Vital Images Announces Jay D. Miller to Resign; Board Names Michael H. Carrel as...

Vital Images Announces Jay D. Miller to Resign; Board Names Michael H. Carrel
as New CEO
Peter Goepfrich Promoted to CFO; Company Reaffirms 2007 Revenue Guidance;
Conference Call at 9:30 a.m. CT Today

MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Vital Images, Inc.
(Nasdaq: VTAL), a leading provider of enterprise-wide advanced visualization
and analysis solutions, announced today that the board of directors has
accepted the resignation of Jay D. Miller and has appointed Michael H. Carrel
as president and CEO. Miller will remain on the Vital Images board until the
May 2008 annual shareholders' meeting.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080109/AQW038)
According to Douglas M. Pihl, chairman, "After careful consideration, the
board and Jay mutually agreed that the time is now right for new leadership at
Vital Images. Jay has been with Vital Images for 11 years, and has seen the
employee base expand from less than 25 to more than 325 currently. During the
past six years while Jay was CEO, he has presided over the company's growth
from $15 million in 2001 sales to $70 million in 2006. Jay's accomplishments
include establishing ViTAL as a global player in the advanced visualization
and analysis market, key partnerships with Toshiba Medical Systems and
McKesson Information Systems, as well as offices not only in Minneapolis, but
in Beijing, China, and Den Haag, The Netherlands. On behalf of the board,
management and all Vital Images employees, we want to thank Jay for his
dedication, hard work and leadership."
Pihl continued, "Three years ago Jay hired Mike Carrel as chief operating
officer and chief financial officer, and he is now ready to move into the role
of CEO. We are extremely confident in Mike's capabilities. He brings
impressive business, services, software and financial management credentials
to his new position."
Miller said, "I've truly enjoyed the past 11 years, but it's time for a
change for me and for the company. ViTAL is in great hands with Mike Carrel,
Peter Goepfrich and the rest of the team."
According to Pihl, "Mike was a key driver in Vital Images' revenue and
profitability growth in 2005 and 2006, and in helping to establish an
international presence, build a strong services capability and raise almost
$100 million for growth initiatives in late 2006. In addition to bringing
financial, sales and operational discipline to the organization, Mike is
customer- and execution-focused. His strategic sense, enthusiasm, work ethic
and software background will be important assets for the company's success."
Carrel said, "I am energized to take on this challenge and want to thank
the Vital Images board members for their vote of confidence and Jay for his
support since I came to the company and during this transition period. My top
priority is to reignite growth, which stalled this past year. We will focus on
product development, services, sales operations, field and partner marketing,
and international expansion."
Carrel joined Vital Images in January 2005 and was named chief operating
officer and chief financial officer in May of that year. He came to the
company from Technology Solutions Company (TSC), an IT consulting firm, where
he was a senior vice president. Prior to that, Carrel was president, CEO and
CFO of ZAMBA Corporation, a Minneapolis-based technology company that TSC
purchased. Carrel also served as CFO at NextNet Wireless, which was
subsequently sold to Clearwire Communications (CLWR). Before ZAMBA and NextNet
Wireless, Carrel held financial and consulting positions with what are now
PricewaterhouseCoopers and Deloitte & Touche. He is a certified public
accountant and holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from Pennsylvania State
University and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of
Pennsylvania.
Goepfrich Promoted to CFO
Succeeding Carrel as CFO of Vital Images is Peter Goepfrich, currently vice
president of finance and accounting. Goepfrich joined the company in 2004 as
controller. He then served as senior director of finance from March 2005 to
March 2007, when he was promoted to vice president. Carrel said, "Peter's
promotion to CFO is part of our internal succession plan. He and I have been
working together closely for several years, in anticipation that he would step
up to this position. Peter has a rich financial background, and he knows the
company. During his tenure to date, Peter was instrumental in completing the
successful secondary offering; he has improved internal and external
reporting, and built a finance function that can scale as the company grows."
Prior to Vital Images, Goepfrich spent seven years at
PricewaterhouseCoopers, specializing in the software industry. Earlier
experience includes working at Management Resource Initiatives where he
supported startup companies. Goepfrich is a certified public accountant and
holds a bachelor of arts in accounting from St. Mary's University.
2007 Guidance
Carrel said that Vital Images is reaffirming its revenue guidance for the
year ended December 31, 2007. Revenue is expected to be approximately
$68 million to $72 million. Earnings are anticipated to be between $.05 and
$.18 per diluted share. The earnings exclude the impact of a severance charge
which will be taken in the 2007 fourth quarter in connection with the
management change. The charge is estimated at approximately $1 million pretax,
or $.06 per diluted share pretax. The company will release fourth quarter and
2007 full-year results February 21, 2008, and will hold its normal conference
call at that time as well.
Conference Call Today at 9:30 a.m. CT
The company will host a conference call today, January 9, 2008, at
9:30 a.m. CT to discuss the management changes. To access the live Webcast, go
to the investors' portion of the company's Web site,
http://www.vitalimages.com, and click on the Webcast icon.
If you wish to listen to an audio replay of the conference call, dial
(888) 286-8010 and enter conference call ID#14812238. The audio replay will be
available beginning at 11:30 a.m. CT on January 9, 2008.
About Vital Images
Vital Images, Inc., headquartered in Minneapolis, is a leading provider of
enterprise-wide advanced visualization and analysis software solutions. The
company's technology gives radiologists, cardiologists, oncologists and other
medical specialists time-saving productivity and communications tools that can
be accessed throughout the enterprise and via the Web for easy use in the
day-to-day practice of medicine. For more information, visit
http://www.vitalimages.com.
Forward-looking Statements
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters
discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These
statements involve risks and uncertainties which could cause results to differ
materially from those projected, including but not limited to dependence on
market growth, challenges associated with international expansion, the timely
availability and acceptance of new products, the impact of competitive
products and pricing, dependence on major customers, fluctuations in quarterly
results, third-party reimbursement and other factors detailed from time to
time in Vital Images' SEC reports, including its annual report on Form 10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2006.
SOURCE Vital Images, Inc.

Peter Goepfrich of Vital Images, Inc., +1-952-487-9500; or Nancy A. Johnson,
+1-612-455-1745, njohnson@psbpr.com, or Marian Briggs, +1-612-455-1742,
mbriggs@psbpr.com, both of Padilla Speer Beardsley, for Vital Images, Inc.