AUSTIN, Texas — (BUSINESS WIRE) — October 25, 2018 — National Instruments (Nasdaq: NATI) announced today that Eric Starkloff has been appointed President and Chief Operating Officer (COO). As President and COO, Starkloff will lead the global sales, marketing, and R&D teams to support delivery of greater customer value and company growth. This allows Alex Davern, who has served as CEO since January 2017, to focus on the long-term strategic direction of the company to drive accelerated growth both organically and inorganically.

Starkloff joined National Instruments in 1997 and has been serving as Executive Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing since 2014. Recently, Starkloff and his team have led NI’s global sales evolution and a more targeted market strategy focused on growth opportunities in the semiconductor, transportation, and aerospace, defense, and government industries.

“We have delivered dramatic improvement in our operating performance over the last two years; allowing us to increase our focus on revenue growth. Driving accelerated growth - both organically and inorganically - will require increased strategic focus,” said Alex Davern, NI CEO. “As a result, we have promoted Eric to President and COO. His leadership capabilities, deep knowledge of our customer needs, and more than two decades of NI experience will help ensure alignment and accelerate decision making.”

“I’m honored by this opportunity and responsibility. By better aligning sales, marketing, and R&D around the needs of our customers, we create more focus on growth opportunities,” said Eric Starkloff, NI president and COO. “I am committed to driving growth by building on our industry-leading platform and delivering more value to our customers.”

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains "forward-looking statements" including statements regarding increasing alignment around customer industries designed to drive company growth, supporting delivery of greater customer value and company growth, that Alex’s focus on long-term strategic direction will drive accelerated growth both organically and inorganically, that the global sales evolution and more targeted marketing strategy may result in growth opportunities in the semiconductor, transportation, and aerospace, defense, and government industries, that we have improved our operating performance allowing us to increase focus on revenue growth, that Eric’s leadership, deep knowledge of our customer needs, and two decades of NI experience will help ensure alignment and accelerate decision making, that better aligning sales, marketing, and R&D around the needs of our customers will create more focus on growth opportunities, and that NI is committed to driving growth by building on our industry-leading platform and delivering more value to our customers. These statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including the risk of adverse changes or fluctuations in the global economy, foreign exchange fluctuations, fluctuations in demand for NI products including orders from NI's large customers, component shortages, delays in the release of new products, the company's ability to effectively manage its operating expenses, manufacturing inefficiencies and the level of capacity utilization, the impact of any recent or future acquisitions by NI, expense overruns, adverse effects of price changes or effective tax rates or the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Actual results may differ materially from the expected results. The company directs readers to its Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2017, its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2018 and the other documents it files with the SEC for other risks associated with the company's future performance.

About NI

NI (ni.com) empowers engineers and scientists with a software-defined platform that incorporates modular hardware and an expansive ecosystem. This proven approach puts users firmly in control of defining what they need to accelerate their system design within test, measurement and control. NI’s solution helps build high-performance systems that exceed requirements, quickly adapt to change and ultimately improve the world. (NATI-F)

National Instruments, NI and ni.com are trademarks of National Instruments. Other product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies.

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National Instruments
Marissa Vidaurri, 512-683-6873
Investor Relations