SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct. 23, 2001 (PRIMEZONE) -- WJ Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq:WJCI) today announced that it has appointed William R. Slakey, age 43, as Chief Financial Officer, effective October 30.
Mr. Slakey brings to WJ more than 15 years of experience in key financial roles at leading technology companies. Most recently, Slakey served as Chief Financial Officer of Snap Track, Inc., a venture-backed startup in the wireless software industry that was acquired by Qualcomm, Inc. in a stock transaction valued at $1 billion. Prior to Snap Track, Slakey served as Senior Controller of Palm Computing during the two years leading up to that company's successful IPO and spin off from 3Com Corporation. Previously, Slakey served as Director of Investor Relations for 3Com. Prior to joining 3Com, Slakey served in various financial management positions during a ten-year career at Apple Computer.
Mr. Slakey holds an MBA from the Harvard Graduate School of Business and a BA from the University of California at Berkeley.
"We are extremely pleased and excited to welcome Bill to the WJ team," said Malcolm Caraballo, Chief Executive Officer of WJ Communications. "With an expanding customer base, leading-edge products and a solid balance sheet, we believe WJ Communications is positioned to take advantage of the long-term opportunities in the wireless and fiber optics markets. Bill's extensive experience in finance and operations should be a tremendous asset to WJ as we pursue those market opportunities, and we look forward to his contributions to our company."
Mr. Slakey replaces William T. Freeman, who left the post in September to move back to his home in Tampa, Florida.
WJ Communications, Inc., headquartered in San Jose, California, designs, develops and manufactures innovative broadband communications products for the current and next-generation fiber optic, broadband cable and wireless communications networks.