IDT Appoints Jerry Taylor President and Member of the Board of Directors
Len Perham Continues as CEO During Transition Period
SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 14, 1999--IDT (Nasdaq: IDTI - news) today announced the appointment of Jerry Taylor, the Company's current executive vice president, to president and member of the board of directors. IDT's President and Chief Executive Officer of nine years, Len Perham resigns his post as president, but will continue to serve as chief executive officer until December 31, 1999.
''My primary goals over the past couple of years have been transitioning IDT to a communications focus, returning the Company to profitability, and building a management team that can take the company into the next millenium,'' said Len Perham, CEO of IDT. ''We have made good progress and it is an appropriate time to take the next step and transition the leadership of the Company to Jerry Taylor. Jerry has been a key player in developing and implementing our plans, and his leadership has been instrumental in positioning IDT for success.''
Taylor, a 25-year semiconductor industry veteran, has led the company's strong focus on the fast-paced communications marketplace. He is credited with significantly increasing the depth and breadth of IDT's product portfolio as well as providing IDT's communications customers with solid product roadmaps that support their next-generation systems.
''Len Perham has provided IDT with leadership and insight through the years,'' said Jerry Taylor, IDT's newly appointed president. ''Len spearheaded the strategy to increase the proprietary content of IDT's products. Together over the last few years, we have executed on that strategy and delivered a broad portfolio of high-value products. Last year, Len drove the hard business decisions that restructured our business and ultimately returned the Company to solid profitability.''
''I'm very excited to be assuming the leadership of IDT at this point in our history,'' continued Taylor. ''IDT has reestablished profitability and is looking forward to improved financial performance in this fiscal year. We've endured a very difficult industry environment during the last several years, but throughout this period we've continued to make heavy investments in new, proprietary products. Those investments are bearing fruit, and enabling IDT to offer an outstanding portfolio to our communications customers. We have an excellent foundation for accelerating revenue growth and delivering improved financial returns.''
Len Perham
During his 16-year tenure at IDT, Perham, president and CEO, has held several senior-level positions within the company. He joined IDT as vice president and general manager of the SRAM division. Perham was then appointed chief operating officer when he became a member of the board of directors in 1986. Prior to joining IDT, Perham was president and chief executive officer of Optical Information Systems Inc., a division of Exxon Enterprise. He was also a member of the founding team at Zilog Inc. and previously held management positions at Advanced Micro Devices and Western Digital. Perham earned a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Northeastern University.
Jerry Taylor
Taylor joined IDT in October 1996 as vice president and general manager of memory products and has served as the Company's executive vice president since in June of 1998, responsible for the management and strategic planning of all product areas with the exception of the Company's x86 product line. Taylor previously held senior positions at Mostek, Fairchild Semiconductor, Benchmarq Microelectronics and Lattice Semiconductor. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Southern Methodist University in 1971.
About IDT
IDT enables a digitally connected world by providing innovative semiconductor solutions to leading-edge system designers in communications and computing. IDT's broad product mix consists of communications memories, networking devices, RISC microprocessors, high-speed SRAMs, high-performance logic and clock management products.
Headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., the Company employs approximately 4,700 people worldwide and has manufacturing facilities in California, Oregon, the Philippines and Malaysia. IDT stock is traded on the Nasdaq stock market under the symbol ''IDTI.'' Additional information about IDT is easily accessible through the Web (www.idt.com), CD-ROM by calling 800/345-7015 or via fax-on-demand at 800/9-IDT-FAX. The investor hotline is 408/654-6420.
Forward-looking statements in this release involve a number of risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, product demand, manufacturing capacity and costs, competition, pricing, patent and other intellectual property rights of third parties, timely development and supply of new products and manufacturing processes, availability of capital, cash flow and other risk factors detailed in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission Filings. Actual results may differ materially from the Company's projections.
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