Applied Energetics Announces Appointment of Joseph Hayden to President and Humberto Astorga to Chief Financial Officer

TUCSON, Ariz., June 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Applied Energetics, Inc., (Nasdaq: AERG), today announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Chief Operating Officer Joseph C. Hayden as President.  The Board also appointed Controller and Principal Financial Officer Humberto Astorga as Chief Financial Officer.  These executive appointments are effective immediately.

Joseph C. Hayden has been Chief Operating Officer since April 2009 and Executive Vice President – Programs for Applied Energetics since December 2004.  Prior to that, Mr. Hayden was the Executive Vice President of Business Operations from November 2002 to 2004.  He is a founder of the Company. Mr. Hayden has almost 30 years experience in organizational leadership, business development, managing and executing large engineering projects and high technology research and development. Prior to the founding of Applied Energetics, Mr. Hayden worked at Raytheon, Inc. and also at two other start-up companies.  A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Mr. Hayden was a U.S. Navy Surface Warfare Officer and Nuclear Engineer before leaving the service to work in industry.

Humberto Astorga has been the Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer since September 2009.  Since March 2006, Mr. Astorga has been Controller of Applied Energetics.  Prior to joining the company, Mr. Astorga was Controller of Lasertel, Inc., a semi-conductor laser manufacturer he joined in June 2002.  From 2001 through June 2002, Mr. Astorga was senior financial analyst of NCS Pearson, Inc., a provider of educational assessments, products, services and solutions.  Prior to joining NCS Pearson, Mr. Astorga was the SAP Business Analyst for Leoni Wiring Systems, Inc., a global supplier of wires, cables and wiring systems.  From 1997 until he joined Leoni Wiring in 2000, Mr. Astorga was a senior financial analyst for the Chamberlain Group, Inc., a consumer electronics manufacturing company.

Brigadier General James M. Feigley, United States Marine Corps (Ret.), non-executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of Applied Energetics, commented, "Our Board of Directors has great confidence in Joe's ability to lead the Company in its next stage of growth.  Joe is an exceptional leader with extensive business management and engineering experience, and detailed knowledge of our Company and our industry. Humberto has made a strong contribution since joining the Applied Energetics team.  He brings close to 13 years of experience in financial reporting with both established and emerging growth companies.  Humberto has demonstrated the ability to serve as the company's Chief Financial Officer and we are pleased to appoint him to this position."

About Applied Energetics, Inc.

Applied Energetics, Inc., based in Tucson, Arizona, specializes in development and manufacture of advanced high performance lasers, high voltage electronics, advanced optical systems, and integrated guided energy systems for defense, aerospace, industrial, and scientific customers worldwide. Applied Energetics pioneered the development of Laser Guided Energy(TM) (LGE(TM)) technology, and related solutions for defense and security applications. For more information about Applied Energetics, please visit www.appliedenergetics.com.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995:

Certain statements contained in this News Release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

Such factors include, but are not limited to: the dependence on sales of a limited number of products and the uncertainty of the timing and magnitude of government funding and orders, dependence on sales to government customers; the uncertainty of patent protection; the uncertainty of strategic alliances; the uncertainty of management tenure; the impact of third-party suppliers' manufacturing constraints or difficulties; management's ability to achieve business performance objectives, market acceptance of, and demand for, the Company's products, and resulting revenues; development and testing of technology and products; manufacturing capabilities; impact of competitive products and pricing; litigation and other risks detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The words "looking forward," "believe," "demonstrate," "intend," "expect," "continue,"  "contemplate," "estimate," "anticipate," "likely" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date the statement was made. Applied Energetics undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this news release.

SOURCE Applied Energetics, Inc.