15-Year Gillette Veteran Assumes Role

    TUCSON, Ariz., Oct. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Ventana Medical Systems, Inc.
(Nasdaq: VMSI), the leading company in supplying automated instrument-reagent
systems to histology labs, today announced that Nick Malden has been appointed
chief financial officer.
    Malden, 43, joins Ventana after spending over 15 years with The Gillette
Company, where he was most recently vice president-finance for the Duracell
Global Business Management Group, responsible for Duracell's world-wide
financial management.  Previously, he was vice president-finance Europe for
Duracell's North Atlantic Group.  From 1985 through 1997, Malden held various
positions with Duracell International in its European, Latin American and U.S.
corporate operations.
    Before Duracell, Malden was a senior auditor for Dart & Kraft in Brussels,
covering the company's operations in Europe, Africa and Asia-Pacific.  He
began his career with Arthur Andersen as an auditor in its manufacturing
division.
    Malden has a bachelor's degree in political science from Grinnell College,
Grinnell, Iowa, and an MBA from Emory University in Atlanta, Ga.  His family
will relocate from Connecticut to Tucson in June.
    "We are very pleased that Nick has decided to join our company," said
Christopher Gleeson, Ventana's president and chief executive officer.  "His
significant international exposure combined with his broad financial
experience will benefit our company as we build a world-class finance function
to support our growth and globalization initiatives."
    The company also announced that effective immediately, Jay Meridew, vice
president-finance, will assume a new role with the company and will assist
Malden during his transition.  "We appreciate all of Jay's efforts over the
past 16 months and wish him well in his new role," Gleeson commented.
    Ventana develops, manufactures and markets instrument/reagent systems that
automate tissue preparation and slide staining in clinical and drug discovery
laboratories worldwide.  Ventana's systems are important tools used in the
diagnosis and treatment of cancer and infectious diseases.  In addition,
Ventana has recently entered the exciting new field of genomics, assisting in
the identification of genetic pathways to the treatment of diseases.  The
valuable information gained from tracking nucleic acids with Ventana products
provides the basis for the development of both life-enhancing and life-saving
commercial drugs.
    For more information on Ventana Medical Systems, Inc. via facsimile at no
additional cost, simply dial 1-800-PRO-INFO and enter the stock symbol "VMSI".

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