Minarik Named DEI President/CEO

Staff On Dec 4 2000 - 8:00am

VISTA, CALIF. -Directed Electronics Inc. (DEI), announced the appointment of Jim Minarik, former president and CEO of Clarion Corp of America, as its new president/CEO.

Minarik will be the successor to DEI's founder, president and CEO Darrell Issa, who was elected to the United States Congress on Nov. 7, 2000, representing California's 48th Congressional District.

At Clarion, Minarik will be replaced by Ryosei Tonari, formerly president of the Clarion Co. Ltd. in Japan. Clarion said there will be no changes in corporate direction due to the executive change.

"While it has been very tough for me to decide to leave Clarion," said Minarik, "at DEI I will not only be the president and CEO, but also a significant investor and owner, and that is something that has always been an important personal career and life goal for me."

A second reason for his company change, he said, was DEI's new equity investor, Trivest, which purchased the company last November. "I believe that DEI's market savvy and position coupled with the financial savvy of Trivest is really a great combination," he said.

Minarik said of Tonari, his replacement at Clarion, "He is a very seasoned guy, very familiar with the U.S. market. He's lived and worked here for eight years, so he's connected both in Detroit and to the U.S. sales team. And he's already developing his game plan here."

Minarik is scheduled to transition out of Clarion and into DEI in time for January's 2001 International CES.