Candela Adds Seasoned Industry Executives to Its Sales & Marketing Team.

WAYLAND, Mass.--(BW HealthWire)--Feb. 11, 1999--

Costello & Herman to Play Key Roles in Helping Candela 

Capitalize on Explosive Growth in Hair Removal and Other Markets

Two cosmetic and medical laser industry executives have joined the sales and marketing management team at Candela Corporation (Nasdaq:CLZR). Timothy P. Costello, formerly vice president of marketing at ESC Medical Systems (Needham, MA), was named vice president of marketing at Candela; and Dennis S. Herman, previously vice president of sales at Palomar Medical Technology, Inc. (Lexington, MA), joins Candela as its new eastern regional sales manager.

"We are delighted with the additions of Tim Costello and Dennis Herman to our team," said William D. Spies, Candela's senior vice president of marketing, sales and service. "They are highly talented individuals with excellent track records in our industry. We are therefore confident that they will enable us to continue to build on the momentum and excitement that we have created in the U. S. and international markets for our hair removal laser, the GentleLASE(TM), and for our other systems."

At ESC, Costello started as director of marketing and was promoted within a year to vice president of marketing. In these positions, he successfully launched five new products. He also created ESC's in-house marketing department, established a company-wide training program, and implemented a quality service and product improvement program.

Costello began his career at Mentor Corporation, the Santa Barbara, CA-based medical products company, where he held a number of increasingly responsible positions -- senior sales territory manager, senior product manager, and finally, marketing manager. He holds a Bachelor's degree from Middlebury College (Middlebury, VT).

Herman has over 25 years of diversified sales and business development experience in the medical laser and other medical industries. At Palomar, he headed up the overall sales program and coordinated the activities of Coherent Medical, which served as distributor of the company's laser hair removal products. He previously held managerial positions at two Palomar companies: director of business development and vice president of CliniSpas at Cosmetic Technology International (San Diego, CA), and national sales manager at Spectrum Medical Technologies, Inc. (Lexington, MA).

Earlier in his career, Herman worked as an executive recruiter and as a sales representative for a number of medical industry firms. He holds a BA degree from Rutgers College (New Brunswick, NJ).

Gerard E. Puorro, Candela's president and CEO, stated: "These new appointments confirm what the market has been telling us for some time -- that Candela is back on a fast-growth track. We are rapidly gaining increased recognition in this burgeoning industry for the quality and effectiveness of our technology, as well as seeing the momentum build from our direct and channel sales and marketing efforts. Candela has always been fortunate to attract top-flight professionals, and, more than ever, our company is becoming "the place to be" for the industry's top professionals.

About Candela

Candela Corporation develops, manufactures, and distributes innovative clinical solutions that enable physicians, surgeons and personal care practitioners to treat selected cosmetic and medical conditions using lasers, cryosurgery, and other proven technologies. Founded near Boston in 1970, Candela markets and services its products in over 40 countries from offices in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Candela established the aesthetic laser market 11 years ago. With an installed base of over 2,000 lasers worldwide, more than 500,000 aesthetic laser procedures are performed annually with Candela laser systems. For more information about Candela, visit the company's web site at http://www.clzr.com.

This press release includes certain forward-looking statements. Any such statements are subject to risks that could cause the actual results to vary materially, including negative developments relating to unforeseen audit cancellations or push-outs, Candela's strategic relationships, the impact of intense competition, and changes in the laser industry.