EXHIBIT 99.2
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Stephen Harris, (sharris@elitelog.com)
President & Chief Executive Officer
Elite Logistics, Inc.
Telephone: (979)-230-0222
ELITE APPOINTS MATTHEW HUTCHINS CHAIRMAN OF THE
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
ACCOMPLISHED EXECUTIVE BRINGS INCREASED INDEPENDENT OVERSIGHT AND
STRATEGIC BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT FOCUS TO THE COMPANY
Freeport, TX (July 15, 2002) - Elite Logistics, Inc. (OTC BB: ELOG), an
innovative leader in the rapidly growing telematics industry, today announced
that Matthew Hutchins, Sr. has been appointed Chairman of the Board of
Directors. Joseph D. Smith, who has served as Chairman since the company was
founded in 1997, voluntarily resigned as Chairman and will remain on the board
of Directors.
As Chairman, Mr. Hutchins brings more than 20 years of business and
high-tech leadership experience in a variety of industries with a strong track
record in strategic partnering, expanding operations domestically and
internationally, and raising funds to support operational growth.
"Our Board of Directors has selected and endorsed Mr. Hutchins to lead
Elite in realizing its full market and intellectual property potential," said
Mr. Dick Huebner, chairman of the Board committee which led the search for
Hutchins. "Elite's primary challenges are to form strategic alliances and raise
additional operating capital to fund its full market potential. We believe that
Matt's credentials will significantly add to Elite's overall capability to meet
these challenges."
"Matt is a solid strategic addition to our board and brings an
impressive array of relevant experience, skills and contacts to our business,"
said Stephen M. Harris, Elite's president and chief executive officer. "His
extensive background and success in growing companies will serve Elite well in
the years ahead."
Mr. Hutchins is currently the President and CEO of T-Speed Broadband
Communications, Inc., a leading provider of fixed wireless broadband data
services to enterprise
customers in the Southwest. As the chief executive officer of T-Speed Broadband
Communications, Mr. Hutchins and a strong senior management team of seasoned
executives have directed the company on the path to operating profitability and
growth in exceptionally tight capital markets. Having navigated the various
challenges that have engulfed the telecommunications industry, T-Speed Broadband
Communications has emerged as a vanguard of the industry consolidation that is
spreading across the broadband fixed wireless services marketplace.
Previously, Mr. Hutchins was President & CEO of BroadbandNOW, Inc., a
leading provider of broadband data services to the multi-family residential and
single-family markets, nationwide. Under Mr. Hutchins' direction, BroadbandNOW
established a nationwide, private IP over ATM network spanning twenty-eight (28)
major metropolitan markets in the United States, including distributed data
centers in the eight (8) core cities of the network. In addition, BroadbandNOW
built a "last mile" high speed Internet access delivery infrastructure
integrating cable modem, xDSL, switched ethernet, and broadband wireless
technologies into a single broadband content and applications delivery platform
spanning hundreds of apartment communities and residential developments in
eighteen (18) metropolitan markets across the country. Led by Mr. Hutchins, the
company established long-term strategic relationships with numerous distribution
partners, including large residential Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT), such
as Archstone Communities and AvalonBay Properties; private cable operators, such
as US Online, Direct Digital Communications and OpTel; and emerging
telecommunications subsidiaries of large electric utilities such as TXU,
Allegheny Energy and Xcel Energy (formerly Northern States Power). Further, Mr.
Hutchins successfully completed a $92,000,000 private placement of preferred
stock with strategic investors, including Microsoft, Liberty Media, Nortel
Networks, Lucent Technologies and GE Capital.
Prior to joining BroadbandNOW, Inc., Mr. Hutchins was one of the
founding principals and Chief Executive Officer of The Tiger Group, L.L.C., a
privately-held international and strategic business development consultancy
specializing in the multimedia, interactive telecommunications and information
technology industries. Representative clients included GTE; BBN Corporation;
Jinro Group/Gtv (Republic of Korea); Storage Concepts, Inc.; and EDS. Prior to
his association with The Tiger Group, he was the Vice President, International &
Chief Legal Officer of SpectraVision, Inc., a publicly-held, $170,000,000 gross
revenue company providing
video entertainment programming and interactive services for the lodging and
hospitality industry, worldwide.
Prior to Mr. Hutchins' association with SpectraVision, he was a senior
associate with the law firm of Andrews & Kurth where he specialized in corporate
and commercial finance, banking, mergers and acquisitions, oil and gas/real
estate financing, corporate and securities law, and general business. His
academic degrees include a Bachelor of Arts, Political Science degree from the
University of Maine in 1977, a Master of Public Administration degree from Texas
Tech University in 1979, and a Juris Doctor degree from Texas Tech University in
1982.
ABOUT ELITE LOGISTICS, INC.
Elite Logistics, Inc. is the parent company of Elite Logistics
Services, Inc., its wholly owned operating subsidiary based in Freeport, Texas.
Elite is best known for its PageTrack(R) family of Intelligent Asset Management
Systems that integrate global positioning systems and two-way wireless telemetry
technology to provide tracking and control of vehicles and other assets via the
Internet or virtually any public wireless network. The Company provides a
comprehensive solution to the logistics needs of fleet managers and security
needs of private vehicle owners. The PageTrack(R) family of Intelligent Vehicle
Systems is distributed throughout the United States and internationally through
an expanding network of distributors and dealers. Elite is a Motorola certified
value-added integrator and utilizes the telemetry network of several service
providers in North America.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Stephen Harris (sharris@elitelog.com )
Elite Logistics, Inc. (979) 230-0222
Or visit the Company's web site at www.elitelog.com.
Editorial note: The above news release may contain forward-looking statements as
that term is defined by the Federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements
discuss future expectations, contain projections of results of operations or of
financial conditions, characterize future events or circumstances, or state
other forward-looking information. Although the Company's management believes
that the expectations reflected in such statements are based on reasonable
assumptions, actual results and outcomes could differ materially from those
projected.