(Source: Business Wire)MRV Communications Inc. (Pink Sheets:MRVC) ("MRV" or the "Company") announced today that it is adding an additional independent director to its Board of Directors, increasing the size of the Board from eight to nine members. The Company's Board unanimously approved the appointment of Joan E. Herman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Herman and Associates LLC and former Chief Executive Officer and President of WellPoint Inc.'s Consumer Business Unit.Ms. Herman's appointment will become effective upon the filing of MRV's Form 10-K, which is expected shortly.

"We are pleased we will be adding an additional independent, experienced and highly qualified individual to our Board," said Noam Lotan, Chief Executive Officer of MRV. "Joan is a respected business leader who will bring fresh perspectives to our Board. She has a successful track record and the right combination of executive, financial and operational expertise that I am confident will help us execute on and further fine-tune MRV's growth strategy. All of us at MRV look forward to working with this experienced executive to create long-term shareholder value."

Upon joining the Board, Ms. Herman will become Chairman of the Board's Compensation Committee and will serve on the Board's Nomination and Governance Committee.

In accordance with MRV's Bylaws, Ms. Herman, along with the existing eight board members of MRV, will stand for election at the Company's 2009 Annual Meeting of Stockholders as disclosed in a preliminary proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on October 2, 2009. MRV's 2009 Annual Meeting of Stockholders will be held on November 11, 2009.

Today's announcement follows the February 2009 recommendation of the Special Committee of MRV's Board of Directors that the Board conduct a search for three new independent members. Following this recommendation, the Nomination and Governance Committee of the Board began a search to identify highly qualified, experienced and independent candidates who would further strengthen the Board and best serve the interests of MRV's stockholders. As previously announced, the Board appointed Michael Keane, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Clipper Windpower, Inc., to the Board of Directors in July 2009 in connection with this search process. Mr. Keane has also joined the Audit Committee.

Joan E. Herman

Joan E. Herman, age 56, is President and Chief Executive Officer of Herman and Associates, LLC, a healthcare and management consulting firm. Prior to that, Ms. Herman served in a variety of positions at WellPoint, Inc., a premier health benefits organization with $60 billion in revenue, from 1998 to 2008.