SANTA BARBARA, Calif., April 13, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- CrystalVoice Communications (www.crystalvoice.com) a leading provider of enterprise voice communications software solutions, today announced the appointment of Steve Zola as president, CEO and member of the board. In addition, Harvey White, chairman and CEO of Leap Wireless and co-founder of QUALCOMM and L. Robert Johnson, managing partner of Founders Capital Partners, have accepted invitations to join CrystalVoice's board of directors. The expansion of the executive management team and board of directors will further facilitate the company's leadership in offering "Acoustic QoS(tm)" VoIP solutions that enable high-quality voice to be transmitted over any network -- including those without quality of service standards, such as the unmanaged raw Internet.
Until now, most enterprises attempting to deploy VoIP solutions have had to commit to expensive service level agreements for WAN connectivity in order to achieve acceptable levels of voice quality. CrystalVoice has developed breakthrough technology that puts the intelligence at the edge of the network, rather than the middle. As a result, CrystalVoice enables high-quality voice to be transmitted over inconsistent, variable networks, including the unmanaged Internet.
As CEO, Zola's responsibilities include identifying and overseeing the company's goals and strategic direction with a focus on the growth of relationships with enterprise customers and partners. With over 20 years of technology management, marketing and sales expertise, Zola brings a solid record of success to the position. Prior to joining CrystalVoice, he served as Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Winthrop Resources Corporation where the company achieved record profitability under his leadership. During his tenure at Winthrop, he was instrumental in fueling the company's growth and expanding its national presence. Prior to his position at Winthrop, Zola held sales and sales management positions at Pilot Executive Software, Thorn EMI Computer Software and IBM Corporation.
"Steve's proven track record of leadership, experience and corporate growth makes him distinctively suited for his role as president, CEO and member of the board of CrystalVoice," said Mark Cromack, co-founder, chief technology officer and board member for CrystalVoice. "His expertise in successfully fueling companies' growth and presence in the enterprise software market makes him the obvious choice to help grow CrystalVoice's leadership position in the Voice over IP space."
Harvey White brings more than 25 years of experience in the telecommunications industry. An industry veteran known for his vision and expertise, White directed the spin-off of Leap Wireless into an independent, publicly traded company in September 1998. As co-founder and former president of QUALCOMM Incorporated, he has been a senior executive and leader of three successful startups.
"I am excited about the cutting-edge enterprise technology CrystalVoice brings to an evolving new segment of the Voice over IP arena," said Harvey White, CrystalVoice's new Board member. "I am glad to accept CrystalVoice's invitation to participate in a company that is at the forefront of opening up a whole new vista of communication opportunities and look forward to contributing to the growth of their business."
Robert Johnson brings his vision and expertise from more than 35 years of evaluating and working with hundreds of technology-based businesses. Mr. Johnson is the Managing Partner of Founders Capital Partners, which he established in 1988 to invest in early-stage, high technology businesses. In 1981, he co-founded Angenics, Inc., and served first as President & CEO and later as Chairman. Prior to that, from 1966-1981, he worked in investment analysis, merchant banking, and venture capital with Kidder, Peabody & Company, and with Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, Inc.'s Sprout Capital Group, serving as its Managing Partner.
"I am very excited about this opportunity to help CrystalVoice extend its leadership in the delivery of its Acoustic QoS(tm) technology that enables high-quality voice to be transmitted over the entire Internet, not just over broadband and managed networks," said Robert Johnson, CrystalVoice's new Board member. "This greatly extends the reach and impact of VoIP technology."
Steve Zola, Harvey White and Robert Johnson join CrystalVoice's board of directors comprised of Daniel Doiron, Ph.D, managing partner of La Querencia Partners; Mark Cromack, co-founder and chief technology officer, CrystalVoice; Robert Raede, founder and managing director of Raede Capital Management, LLC; and Lawrence Clark, president of Technology Credit Corporation.
About CrystalVoice
CrystalVoice Communications is the leading provider of Voice over the Internet software solutions. CrystalVoice's award-winning enterprise products include Remote Extension, Click-to-Talk, and Interoffice Voice Trunking. CrystalVoice is a Cisco(r) AVVID (Architecture for Voice, Video and Integrated Data) Technology partner and a member of the 3Com(r) Solution Provider Program. Headquartered in Santa Barbara, California, the company has developed leading edge technology to enable clear, reliable voice to be transmitted over the Internet. CrystalVoice provides applications for enterprise communications, e-commerce, customer relationship management, conferencing, distance learning and enhanced telephone services. The CrystalVoice website is www.CrystalVoice.com.