ALAMEDA, Calif., Aug. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- UTStarcom, Inc. today announced changes to its leadership team. Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and executive vice president Fran Barton is retiring effective August 31st. Barton is also vacating his seat on the UTStarcom board of directors with the same effective date. In acknowledging his retirement, the Company thanked Mr. Barton for his service and contributions as its CFO.
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Viraj Patel, UTStarcom's vice president, corporate controller and chief accounting officer, will serve as Interim CFO until the Company appoints a permanent CFO. Patel has served in his current role since November 2005. Prior to joining UTStarcom, he was vice president of finance for Celera Group and Nektar Therapeutics and was CFO at Avanti Corporation (later acquired by Synopsys) from 1999-2002.
Additionally, David King, senior vice president, international sales and marketing, has resigned from the Company. King's resignation is effective August 29th. The Company intends to announce King's successor in the short term.
Also, Craig Samuel has joined UTStarcom in the newly-created position of senior vice president, business strategy and innovation. In this visionary role, Samuel will lead company-wide product portfolio alignment and business development strategy. Prior to joining UTStarcom, Craig was worldwide VP of business innovation at Unisys Corporation, where he championed the development and application of innovation both inside Unisys and with Unisys customers. Previously, Samuel was Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO) for Compaq and HP Services (HPS) and was a member of the HP CTO Office.
"I want to welcome Craig to the team and I look forward to the strong strategic contributions he will bring," said Peter Blackmore, CEO and president of UTStarcom. "Also, I'm confident that Viraj's expertise will result in a seamless transition to the Interim CFO role. We have demonstrated progress on our strategic plan, divested non-core businesses, realigned our cost base and streamlined our internal processes. Now, as we focus our efforts on growth for the remainder of 2008 and beyond, we must align our executive resources to continue driving the company forward."
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, regarding UTStarcom's future strategy, including statements regarding the company's focus on growth for the remainder of 2008 and beyond, expectations regarding the future roles and contributions of UTStarcom officers, timing for the appointment of new officers and the ability of officers to transition to their new positions. These statements are forward-looking in nature and subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially. These risks include the ability of UTStarcom to attract, hire and retain qualified personnel, including senior managers, and the ability of the company to realize anticipated results of its strategic plan, the divestitures of non-core businesses, its realigned cost base and internal process improvements, as well as risk factors identified in its latest Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
About UTStarcom, Inc.
UTStarcom is a global leader in IP-based, end-to-end networking solutions and international service and support. The company sells its broadband, IPTV, NGN and handset solutions to operators in both emerging and established telecommunications markets around the world. UTStarcom enables its customers to rapidly deploy revenue-generating access services using their existing infrastructure, while providing a migration path to cost-efficient, end-to-end IP networks. Founded in 1991 and headquartered in Alameda, California, the company has research and development operations in the United States, Canada, China, Korea and India. For more information about UTStarcom, visit the company's Web site at http://www.utstar.com/.
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