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.
Our forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by the inherent risks and uncertainties surrounding future expectations. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof and are based upon the information available to Conexant at this time. Such statements are subject to change, and Conexant does not undertake to update such statements, except to the extent required under applicable law and regulations. These and other risks and uncertainties are detailed from time to time in Conexant’s reports filed with the SEC. Investors are advised to read Conexant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC, particularly those sections entitled “Risk Factors”, for a more complete discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties.
Conexant is a registered trademark of Conexant Systems, Inc.
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