Barry Phelps appointed chairman of U.S. Auto Parts' board of directors

U.S. Auto Parts Network, Inc., an online provider of aftermarket auto parts and accessories, has announced the appointment of Barry Phelps to the company's board of directors.

"Barry is a great addition to our board as he brings more than 30 years of senior level managerial and financial experience within the technology industry," says Mehran Nia, the company's president and chief executive officer. "Barry's strong background and expertise will be a valuable resource to U.S. Auto Parts as we continue to build upon our leading position within the online aftermarket auto parts industry. We look forward to benefiting from Barry's insight and advice."

Rob Majteles, chairman of the board, adds: "I am very pleased to welcome Barry and look forward to working closely with him. We are committed to building a great public company and Barry's wealth of expertise in the technology industry and shared vision will surely benefit both our board and our company."

Phelps currently serves on the board of directors of Empower RF Systems and BreakingPoint Systems and on the board of trustees at St. Lawrence University. From 2000 to 2006, Phelps served in several executive positions for Spirent Communications plc, most recently as president of the Performance Analysis Broadband (PAB) division. In this role, Phelps successfully integrated five stand-alone businesses and three technology acquisitions into PAB. He was also instrumental in defining and launching PAB's next generation platform and developing strategy for market share preservation and growth. From 1996 to 2000, Phelps was at Netcom Systems, most recently as president and chief executive officer. During his three year tenure at Netcom, sales grew from $60 million to $200 million. Prior to Netcom Systems, Phelps held several executive positions for MICOM Communications including chairman and chief executive officer, and in various financial management roles at Burroughs/Unisys Corporation. Phelps earned his B.S. degree from St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York, and his M.B.A. from the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York.

"I am excited to join a company that has tremendous opportunity ahead of it," Phelps says. "U.S. Auto Parts has a world-class leadership team and is well positioned to capitalize on the company's significant long-term growth prospects. This is an amazing time for the company and I look forward to working closely with management and the board of directors to drive shareholder value."

For more information about U.S. Auto Parts, visit the company's Web site.