REDMOND, WA--(Marketwire - Jan 10, 2012) - Data I/O Corporation (NASDAQ: [ DAIO ]), the leading provider of manual and automated device programming systems, announced today that Dr. Paul Gary has decided to retire from the Data I/O Board of Directors and not stand for re-election at the Annual Meeting of Shareholders in May 2012.

Dr. Gary (71) joined the Data I/O Board in 1998, and has served as Chairman of the Board for 12 years. He is also currently a member of the Audit Committee, the Compensation Committee, and the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee.

Dr. Gary will serve as a Director of Data I/O until his term expires in May. However, effective April 1, 2012, Douglas Brown has been elected to succeed him as Chairman of the Board. Mr. Brown has served as a Director at Data I/O since April 1, 2011, and is currently Chairman of the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee. Mr. Brown is President and Chief Executive Officer of All Star Directories, Inc. in Seattle, Washington, a Web-based publisher of post-secondary online and career school directories.

About Data I/O Corporation
With almost 40 years of expertise in delivering intellectual property to programmable devices, Data I/O offers complete, integrated manufacturing solutions in wireless, automotive, programming center, semiconductor, and industrial control market segments for OEM, ODM, EMS and semiconductor companies. Data I/O is the leader in programming and provides hardware and software solutions for turn-key programming and device testing services, as well as in-system (on-board), in-line (right before use at the SMT line), or in-socket (off-line) programming. These solutions are scalable for small, medium and large volume applications with different device mixes. Data I/O Corporation has headquarters in Redmond, Wash., with sales and services worldwide. For further information, visit the company's website at [ http://www.dataio.com ].