Empresas y finanzas

Jean-Claude Martinez Confirmed as CEO of Esmertec; Senior Management Team Announces Measures



    Esmertec(TM) (SWX: ESMN), a leading provider of
    world-class software solutions and services for the telecommunication,
    interactive multimedia and consumer electronics markets, is pleased to
    announce that the Board of Directors has confirmed the appointment of
    Jean-Claude Martinez as CEO of Esmertec. Since his appointment as
    interim CEO in May 2006, Mr. Martinez has organized his management
    team in order to achieve key objectives: improve Esmertec's
    operational performance and position the company more aggressively in
    its targeted markets.
    Jean-Claude Martinez has been an integral part of Esmertec since
    he joined the Company in June 2002 as Senior Vice President of Sales.
    In March 2004, he was appointed Chief Operating Officer, and from the
    end of 2005 until mid-May 2006, he focused on growing the business of
    the Mobile Operator Division worldwide. Hans-Ulrich Muller, Vice
    Chairman of Esmertec's Board of Directors, comments, "Jean-Claude has
    over 25 years of experience in the IT and telecommunications industry
    and is a hands-on manager who works closely with his team. The Board
    is confident that he will lead Esmertec back to its growth path."
    Reporting to Jean-Claude Martinez are Georges Boulloy as Chief
    Product Officer, Deborah Choate as Chief Financial Officer, Sylvie
    Vollet as General Counsel and VP of Human Resources, and Jean-Luc
    Gianduzzo as Executive Vice President (EVP) of Global Services.
    The senior management team has taken the following actions to
    improve operational efficiencies:
    Global sales and service organization: This organization is now
    structured into a group focusing on sales and a group on services,
    thus removing one layer of management. The Services Group is
    responsible for customer software and engineering projects, customer
    support, mobile operator services, and specialized outsourcing
    services for the mobile industry. This group will be led by Jean-Luc
    Gianduzzo, EVP of Global Services, who joined Esmertec on June 1,
    2006.
    Mr. Gianduzzo has over 16 years of international experience in
    business development and marketing of high-tech solutions and
    services, and has been based in Switzerland for the past 10 years.
    Prior to Esmertec, Mr. Gianduzzo was CEO at NEXThink, and has held
    senior business development positions at Hewlett Packard and Cisco
    Systems Europe.
    Following the disappointing sales performance and the
    restructuring of the sales and service organization, Billy Crotty, EVP
    Sales and Operations Worldwide, left Esmertec on June 30, 2006.
    Esmertec is presently recruiting the EVP of Sales to lead the Sales
    Group, and Jean-Claude Martinez will manage this position ad interim.
    Cost reductions: Management has decided to close down Esmertec's
    subsidiary in Denmark and reduce significantly the operations in
    Japan. The company has assigned resources from other Esmertec's
    offices and in Japan to continue supporting the products and customers
    in these regions.
    Through the restructuring and other cost saving actions, Esmertec
    expects to reduce its operating expenses by 15 to 20% from the current
    run rate, including investments in product development. The management
    expects to benefit from the full impact of the reduced costs beginning
    with the fourth quarter of 2006. Pre-tax restructuring cash expenses,
    excluding any impact of impairment losses on intangible assets, are
    estimated to be in the range of US$2 million to US$2.5 million, and
    Esmertec expects to record most of the restructuring costs in the 2006
    first half-year results.
    Esmertec will continue to invest in developing innovative
    products, expanding its Java-based product portfolio and increasing
    its product offering to mobile operators through its product
    development operations in China, France, Switzerland, and in the UK.
    The Company will host a conference call in English this afternoon
    at 1500hrs CET. Details on how to participate are posted on the
    "Investors/IR Agenda" section of www.esmertec.com. Financial results
    for the six months ending June 30, 2006 will be announced by press
    release at 0700hrs CET on August 30, 2006, and presented at a
    media/analyst conference at 1000hrs CET in Zurich/Switzerland.

    This communication contains forward-looking statements based on
    current expectations and assumptions of the company's management only,
    and involve certain risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking
    statements contained herein could be substantially impacted by risks
    and influences that are not foreseeable at present, so that actual
    results may vary materially from those anticipated, expected, or
    projected. Esmertec disclaims any intention or obligation to update
    and revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
    information, future events or otherwise.

    About Esmertec

    Esmertec is a leading provider of world-class software solutions
    and services for telecommunication, interactive multimedia, and
    consumer electronics markets. Engineered for smallness and mass
    consumption, Esmertec's wireless Java ME solutions and mobile
    applications are developed to extract maximum performance from
    hardware environments. Esmertec Cellicium's premier mobile browsing
    solutions, applications and services are designed to bring interactive
    mobile services to mobile operators. Founded in 1999, Esmertec is a
    global company headquartered in Zurich-Switzerland with subsidiaries
    located in China, France, Japan, South Korea, and the USA, and
    representative offices in Taiwan, South Korea and in the UK.
    www.esmertec.com

    Esmertec and OSVM are trademarks of Esmertec AG.