HAYWARD, CA -- May 1, 2005 -- The Corporation for Manufacturing Excellence (Manex), a consultancy providing strategy, people, process and performance consulting to companies in Northern California, is pleased to announce that Brent Meyers has joined the firm as President and CEO.

Meyers has nearly two decades of experience in developing, building and leading successful consulting businesses and providing thought leadership, solution development, and delivery to manufacturing, distribution, technology, and service-industry clients.

He previously has served as US Managing Partner of Strategy Consulting at Grant Thornton, where he also was Chief Strategy Officer for their consulting division and a member of the firmwide Leadership Committee. Prior to Grant Thornton, Meyers was Pacific Region Director of Strategic Consulting for Andersen, where he founded, developed and managed their first strategy- and growth-related consulting practice, and subsequently provided counsel to other offices worldwide on creating similar consultancies.

"Brent's years of experience and success in business-building and client-delivery at large consultancies provides a new foundation for Manex to deliver an array of high-impact services to our clients and positions the organization for accelerated growth," said Carl Banks, Chairman of the Board. "I am especially excited about the possibilities for small and midsize manufacturers in Northern California, and for our partners and key stakeholders."

Meyers' clients have included start-up, small- and midsized-businesses, and global organizations including Kodak, Lockheed Martin, Motorola, Intel, American Honda Motor Corp, Technicolor/CFI and Viking Range. In addition, he has developed several widely-deployed tools and methodologies in the areas of strategic planning, new product development, revenue growth, M&A integration, and customer satisfaction.

He holds an MBA from Cornell University and a BA in Economics and Business Law from UC Berkeley.