dj Orthopedics Announces Appointment of W. Thomas Mitchell to Its Board of Directors

September 17, 2004

SAN DIEGO, Sept. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- dj Orthopedics, Inc. (NYSE: DJO), a global medical device company specializing in rehabilitation and regeneration products for the non-operative orthopedic and spine markets, today announced the appointment of W. Thomas Mitchell to its Board of Directors, increasing dj Orthopedics' board size to eight directors. Mr.
Mitchell will serve as an independent director of the board and will serve on the audit committee, replacing Kirby Cramer, who will continue to serve as chairman of the compensation committee. Mr. Mitchell will also serve on the compensation committee, replacing Jack Blair, who will continue to serve as chairman of the Board of Directors and chairman of the nominating and corporate governance committee.

Mr. Mitchell brings over thirty years of experience to the dj Orthopedics board. He is the former Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Genencor International. Under his guidance, Genencor's revenues grew from under $30 million to over $325 million. In addition, he successfully managed the acquisition and integration of three major businesses to build the global enterprise that is now Genencor. An industry leader, Mr. Mitchell has participated in a number of important policy initiatives including the 1999 federal executive order that created the national bioenergy initiative. Mr. Mitchell also served as a member of the Governor's Council on Biotechnology in California, which was responsible for helping to improve the state's competitiveness in the mid-1990s. He also served on the Advisory Boards of the Chemical Engineering School at Cornell University and the University of Iowa's School of Engineering. He received his B.S. in chemical engineering from Drexel University. He also completed the Executive Development Program at the University of Michigan. Mr. Mitchell is also a member of the board of directors for Neurocrine Biosciences.

"We are very pleased to have Tom Mitchell join our board as an independent director," said Les Cross, president and CEO of dj Orthopedics. "Tom's broad business knowledge helped build a leading global development and manufacturing business within the healthcare industry and we are excited to have his critical thinking complement the strength of the Company's board. We look forward to his contributions."

About dj Orthopedics, Inc.


dj Orthopedics is a global medical device company specializing in rehabilitation and regeneration products for the non-operative orthopedic and spine markets. The Company's broad range of over 600 rehabilitation products, including rigid knee braces, soft goods and pain management products, are used in the prevention of injury, in the treatment of chronic conditions
and for recovery after surgery or injury. The Company's regeneration products consist of bone growth stimulation devices that are used to treat nonunion fractures and as an adjunct therapy after spinal fusion surgery.

The Company sells its products in the United States and in more than 35 other countries through networks of agents, distributors and its direct sales force that market its products to orthopedic and podiatric surgeons, spine surgeons, orthopedic and prosthetic centers, third-party distributors, hospitals, surgery centers, physical therapists, athletic trainers and other healthcare professionals. For additional information on the Company, please visit www.djortho.com

SOURCE dj Orthopedics, Inc.
-0- 09/17/2004/
(DJO)
CO: dj Orthopedics, Inc.
ST: California
IN: HEA MTC BIO
SU: PER
LP
-- LAF011 --
5528 09/17/2004 07:55 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com

 

Company Investor/Media Contact:
DJO Incorporated
Mark Francois
Director of Corporate Communications & Investor Relations
760-734-4766

Mark.Francois[at]djoglobal[dot]com