TASER International Appoints Peter Holran as Vice President of Public Relations and Government Affairs

December 14, 2007
CNN Money

Taser International needs all the spin help it can get these days ...

TASER International, Inc. (Nasdaq:TASR), a market leader in advanced electronic control devices, today announced that it has hired Peter T. Holran effective December 2007 to serve as its Vice President of Public Relations and Government Affairs. Before joining TASER International, Mr. Holran was Vice President for Public Affairs at Dittus Communications, where he worked on public affairs and crisis management for TASER International and other prominent clients. Prior to his work at Dittus, Mr. Holran spent nearly a decade at Wexler and Walker Public Policy Associates, a Washington D.C. based lobbying firm where he led the team that managed both Federal and state lobbying efforts for TASER International.

"Mr. Holran brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Company, and is an important addition to the management team that will lead TASER International into the future," commented Thomas Smith, Chairman of TASER International's Board of Directors. "We have worked closely with Mr. Holran as an external consultant for almost six years and believe that adding his full-time dedication, experience and expertise to our team will expand the capabilities of the organization."

Thomas Smith currently serves both as Chairman of TASER International's Board of Directors and as the executive officer who oversees public relations and government affairs. Over the next 6 months, Mr. Smith will transition these executive duties fully to Mr. Holran. Mr. Smith will assume a more traditional role as Chairman of the Board of Directors on May 30, 2008. Mr. Smith will continue to serve on the Strategic Leadership Team and, together with Co-Founder and CEO Rick Smith, will continue his role as public spokesperson for the Company indefinitely.

"This is a very exciting time, both for the Company and for me personally. This transition will build important capabilities for the company and will allow me to focus more on issues related to long term strategy and corporate governance as Chairman of the Board. It will also allow me to focus more time on family and personal matters going forward," concluded Mr. Smith.

In conjunction with this career transition, Mr. Smith has adopted a stock trading plan in accordance with Rule 10b5-1. The plan is a component of his overall tax and financial planning strategy that is designed to provide enhanced diversification and liquidity as Mr. Smith transitions from a day-to-day operational role to a more traditional Chairman role for the Company.

Rule 10b5-1 enables corporate officers and directors to establish stock trading plans for the orderly sale of predetermined amounts of securities. Such plans may be initiated only when the officers and directors are not in possession of material and non-public information. The rule allows individuals adopting such plans to sell shares over a specified amount of time at specific prices in the future, even if subsequent material and non-public information becomes available to them.

Under the provisions of Mr. Smith's 10b5-1 plan, up to 830,000 shares may be sold over the next two years, representing approximately 50% of the 1,654,218 shares he controls (665,088 shares owned and 989,130 remaining vested stock options). Any transactions executed under the provisions of the plan, which is effective for approximately 24 months starting in February of 2008, will be reported on Form 4 filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. There are no assurances that any shares will be sold during the duration of the plan.