Friday May 19, 8:26 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Netpliance Expands Management Team to Position Company for Accelerated Growth
--Chairman and Co-Founder John McHale Appointed CEO-- --Co-Founder Kent Savage To Continue As President And Expand i-opener(TM) Sales And Marketing Efforts--
AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 19, 2000-- Netpliance, Inc., (NASDAQ: NPLI - news) an innovative consumer Internet appliance services company, today announced its board of directors appointed John McHale, the Company's Chairman and Co-founder, to the expanded position of Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Concurrently, Kent Savage, Netpliance's Co-founder and former CEO, will continue as President and will direct all sales and marketing efforts.
Mr. McHale's increased involvement will allow Netpliance to leverage the strengths of its senior management to capitalize on the Company's high growth potential and its position as a leading innovator in the Internet appliance marketplace. With more than 15 years experience spearheading start-up companies, Mr. McHale has the track record and strategic vision to continue and enhance the successful execution of Netpliance's business strategy. Mr. Savage established Netpliance as the first mover in the Internet appliance market sector by building its sales and marketing functions and expanding the market share for the i-opener service, growing subscribers five-fold to over 20,000 as of March 31, 2000. Mr. Savage's executive leadership and extensive sales and marketing expertise will continue to play a critical role in the Company's continued growth and development.
``We founded Netpliance with a vision to provide simple, affordable Internet access to the mass market, and I have never before seen such tremendous demand for a product or service as we've seen for i-opener,'' said Mr. McHale. ``In my expanded role as CEO, I will continue to execute on this vision by remaining focused on our customer growth, expanding our strategic partnerships and overseeing the introduction of additional services and applications to continue to enhance the i-opener experience for consumers. Netpliance is on the forefront of a rapidly emerging market and expanded management will better enable us to accelerate our revenue growth.''
As Co-founder of Netpliance, Mr. McHale served as Chairman of the Board since the Company's inception in January 1999. From January 1996 to April 1998, McHale served as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of NetSpeed, Inc., a broadband technology company that was purchased by Cisco Systems, Inc. Prior to that, McHale spent 10 years as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of NetWorth, Inc., which was purchased by Compaq Computer Corporation. He also currently serves as the Chairman of Panja Corporation.
About Netpliance
Netpliance offers Internet-based content, applications and services through devices specifically designed for Internet access, commonly known as Internet appliances. The Company introduced its current i-opener(TM) service in November 1999, which combines its i-opener appliance, Internet access and its own consumer portal. The i-opener service includes all of the elements required for a user to easily access the Internet, delivering a truly simplified Internet experience for consumers.
-0- This announcement contains forward-looking statements that are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Although Netpliance believes that the expectations reflected in its forward looking statements are reasonable, Netpliance can give no assurance that such expectations or any of their forward looking statements will prove to be correct, and future results may differ from those discussed in this press release. Important information regarding the factors that may affect Netpliance's future performance is included in the public reports that Netpliance files with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Netpliance disclaims any intention or obligation to revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future event, change in expectations, conditions or circumstances, or otherwise.
Netpliance and i-opener are trademarks of Netpliance, Inc.
NOTE TO EDITORS: Netpliance press materials can be found at netpliance.com |
