Contact Information: For Investor Relations and Media Inquiries, contact: David Brant Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer Airspan Networks Inc. Tel: +1 561 893-8650 Fax: +1 561 893-8681 email: Charlotte Laurent-Ottomane Investor Relations email: Tel. +561 395 4581
Airspan Appoints Declan Byrne as Chief Marketing Officer
Industry Veteran Brings Marketing and Strategy Leadership to New Global Role
| Source: Airspan Networks Inc.
BOCA RATON, FL--(Marketwire - March 5, 2008) - Airspan Networks Inc. (NASDAQ : AIRN )
President and CEO Eric Stonestrom announced the appointment of Declan Byrne
as Chief Marketing Officer, who started with the company on Monday,
February 25, 2008. Byrne is a senior executive with significant broadband
wireless experience, beginning at AT&T, and several senior sales and
business leadership positions at small and mid-cap wireless equipment
companies.
"We have further sharpened our focus on our unified marketing and customer
communications effort by appointing a Chief Marketing Officer for Airspan.
In Declan Byrne, we have an executive with a track record of building
businesses and delivering value to customers. Declan knows how to compete
and win in a market where fixed and mobile telecom are converging faster
than ever before," said Stonestrom. "Declan will enhance our strategic
planning processes, and manage our global marketing effort in a more
integrated fashion with accelerated go-to-market strategies."
A proven leader with strong credentials in business development, sales and
marketing, Byrne has held successively senior executive positions at small
and large corporations. After a decade of service as a US Diplomat abroad
for the Foreign Service, Byrne joined AT&T in 2000, with global
responsibility for developing and managing international and domestic
alliances. Byrne spearheaded the spin-off of AT&T Wireless from AT&T in one
of the largest IPO's of its time. Following the divestiture of AT&T
Wireless' broadband wireless (Angel) division, Byrne led business
development and strategic sales at Netro Corporation and, subsequent to
Netro's merger with SR Telecom, he led Europe, Middle East and Africa
sales. Byrne brings deep sales, business development, channel management
and revenue generation capabilities to the seasoned Airspan team.
"Airspan has just executed an important transition year in 2007 from legacy
platforms to standardized mobile WiMAX solutions and is addressing the
market with best-in-breed WiMAX products delivering superior
price-performance and I am jumping in with enormous enthusiasm and energy,"
said Byrne. "Worldwide, customers of all sizes are faced with the
challenges presented by the monumental need for connectivity and
applications in the fixed and mobile, 'broadband everywhere' era. They are
looking for simple solutions that use cutting-edge innovation to drive
business results. Our recent success in alliance with Fujitsu is testament
to Airspan's competitive relevance and strong product position. Airspan
has the technology, the know-how and the experience needed to win and I
can't wait to get started."
Byrne, 41, is a graduate of the University of San Francisco with a Bachelor
of Arts degree and will be based in Airspan's Headquarters in Boca Raton,
Florida. He speaks five languages.
About Airspan Networks Inc.
Airspan Networks provides wireless voice and broadband data systems and
solutions for the fixed and mobile WiMAX and Wi-Fi markets, including Voice
over IP (VoIP). Its wireless products serve operators around the world in
both licensed and unlicensed frequency bands between 700 MHz and 6 GHz.
Airspan has a strong wireless product roadmap that includes WiMAX Forum
Certified equipment and products meeting 802.11 a/b/g Wi-Fi standards.
Airspan's HiperMAX and MicroMAX base station products support portable and
mobile 802.16e-2005 WiMAX alongside fixed and nomadic 802.16-2004 products.
Airspan products also include "self install" and professionally installed
customer premise equipment. Airspan is on the Board and is a founder
member of the WiMAX Forum and a member of the Wi-Fi Alliance. The Company
has deployments in more than 100 countries with more than 400 operators,
100 of which use Airspan's WiMAX Forum Certified and non-certified
products. Airspan's wireless systems are based on radio technology that
delivers excellent area coverage, high security and resistance to fading.
These systems can be deployed rapidly and cost effectively, providing an
attractive alternative to traditional wired communications networks.
Airspan also offers radio planning, network installation, integration,
training and support services to facilitate the deployment and operation of
its systems. Airspan is an international telecommunications equipment
provider headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida. More information on Airspan
can be found at http://www.airspan.com.
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