Socket Promotes Leonard Ott to Chief Technical Officer; Appoints 3rd Rail
Executives Paul Hughes and Robert Miller as Officers Organizational changes will
support anticipated growth and enhance Socket's Bluetooth initiative
NEWARK, Calif., Oct 11, 2000 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Socket Communications, Inc.
(NASDAQ:SCKT, PSE:SOK) today announced the promotion of Leonard Ott to the newly
created position of Vice President and Chief Technical Officer, the appointment
of Paul Hughes as Vice President of Operations, and the appointment of Robert
Miller as Vice President of Engineering. Hughes and Miller are former officers
of 3rd Rail Engineering, a product development company recently acquired by
Socket. The new organizational structure integrates 3rd Rail's personnel with
Socket's engineering and operational teams in order to support Socket's
anticipated growth and enhance the company's major strategic initiative of
providing Bluetooth wireless connectivity solutions to the mobile computing and
embedded systems markets. The position of vice president of operations had been
open. The vice president of engineering position was previously held by Ott.
In his role as Chief Technical Officer, Leonard Ott, who has over 20 years
experience in the computer industry, will be Socket's main technical
spokesperson and will guide Socket's engineering strategy. Ott's promotion
reflects his active involvement in standards organizations for small-form-factor
mobile connectivity devices. Mr. Ott currently serves on the Board of Directors
of the CompactFlash Association and is a member of various working groups on the
Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), in which Socket is an Associate Member,
and the Secure Digital Association, in which Socket is an Executive Member. In
his standards-setting role, Ott will also work closely with Tom Newman, former
Vice President of Engineering at 3rd Rail Engineering, who will become Socket's
Senior Director of Advanced Technology. Newman has over 25 years of product
management and development experience with major engineering companies and
currently serves on the Board of Directors of PCMCIA and is chairman of the Card
Electrical committee.
As Vice President of Operations, Paul Hughes, co-founder and former chief
executive officer of 3rd Rail Engineering, will oversee Socket's product
manufacturing and distribution. Hughes will implement at Socket a proven
design-for-manufacturability and rapid-development system used at 3rd Rail.
Hughes has over 20 years experience in the electronics industry involving
management of corporate operations functions.
Robert Miller, 3rd Rail Engineering's former Chief Technical Officer, brings
over 25 years of experience in the electronics industry to his new position as
Socket's Vice President of Engineering. Miller will be responsible for directing
Socket's day-to-day engineering activities and will integrate the engineering
teams of Socket and 3rd Rail. Miller has extensive experience in Windows CE
system design, having developed five HARP reference designs implementing
embedded processors.
"We are pleased that our new organizational structure will allow Len Ott to
focus more of his time as our chief technical spokesperson," said Kevin Mills,
president and chief executive officer of Socket Communications. "Len has been a
vital contributor to Socket's leadership in establishing industry standards for
mobile connectivity. Len's ability to influence open standards and align
Socket's engineering strategy with major technology trends continues to be a key
contributor to our success.
"We are also very excited about the depth of experience that Paul Hughes and
Robert Miller bring to operations and engineering," said Mills. "We believe our
new management structure will allow us to take full advantage of the growth
opportunities represented by the Bluetooth, handheld computer and embedded
systems markets."
Socket Communications, Inc. develops and sells connection products for
Windows-based computers and other devices. Socket's products include the Battery
Friendly(R) family of plug-in cards for enhancing mobile computers by adding
wireless Internet connectivity, local area networking, bar code scanning, and
data communication. Socket's products incorporate the company's energy-efficient
chip technology, making them ideal for battery-operated mobile computers. Socket
is an Associate Member of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) and is
developing products that will add Bluetooth wireless technology to handheld
computers, notebooks and other electronic appliances. For information about
Socket's complete range of products, visit
socketcom.com. For information about Socket's Bluetooth
wireless networking strategy, visit Socket's website at
socketcom.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward looking statements within the meaning of
Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including statements forecasting
market acceptance of Bluetooth technologies, the introduction of Bluetooth
products for this market, and anticipated revenue growth from sales of Bluetooth
products. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results
could differ materially from the results anticipated in such forward looking
statements as a result of a number of factors, including, but not limited to,
the risk of delays in the availability of new products due to technological,
market or financial factors including the availability of necessary working
capital, the market acceptance of handheld computers and devices utilizing
Bluetooth technology and the Company's related connection products or the other
factors described in the Company's most recent Form 10-KSB and Form 10-QSB filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Socket and Battery Friendly are registered trademarks of Socket Communications,
Inc. BLUETOOTH is a trademark owned by Aktiebolaget LM Ericsson and licensed to
Socket. All other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their
respective owners.(c)2000, Socket Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.
CONTACT: Socket Communications
Jerry Houston, 510/744-2740
jerry@socketcom.com
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