FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NATICK, MA, USA March 17, 2011

Cognex Corporation Promotes Robert Willett to Chief Executive Officer

NATICK, MA, March 17, 2011—Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ: CGNX) announced today that Robert Willett, the company’s President and Chief Operating Officer, has been promoted to Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Willett will continue to report to Dr. Robert J. Shillman, who remains Chairman of the Board, and who will take on the newly-created role of Cognex’s Chief Culture Officer.

“Since joining Cognex just three years ago, Rob has done a superb job of both managing our business during the 2009 downturn and in laying the groundwork for our company’s record-breaking financial performance in 2010,” said Dr. Shillman. “His leadership was instrumental in every key area, including choosing the strategic markets to pursue for growth, establishing our product development priorities and, finally, in guiding and motivating the talented team of Cognoids around the world to make it all happen. Rob is an immensely capable business leader and a true Cognoid who takes his work seriously, but who doesn’t take himself seriously. He embodies our motto of ‘Work Hard, Play Hard and Move Fast!’”

Dr. Shillman continued, “Although I have given up my responsibilities as the CEO of Cognex, I will continue to be very involved with the company. I will split my time between seeking out new technologies, markets and acquisitions that will help us grow in the years ahead. And, in my new role as Chief Culture Officer, I will work hard to maintain our unique corporate culture in every office around the world so that Cognex can continue to be a great place for smart, creative and hardworking people to build their careers.”

In his most recent role as President and Chief Operating Officer of Cognex Corporation, Mr. Willett had management responsibility for sales, marketing, product development and operations for both of Cognex’s two divisions (the Modular Vision Systems Division and the Surface Inspection Systems Division). As CEO, Mr. Willett will now also be responsible for the company’s global Finance & Administration functions.

Mr. Willett joined Cognex in 2008 as Executive Vice President and President of the Modular Vision Systems Division. In 2010 he was promoted to President and Chief Operating Officer of Cognex, at which time he assumed the additional responsibility for its Surface Inspection Systems Division. Prior to joining Cognex he served as Group Vice President of Business Development and Innovation for the Product Identification business group at Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR), a diversified manufacturer of industrial controls and technologies, with annual revenues of more than $10 billion. Prior to that role, he served as President of Videojet Technologies, a subsidiary of Danaher and a market leader in coding and marking products, with revenue in excess of $500 million. Before joining Danaher, he was CEO of Willett International Ltd., a global coding and marking company that he sold to Danaher in 2003, and which was merged into Videojet.

 

INVESTOR CONTACT:
Susan Conway
Director of Investor Relations
Cognex Corporation
Phone: (508) 650-3353
Email: susan.conway@cognex.com

PRESS CONTACT:  
Robin Pratt 
Sr. Mgr., Corporate Communications
Cognex Corporation  
Phone:  (760) 505-6374
Email: robin.pratt@cognex.com 

About Cognex Corporation

Cognex Corporation (“the Company” or “Cognex”) invents and commercializes technologies that address some of the most critical manufacturing and distribution challenges. We are a leading global provider of machine vision products and solutions that improve efficiency and quality in high-growth-potential businesses across attractive industrial end markets. Our solutions blend physical products and software to capture and analyze visual information, allowing for the automation of manufacturing and distribution tasks for customers worldwide. Machine vision products are used to automate the manufacturing or distribution and tracking of discrete items, such as mobile phones, electric vehicle batteries and e-commerce packages, by locating, identifying, inspecting, and measuring them. Machine vision is important for applications in which human vision is inadequate to meet requirements for size, accuracy, or speed, or in instances where substantial cost savings or quality improvements are maintained.

Cognex is the world's leader in the machine vision industry, having shipped more than 4 million image-based products, representing over $10 billion in cumulative revenue, since the company's founding in 1981. Headquartered in Natick, Massachusetts, USA, Cognex has offices and distributors located throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia. For details, visit cognex.com.

IR Contact
Nathan McCurren
Head of Investor Relations
Cognex Corporation
ir@cognex.com

Media Contact
Jeremy Sacco
Senior Manager, Global Content Marketing
Cognex Corporation
pr@cognex.com

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