AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Aviat
Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVNW) ("Aviat" or the "Company"), the
leading expert in wireless transport solutions, today
announced its board refreshment designed to accelerate the next
phase of the Company's growth (the "Board Refreshment Program"),
and two new director nominees who will be voted on at the
Company's annual meeting of shareholders (the "2021 Annual
Meeting") along with four current members of the Company's board
(the "Board"). The new director candidates are Bryan Ingram and Somesh
Singh.
Further, in support of the Board Refreshment Program and the
Board's transition, directors Dahlia
Loeb, Ken Kong and
John Quicke, will not stand for
re-election.
"We look forward to welcoming Bryan and Somesh to the Board,"
said John Mutch, Aviat Networks
Chairman of the Board. "Bryan and Somesh will further strengthen
the Board's depth of technical expertise as Aviat advances its
strategy for growth and increased shareholder value. Bryan
will help ensure that our technology architecture is aligned with
customer needs. Similar to the opportunity at Aviat, Somesh
has led transformations from hardware to software/services.
We will be excited to have them join us."
"The nomination of Bryan and Somesh to our Board will come at a
time when Aviat is transforming from a pure-play wireless systems
company into a wireless transport solutions provider with systems,
software, and services critical to customer networks as the world
moves to 5G and beyond. The extensive experience and expertise in
leadership, technology, and transformative growth that Bryan and
Somesh will bring to Aviat will put our Company on a stronger path
forward and benefit all stakeholders."
The new director candidates have invaluable backgrounds in
driving technology and corporate growth:
- Bryan Ingram has 35 years of
experience in technology, most recently serving as senior vice
president and general manager of Broadcom's Wireless Semiconductor
Division. Prior to that position, he held other senior executive
roles at Broadcom and its predecessor, Avago Technologies Limited.
He also held executive positions at the predecessor to Avago within
Agilent Technologies and various management positions at Hewlett
Packard and Westinghouse. Mr. Ingram holds a Bachelor of Science in
Electrical Engineering from the University of
Illinois and a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering
from Johns Hopkins University.
- Somesh Singh has over 30 years
of broad experience running large, globally distributed product
teams. Most recently, he served as chief product officer of E&P
Software at Emerson Electric and, immediately prior, chief product
officer at Paradigm. He also led product management and engineering
at NetIQ, and led research and development, customer care,
professional services, IT, and training as senior vice president
for R&D and technical operations at Vignette. Mr. Singh holds a
Bachelor of Technology degree in Chemical Engineering from the
Indian Institute of Technology, a
Master's degree in Chemical Engineering from Columbia University, and an MBA from the Wharton
School of Business, University of
Pennsylvania.
"On behalf of the Board, I thank John
Quicke and Ken Kong,
originally nominated by Steel Partners, for providing guidance to
return the Company to profitability over the last number of years,
and Dahlia Loeb for her financial
depth and knowledge of the capital markets to advance our growth
plan."
John Mutch added "I especially
appreciate John Quicke for his
mentorship to me personally and his significant contribution of
operating and financial expertise to the Company. We thank the
outgoing Board members for their service to Aviat and much-valued
contributions. All have served with the highest standards of
integrity and commitment, playing pivotal roles during what has
been a successful restructuring phase for Aviat. All three will
continue to serve as directors until the 2021 Annual Meeting."
The six candidates, which include four current Board members and
two new nominees, to be voted on at the 2021 Annual Meeting will
be:
Current Director Nominees:
John Mutch
Michele Klein
Pete Smith
James Stoffel
New Nominees:
Bryan Ingram
Somesh Singh
About Aviat Networks
Aviat Networks, Inc. is the leading expert in wireless transport
solutions and works to provide dependable products, services and
support to its customers. With more than one million systems sold
into 170 countries worldwide, communications service providers and
private network operators including state/local government,
utility, federal government and defense organizations trust Aviat
with their critical applications. Coupled with a long history of
microwave innovations, Aviat provides a comprehensive suite of
localized professional and support services enabling customers to
drastically simplify both their networks and their lives. For more
than 70 years, the experts at Aviat have delivered high performance
products, simplified operations, and the best overall customer
experience. Aviat Networks is headquartered in Austin, Texas. For more information, visit
www.aviatnetworks.com or connect with Aviat Networks on Twitter,
Facebook and LinkedIn.
Important Additional Information and Where to Find It
Aviat plans to file a proxy statement (the "Proxy Statement")
with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") in
connection with the solicitation of proxies for the Company's 2021
Annual Meeting.
STOCKHOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT (INCLUDING
ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS THERETO) AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT
DOCUMENTS THAT THE COMPANY WILL FILE WITH THE SEC CAREFULLY AND IN
THEIR ENTIRETY WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN
IMPORTANT INFORMATION.
Stockholders will be able to obtain, free of charge, copies of
the Proxy Statement, any amendments or supplements thereto and any
other documents when filed by the Company with the SEC in
connection with the 2021 Annual Meeting at the SEC's website
(http://www.sec.gov) or at the Company's website
(https://investors.aviatnetworks.com/).
Participants in the Solicitation
Aviat, its directors and certain of its executive officers and
other employees may be deemed to be participants in the
solicitation of proxies from stockholders in connection with the
2021 Annual Meeting. Additional information regarding the identity
of these potential participants, none of whom owns
in excess of one percent (1%) of the Company's voting shares, and
their direct or indirect interests, by security holdings or
otherwise, will be set forth in the Proxy Statement and other
materials to be filed with the SEC in connection with the 2021
Annual Meeting. Information relating to the foregoing can also be
found in the Company's proxy statement for the 2020 annual meeting
of stockholders, filed with the SEC on September 25, 2020. To the extent holdings of the
Company's securities by such potential participants (or the
identity of such participants) have changed since the information
printed in the 2020 proxy statement, such information has been
or will be reflected on Statements of Change in Ownership on Forms
3 and 4 filed with the SEC. You may obtain free copies of these
documents using the sources indicated above.
Forward-Looking Statements
The information contained in this document includes
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor
provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. All statements, statements identified by the use of
forward-looking terminology, including "anticipate," "believe,"
"plan," "estimate," "expect," "goal," "will," "see," "continue,"
"delivering," "view," and "intend," or the negative of these terms
or other similar expressions, constitute forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts
nor assurances of future performance. Instead, forward-looking
statements are based on estimates reflecting the current beliefs,
expectations and assumptions of the senior management
of Aviat. Such forward-looking statements involve a number of
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those suggested by the forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements should therefore be considered in light
of various important factors, including those set forth in this
document. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these
forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause
actual results to differ materially from estimates or projections
contained in the forward-looking statements include the items set
forth in "Risk Factors" in Aviat's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed
with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on
August 25, 2021 as well as other
reports filed by Aviat with the SEC from time to time. Aviat
undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking
statement, whether written or oral, for any reason, except as
required by law, even as new information becomes available or other
events occur in the future.
Media Contact: Gary Croke,
Aviat Networks, Inc., gary.croke@aviatnet.com
Investor Relations Contact: Keith
Fanneron, Aviat Networks, Inc.,
keith.fanneron@aviatnet.com
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SOURCE Aviat Networks, Inc.