cowell, who currently chairs the audit committee, has been a member of MicroVision’s board of directors since August 1996 when we first became a publicly traded company. He will not stand for re-election to the board of directors and will step down when his current term expires at the company’s 2017 annual meeting of shareholders.
Cowell’s extensive military experience, from 25 years of service in the US Army and later as a Principal at Booz Allen Hamilton focused on Department of Defense and other agency contracts, aided MicroVision in our first ten years which were characterized by defense-related contracts. As we turned our focus in 2006 to consumer electronics and other commercial markets, Cowell’s administrative and executive experience continued to benefit the company.
“Rich Cowell has been a cornerstone of MicroVision’s board, and we wish him well,” said Brian Turner, Chairman and Independent Director at MicroVision. “Not only has he provided great insight and guidance from his distinguished service in the Army and his experience as a Principal at Booz Allen Hamilton, but he is a fantastic person to know and work alongside and will be greatly missed.”
“Watching the evolution of MicroVision and its laser beam scanning technology for these many years has been an extraordinary experience,” said Colonel (Ret.) Cowell. “I plan to continue watching the company’s progress as it looks to broaden its applications beyond projection to 3D sensing and exciting new applications like autonomous vehicles. It is also gratifying to see the company engage in augmented and virtual reality eyewear, an application with roots in the early days of MicroVision when I joined the board.”
Robert Carlile, a former partner at KPMG LLP, was recently named to the board of directors and to the audit committee.