SAN MATEO, Calif., Jan. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Avistar Communications Corporation , a leader in desktop video communications, today announced that Elias MurrayMetzger, 38, has been appointed Acting Chief Financial Officer of Avistar effective January 9, 2009. MurrayMetzger, who has been Avistar's worldwide Corporate Controller since January 2006, will report directly to Avistar's Chief Executive Officer, Simon Moss. MurrayMetzger will assume responsibility for the company's worldwide finance and facilities organizations. He replaces Bob Habig who resigned on December 30, 2008 to accept a new position as CFO and VP of Operations of a venture-backed company effective January 9, 2009.
Avistar's CEO Simon Moss commented, "Eli MurrayMetzger has been instrumental in the turnaround of Avistar. He has been a cornerstone to the successful remedying of the very difficult challenges we faced -- from applying discipline and rigor to our cost controls, implementing effective and transparent operational financial reporting and maintaining intense focus on the firm's margins. I am therefore delighted to announce that Eli has been promoted to the role of Acting CFO. His primary objectives will support the corporate objectives of 2009 -- corporate margin improvement, bottom line maximization and streamlining the booking to cash cycle. We have an excellent fourth quarter to report and a very bullish 2009 ahead of us and I look forward to Eli's helping us move the firm forward."
MurrayMetzger brings to Avistar more than 11 years of experience in financial management, regulatory compliance and operations at technology organizations. Prior to joining Avistar, MurrayMetzger served as Assistant Controller of Centra Software, Inc., a provider of software solutions for online business communication, collaboration and learning. During his tenure at Centra from April 2004 to January 2006, MurrayMetzger successfully navigated the company's Sarbanes-Oxley compliance effort and all SEC reporting and compliance functions as the company reached profitability and was sold to Saba, Inc. in February 2006.
"Eli's proven track record in building and managing timely, accurate financial operations for global organizations will be instrumental as Avistar positions itself for sustained growth," said Moss. "My team and I look forward to working with Eli to maintain the disciplined approach to financial management and operational focus across our business that showed such promise during 2008. Given the importance of the role, Eli will be the Acting CFO for a three month review period to ensure that everything we need to continue our growth is in place. No executive search will be undertaken. At the same time, our team would like to thank Bob Habig for his great contribution to Avistar and wish him continued success in his new role."
Prior to Centra, MurrayMetzger worked for the technology audit practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers from February 2000 to March 2004. He is a Certified Public Accountant and has a Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness with a concentration in finance from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.
"Avistar has a tremendous opportunity to expand its global footprint as companies look at how to more effectively manage travel costs to address the current economic climate and maintain a competitive advantage utilizing Avistar's rich media communications desktop videoconferencing and collaboration products," MurrayMetzger said. "We have done some amazing things in positioning this company for the future and I look forward to helping to accelerate the next phase of growth with world-class products, customers and employees."
About Avistar Communications Corporation
Avistar is a leader in desktop video communications, providing proven business-class technology. Avistar's desktop videoconferencing installations include more than 100,000 committed desktop seats worldwide, bringing together business users any time and any place. Companies such as IBM Corp., Sony Corp., LifeSize Communications, Inc., and Polycom Inc. use Avistar technology to power their unified communications solutions. Avistar works with leading-edge technology partners and resellers including CityIS, Beyondis, and Fontel in more than 40 countries. For more information, go to http://www.avistar.com/.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
The statements made in this press release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements." These forward-looking statements, include, but are not limited to, statements regarding Avistar's financial results for the fourth quarter of 2008 and fiscal 2009 and growth in Avistar's business. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. The company cautions readers of this press release that a number of important factors could cause actual future events and results to differ materially from those expressed in any such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, without limitation, as Avistar's lengthy sales cycle, volatility associated with Avistar's sales and licensing activities, market acceptance of Avistar's products, increased competition in the market for unified communications, technical challenges associated with product development, ongoing technological developments and changing industry standards and challenges associated with protecting and licensing Avistar's intellectual property. These important factors and other factors that potentially could cause actual future results to differ materially from current expectations are described in our filings with the SEC, including the company's most recent annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly report on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. Readers of this press release are referred to such filings. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon information available to the company as of the date of the release, and the company assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements.
