(October 10, 2005) - The San Diego Air & Space Museum's Board of Directors has named William R. Lennartz to succeed Ken Curtis as the Museum's President and CEO after an exhaustive but lucrative search. Lennartz, a resident of Rancho Santa Fe, was most recently the co-founder, President & CEO of California Linear Devices, Inc. (CDL), a billion-dollar manufacturer of linear motors worldwide.

"Bill Lennartz has an outstanding background as an entrepreneur who has successfully managed and led a series of technical companies. He also was active in the management of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics," Museum Board chairman Richard H. Petersen said. "The Board of Directors has recently completed a strategic plan entitled "2013: AN AEROSPACE ODYSSEY." We are excited to have Mr. Lennartz's leadership and passion as we implement our plans and maintain the San Diego Air & Space Museum's reputation as one of the premier aerospace museums in the country."

The Museum's Search Committee, chaired by Board Vice-Chairman Adm. Pat Moneymaker, USN (Ret.), received nearly fifty applications. After a meticulous review process, the Search Committee narrowed the slate to four candidates before selecting Mr. Lennartz. The Executive Committee of the Board approved their selection, and Mr. Lennartz has accepted the position.

Lennartz brings to the Museum a unique blend of business experience and entrepreneurial acumen. Known for substantially increasing shareholder value, Mr. Lennartz began his career in 1968 by founding his first company, Lencor International, a major computer disk pack manufacturer that grew to $20 million in annual revenue.

Since that first triumph, Lennartz has founded or lead several profitable companies that later merged with other internationally known giants such as Emerson Electric Company and the Memorex Corporation.

A 1963 graduate of the University of Colorado's Business School, Lennartz majored in Finance before joining the IBM Corporation as an Account Manager for five years in Los Angeles.

After the successful merger of his Lencor Corporation to Memorex, Lennartz founded Computer Power Systems Corp. in Carson, CA. CPS was a manufacturer of electrical filtering and distribution equipment for the computer room growing to $30 million in annual sales.

Another unique experience presented itself in 1991 when Lennartz became President and CEO of Hixson Metal Finishing in Newport Beach, CA to help a friend suffering from cancer. The company was rudderless and losing money but Lennartz turned the company into a profitable one with $6.5 million in revenues and later turned the company over to a management team for the owner.

In 1984, Lennartz joined the highly acclaimed Los Angeles Olympic Committee under the leadership of Peter Ueberroth. The L.A. Olympics were the first privately-financed Games ever and made an unheard of $215 million profit. As a member of the Licensing & Merchandising Commission that negotiated the contracts with ABC Television, in addition to securing thirty Corporate Sponsors, Lennartz helped raise over $700 million.

A member of the Young President's Organization for eighteen years, Lennartz served on its International Board of Directors for four years and Senior Vice President of North America presiding over 4000 members.

Lennartz will succeed Ken Curtis, the Museum's first President & CEO, who is retiring at the end of October. Under Curtis' leadership, the Museum introduced some of the most significant additions to its public exhibits, most notably the Command Module from the 1969 Apollo 9 mission, and an RQ-1 Predator - one of only three on display in the world and the only one the west coast.

Curtis, a retired Navy Captain and helicopter pilot, served on the Museum's Board of Directors from 1999 until June 2005. His previous business experience in the private sector included five-years as the Chief Operating Officer for Primary Provider Management Company, a company he is credited with turning around financially. Curtis took on the role as the Museum's first CEO in October 2003 to accomplish the same for the financially ailing Balboa Park institution.

"While I was requested by the Board of Directors to put in place a financial turnaround plan - and the Museum posted very positive numbers this past fiscal year - perhaps the thing I am most proud of is the quality and productivity of the Museum's workforce," Curtis said. "I think for a while, as a workforce we became too comfortable with the ordinary and forgot how it feels to achieve the extraordinary. I am very proud to say that today the staff of the San Diego Air & Space Museum routinely performs at a level of excellence and teamwork that I have not observed before. The fact that they do this with modest compensation is noble; they understand that they are in the business of changing lives by 'celebrating, educating and inspiring' our aviation heritage."

"We have begun to 'act as good as we say we are'. I think for a while we forgot what a great and unique Museum this is," Curtis continued. "Over the past two years, we have offered a whole new look to the public, including several great additions to our collections and exhibits, major improvements to our venue, a more dynamic and informative website, and recognition by the public that we are regional resource on aviation matters. We also take pride in the fact that the San Diego Aerospace Museum is recognized by its fellow museums as being amongst the most admired aviation-themed museum in the nation, and we don't take that for granted."