CTI Industries Corporation Completes CEO Transition

NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / January 8, 2020 / CTI Industries Corporation (NASDAQ:CTIB) ("CTI" or the "Company") announced today that the Company has completed the transition of its Chief Executive Officer position to Frank Cesario from Jeffrey Hyland, who recently resigned for personal reasons.

During December 2019, Mr. Hyland, who has been President of the Company since December 2017 and Chief Executive Officer since December 2018, resigned from those positions, and as a Director, for personal reasons. He has agreed to remain a consultant to the Company. Mr. Frank Cesario, Chief Financial Officer since November 2017, was elevated to Acting CEO, and on January 2, 2020. Mr. Cesario was appointed as President, Chief Executive Officer and a Director. Mr. Cesario brings 16 years of experience as CFO of multiple manufacturing entities, including the past two years at CTI. John Schwan, Chairman of the Board, stated, "We are saddened to lose Jeff's strong leadership that has guided us through challenging times, but he created the foundation and current strategies for future profitable growth. We are confident that CTI is in good hands with Frank and his management team. With Jeff staying on as a consultant, we believe there will be a smooth transition to Frank's well-deserved position as CEO."

In the two years under Mr. Hyland's leadership, CTI implemented several significant improvements to the business. These changes included reducing expenses by an annualized $3 million during the first year, upgrading the senior management team including the hiring of Mr. Cesario, installing two new pieces of equipment that resulted in increased foil balloon operating capacity by 35%, securing the refinancing of the Company's bank debt in December 2017, and significantly improving foil balloon quality through a detailed quality improvement program. Mr. Hyland and Mr. Cesario designed the Company's current strategy that features the divestiture of unprofitable subsidiaries and product lines, approximately $5 million of planned expense reductions over the next two years, the growth of targeted revenue opportunities, and the streamlining of the business model to focus on profitable, growth-oriented business segments.

Mr. Hyland said, "I am extremely pleased with the accomplishments of CTI, our management team, and our employee base over my two-year tenure. I am also thankful for the support of customers and suppliers, particularly through difficult times. I believe, now that CTI has executed an arrangement for new financing, the Company's current strategy should propel CTI to higher levels of EBITDA and be strong competitor in the industry. The management team and entire employee group have proven themselves as being a cohesive, highly-experienced group, and Frank will be a strong leader of the Company."

Mr. Hyland also noted, "Frank has earned a great deal of respect both inside and outside of CTI for his thoughtful, strategic, and financially-based actions. He is committed to CTI's success and is focused on strategies that are structured to drive the Company to ongoing profitability going forward. Frank has been an integral part of every mission-critical decision we have made since he joined the Company, and his ability to address issues with a goal-oriented and team-based approach will serve CTI well. I am confident we have chosen the best leader to successfully charter CTI's future initiatives."

Mr. Hyland concluded, "I truly appreciate the confidence of CTI's Board, shareholders, management, employees, and other stakeholders placed in me and look forward to assisting in CTI's future successes."

Mr. Cesario said, "We will all sincerely miss Jeff's leadership, and selfishly, I could not be more pleased that he will continue advising the Company. I have worked closely with Jeff to define our current strategies that I believe will pave the way for future success. We will be implementing extensive expense reductions and anticipate significant revenue growth once we have secured adequate financing to fund our plans. I am humbled by the confidence that both Jeff and the Board have placed in me, the culture we have developed within the organization, and look forward to working with our entire team to take CTI to the next level."

About CTI

CTI Industries Corporation is one of the leading manufacturers and marketers of foil and latex balloons, develops, produces and markets vacuum sealing systems for household use and produces laminated and printed films for commercial uses. CTI also distributes Candy Blossoms and other gift items. CTI markets its products throughout the United States and in several other countries.

Forward Looking Statements

Statements made in this release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking" statements (within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change at any time. These "forward-looking" statements may include, but are not limited to, statements containing words such as "may," "should," "could," "would," "expect," "plan," "goal," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential," "continue," or similar expressions. We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and projections about future results. Although we believe that our opinions and expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements, and our actual results may differ substantially from statements made herein. We cannot anticipate the duration of increased tariffs between the United States and other countries, particularly China. We do not know whether we will be successful in passing such additional costs through to customers. Any failure to do so would have a negative impact on our financial condition. More information on factors that could affect CTI's business and financial results are included in its public filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.

CONTACT:

CTI Industries Corporation

Frank Cesario
Chief Executive Officer
(847) 620-1439
fcesario@ctiindustries.com

Investor Relations Contact:

MJ Clyburn
TraDigital IR
(212) 389-9782 x 101
clyburn@tradigitalir.com

SOURCE: CTI Industries



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