Perozek steps down as ATL presidentafter presiding over turbulent market

Executive saw sharp downturn in U.S. sales

ATL president and COO David Perozek is leaving the company effectiveSept. 1, the Bothell, WA, ultrasound vendor announced last week.Perozek's duties as president will be assumed by chairman andCEO Dennis Fill until a replacement is found.

ATL said Perozek is resigning for personal reasons and to pursueother interests. He has not joined another company and will continueto be affiliated with ATL in a consulting role through 1996, thecompany said.

Perozek was hired by ATL in 1992 after leaving the medicalproducts group of cardiac ultrasound vendor Hewlett-Packard (SCAN5/20/92). He had served as general manager of the group and supervisedthe company's integration of Apollo Computer, a workstation manufacturerHP acquired.

Perozek saw ATL through a period of great change. Sales inthe U.S. ultrasound industry fell sharply shortly after he joinedthe company. ATL posted revenues in 1993 of $304.5 million, down6.3%, with a net loss of $5.1 million. The company was forcedto restructure operations in mid-1993 and released 11% of itsworldwide work force (SCAN 9/8/93).

Despite the downturn, ATL maintained its activity in the market,both in product development and on a corporate level. The companyintroduced its Extended Signal Processing (ESP) upgrade for theUltramark 9 HDI scanner in 1993 as well as Doppler Power Imaging,its approach to amplitude-based color Doppler that was later upgradedand renamed Color Power Angio.

Last year, ATL acquired cardiac ultrasound developer Interspec,absorbing that company's product line and moving its operationsto Bothell. ATL had revenues of $366.2 million in 1994 with anet loss of $20.2 million. Those figures include the revenue contributionfrom Interspec as well as nonrecurring charges relating to itsacquisition of Interspec and the closure of its Ambler, PA, headquarters.

ATL also introduced the HDI 3000 in 1994 as its new premiumultrasound platform (SCAN 10/26/94). The scanner has been wellreceived by the market and has helped put the company on the roadto profitability. ATL's revenues for the first quarter (end-March)were up 5.6% to $94.4 million, and the firm would have reportednet income of $926,000 were it not for one-time charges of $2.5million relating to the Interspec consolidation.

Perozek's abilities served ATL well throughout this period,Fill said.

"Dave, in these three years, has played a strong rolein the strategic development of the company and in product development,"Fill said. "He made some strong contributions to ATL, particularlyin the areas where his skill sets are good, in the technologyarea and in the area of operations generally."

ATL has restructured its management organization in responseto Perozek's departure. Jacques Souquet, senior vice presidentfor product generation, and Donald Blem, senior vice presidentfor operations, who once reported to Perozek, will now reportdirectly to Fill. Two other senior vice presidents, Harvey Gillisand Castor Diaz, already report to Fill.