SAN FRANCISCO — (BUSINESS WIRE) — April 20, 2011 — Golden Gate Capital and its affiliate, Gold Holdings, Inc., today announced the appointment of Sailesh Chittipeddi to the positions of President and Chief Executive Officer of Conexant Systems, Inc. As President and CEO he will be responsible for driving the company’s business strategy, execution, and overall performance.
“We are excited to be working with an executive of Sailesh’s caliber in his new role as president and CEO of Conexant,” said John Knoll, managing director of Golden Gate Capital. “He is well qualified to build upon Conexant’s past successes and drive the long-term execution of our strategic plan. He is an experienced semiconductor executive with a demonstrated track record of getting results. Given Conexant’s blue-chip customer base, strong IP portfolio, and substantial financial resources, we believe Sailesh is well-equipped to drive significant organic and acquisitive growth at Conexant.”
“I am extremely privileged to lead Conexant and its talented team of professionals as we begin a new chapter under the Golden Gate Capital umbrella,” said Chittipeddi. “I look forward to working with Golden Gate Capital and the entire Conexant team to unlock the full potential of our rich IP and product portfolio in audio, video, imaging and embedded modems.”
Chittipeddi succeeds Scott Mercer, who became Conexant’s chief executive officer in April 2008. “I want to thank Scott for his many contributions and wish him the best as he moves on from Conexant,” said Chittipeddi. “Our transition to a privately held company marks a significant milestone in Conexant’s history. Operating as a private entity under the Golden Gate Capital umbrella will provide us with significant competitive advantages, including access to the resources required to drive profitable growth both in existing businesses and with acquisitions. I’m excited about my new responsibilities, and enthusiastic about our prospects.”
“It has been a privilege to work with Sailesh and the entire Conexant team,” said Mercer. “Over the past three years, we accomplished a great deal, and I expect the company to build on that record of success. With an outstanding portfolio of intellectual property, proven management and engineering teams, and leading positions, I am confident Conexant will continue to deliver the innovative solutions required by customers worldwide.”
Sailesh Chittipeddi Biography
Since November 2010, Chittipeddi previously served as the company’s President and Chief Operating Officer responsible for engineering, operations, quality, and marketing. From 2009 to 2010, he was the company’s co-president, with responsibility for global engineering, operations, quality, IT, and associated infrastructure-support activities.
Chittipeddi joined Conexant in June 2006 as senior vice president of Global Operations, and was promoted to executive vice president of Global Operations and chief technical officer in April 2008. Prior to that, he held several senior operations and technology-related positions with Agere Systems, Lucent Technologies, AT&T Microelectronics, and AT&T Bell Labs. He also served as Lucent Technologies’ representative to SEMATECH, and was a member of the Technical Staff with AT&T Bell Laboratories.
Chittipeddi holds a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Texas at Austin, a master’s degree and a doctorate in physics from Ohio State University, and a master’s degree in physics from Northern Illinois University. He also holds 61 U.S. patents related to semiconductor process, package, and design, and has authored nearly 40 publications.
About Conexant
Conexant’s portfolio of innovative semiconductor solutions includes products for imaging, audio, embedded modem, and video surveillance applications. Conexant is a fabless semiconductor company headquartered in Newport Beach, Calif. To learn more, please visit www.conexant.com.
About Golden Gate Capital
Golden Gate Capital is a San Francisco-based private investment firm with approximately $9 billion of capital under its management. The firm’s charter is to partner with world-class management teams to make equity investments in situations where there is a demonstrable opportunity to significantly enhance a company’s value. The principals of Golden Gate have a long and successful history of investing with management partners across a wide range of industries and transaction types, including going-privates, corporate divestitures, leveraged buyouts and recapitalizations. For additional information, visit www.goldengatecap.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Except for historical information contained herein, the matters set
forth in this document are forward-looking statements about expected
future events and financial and operating results that involve risks and
uncertainties. These uncertainties may cause Conexant’s actual future
results to be materially different from those discussed in the
forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include risks
relating to Conexant’s narrower, less diversified and more focused
portfolio of products as a result of our recent restructuring
activities; the risks of doing business internationally; the highly
cyclical nature of the semiconductor industry, which is subject to
significant downturns that may negatively impact Conexant’s business,
financial condition, cash flow, and results of operations; Conexant’s
limited visibility into customer demand and its ability to accurately
forecast future demand for its products; the intense competition
Conexant faces in the markets in which it operates; the cyclical nature
of the markets addressed by Conexant’s products and its customers’
products; volatility in the technology sector and the semiconductor
industry; the loss of a key customer or a significant reduction in or
cancellation of purchases by any key customers; the timing of new
product introductions and product quality; demand for and market
acceptance of new and existing products; the risk that research and
development expenditures might not lead Conexant to achieve anticipated
sales volume for new products; Conexant’s ability to anticipate trends
and develop products for which there will be market demand; product
obsolescence; changes in product mix; pricing pressures and other
competitive factors; Conexant’s ability to timely develop and implement
new technologies and to obtain protection for the related intellectual
property; successful development of competitive new products; future
impairment of goodwill and intangible assets; the financial risks of
default by tenants and subtenants in the space Conexant owns or leases;
the ability of customers to manage inventory; the availability of
manufacturing capacity; the uncertainties of litigation, including
claims of infringement of third-party intellectual property rights or
demands that Conexant license third-party technology, and the demands it
may place on the time and attention of management and the expense it may
place on the company; Conexant’s history of substantial GAAP losses;
Conexant’s ability to use its substantial net operating losses to offset
future taxable income; general economic and political conditions and
conditions in the markets Conexant addresses; and other risks relating
to Conexant’s business set forth in its filings with the SEC.
