MILPITAS, CA -- December 9, 1998 -- Read-Rite Corporation (NASDAQ: RDRT) has appointed Stephen Melnicki vice president of materials. According to Michael A. Klyszeiko, the company's executive vice president of operations, Melnicki, age 49, will be responsible for procurement, production planning, and worldwide logistics.

Immediately prior to joining Read-Rite, Melnicki was vice president and general manager of South Asia operations for Allied Telesyn in Sunnyvale, California, a major provider of computer networking products in the U.S., Europe and Japan. He has also held senior managerial positions with Inforite Corporation in San Mateo, California; PI Systems Corporation in Portland, Oregon; Momenta Corporation in Mountain View, California; and Hewlett Packard in Santa Clara, California.

Melnicki holds a Ph.D., in Electrochemistry from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and a B.S., in Chemistry from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.