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correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
2
| 20
|
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/business/2015-05-01/ty-article/.premium/ticker-amdocs-buys-comverse-unit/0000017f-db41-d3ff-a7ff-fbe17c9a0000
|
en
|
The Ticker Amdocs Snaps Up Comverse Unit
|
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[] |
[] |
[
"Israel high-tech",
"Israel business news"
] | null |
[
"TheMarker"
] |
2015-05-01T00:00:00
|
Africa Industries Unit Suspects ex-CEO Took Money; Fortissimo Capital Raises Funds; Stocks Join World Markets Lower.
|
en
|
/v1/hdc-app-bucket/static/hdc/images/favicon.ico
|
Haaretz.com
|
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/business/2015-05-01/ty-article/.premium/ticker-amdocs-buys-comverse-unit/0000017f-db41-d3ff-a7ff-fbe17c9a0000
|
ICYMI
I Told Israelis About the Tragedy of One Gazan Woman. The Audience Was Shocked
With Israel's First Ever Attack in Yemen, the War Takes a Dangerous New Turn
'Zionist-free Zone': Israelis Are Increasingly Unwanted at Global Tourism Sites
The ICJ Just Demolished One of Israel's Key Defenses of the Occupation
How Popular Is Hamas, in Gaza and Outside of It, After Nine Months of War?
|
||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
2
| 36
|
https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-1000499248
|
en
|
Comverse employees: Home and away
|
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2009-09-17T14:47:00
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Employees in Israel feel alienated from new management that seems cold, uncaring - and not Israeli.
|
en
|
https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-1000499248
|
One might have thought that the accounting problems were the biggest threat to the life of Comverse Technology, but they aren’t the whole story. They are only the outer layer, the part exposed to the company’s investors.
In fact, as an employee who left recently testifies, the employees feel that the company is being "eaten up from inside.” The oustings and exits of senior managers have shaken the company’s headquarters in Ramat Hahayal to the core.
”It’s as if there was a hostile takeover,” the former employee continues. “Not one from the outside, but by the managers, and without paying the shareholders. You get up one morning and discover that they have taken the company and shifted it to the US: Comverse, which was one of the symbols of Israeli high tech’s success, its flagship.”
The former employee’s feeling is based on a series of shock changes in personnel and mass desertions that left the so-called Israeli company almost bereft of Israeli managers. The top management led by Andre Dahan, a former Israeli who lives in New York, is purely American apart from one person (out of nine), Dror Bin, president of global products and operations.
From a position in which the management was friends and family of Kobi Alexander, as a former senior manager puts it, and in which “Kobi, with a telephone call in Hebrew, fixed everything with Zeevi” (Zeev Bregman, former CEO of Comverse Inc., and soon to be CEO of NICE Systems) Comverse’s workers have now got American management, both corporate and professional. The back-slapping, the informality, and the family atmosphere, have given way to managers who are detached and alien to Israeli eyes, who are only interested in maximizing the company’s value, and are not really interested in how Israeli it will be and where production or development will be carried out.
When the CEO has you in his sights
The situation is not helped by the controversial personality of Dahan, who took over as CEO in April 2007. He has personal charm and charisma, but tends to be emotional, and some of his public outbursts at senior managers have become legend in the world of Comverse.
”He has a hot temper,” a former senior manager says, “but he never raised his voice at me, for example, even when I argued with him. He mainly shouts at people who have worked with him for twenty years, or in a situation where he loses patience. For example, when discussion of a subject is finished and someone raises it again. Other people who manage to make him raise his voice are people he has already got in his sights. He manifests his dissatisfaction with them, and for his part he would let them go immediately, but people around him tell him “let them have another chance.”
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Anyone who opposes him has to go?
”No, really not. There are those who have opposed him assertively, and he never raised his voice at them. The ones thrown out were those who continued to undermine decisions that had been made. Bregman knew how to live with that kind of thing, it didn’t bother him. But in the American mentality there isn’t the slightest tolerance of it.”
A former middle manager tells of a conference call in which Comverse’s global services division manager joined the call a few minutes late and asked whether they were working on certain material. The screams he got from Andre ‘You come late and you have the nerve to ask’ all this when two people who reported to him were on the line. In other words, he killed him in front of his subordinates.”
Not just backdating
There’s no doubt that the company’s crossroads was the structural change carried out a year ago, preceded by a meetings marathon in New York a year previously. The management revolution was carried out with the aid of a management consultancy, and one of the proposals, which Dahan believed in and which was eventually accepted, was to change the company’s structure from independent divisions measured by results to a structure in which everyone shared resources such as sales, production, marketing, and so on.
The proposed structure seemed more efficient and professional, but it deprived managers of some of their freedom of action, and many thought that was a high price to pay. According to sources close to the senior management, up until then the company operated in a strange way: a fairly large corporation run “like an oversize start up, or like a group of start ups with almost no connection between them.” A structure like that was bound to be shaken up by someone from corporate America like Dahan.
The discussion marathon soon became emotional and contentious. “What does the individual see?” a source close to Converse’s top management says. “He sees that he has lost his absolute control over his products and his empire. So he objects.”
Many of the objectors to the new structure found themselves on the outside before long, voluntarily or otherwise. Yaron Tchwella, for example, who replaced Bregman as manager of Comverse Inc., and remained in the post for less than a year (he is now CEO of BluePhoenix). “He never adapted to the new structure,” says the source, implying that the appointment was a mistake in the first place by Dahan and his close advisors.
”One of the senior managers perhaps voiced his objections emotionally,” relates someone who was there, “and Andre became irritated and shouted at him, ‘If that’s what you think, you shouldn’t be sitting at this table.’ They made their peace afterwards, but it was clear that, for Andre, he was a marked man.” It wasn’t long before he was dismissed. Someone who knows Dahan well says of him, “He is highly respected professionally, but he’s very weak on human relations.”
It wasn’t just Israeli managers who found themselves on the outs in their interactions with the fiery CEO. The American CFO he brought to the company, Joe Chinnici, a man with a background that seemed appropriate for the job, parted from Dahan after less than a year, to be replaced by Stephen Swad. It was a similar story with general counsel Cynthia Shereda.
Someone who knows Chinnici well says that he found it hard to work with Dahan’s style. Sources close to the company say that there were personality differences, but they manifested themselves in a situation in which Dahan strove for the finishing line of release of the financials, while Chinnici had difficulty bearing the responsibility, halting the investigations into past deals, and saying, ‘that’s it, we can publish the reports.”
”Chinnici and Shereda were fear stricken,” a former senior manager says. “In the US, the CEO, CFO, and general counsel bear criminal responsibility. The moment they signed the reports, they would feel they were exposing themselves to danger.”
This isn’t a democracy
The culture shock that hit Comverse employees derives in part from the fact that Comverse Inc. was the most Israeli company imaginable. Zeev Bregman encouraged arguments between members of management, his door was open to the workers, and he himself used to go around in flip-flops and shorts, and he knew just about every name in the company. Circumventing lines of reporting was a management principle everyone learned to live with.
”Zeevi,” says a former senior manager, “managed the company on the star system, that is, the manager is in the middle and everything flows to him, and he holds meetings with all ranks. He was fond of the escalation method: when a division manager came to me to ask for something, I realized that in any case we wouldn’t settle anything and he would go to Zevi. Well I’m not a warm-up band. I would refuse, he would go to Zeevi, and Zeevi would decide. That’s how all decisions were made, and that’s how development and sales were run. Andre’s style is utterly different; he has a small, centralized management team, and the boundaries are clear.”
”What’s democracy in management, a Likud national unity government?,” someone close to the management responds. “It’s true that Dahan is dominant with his opinions, but you can disagree about anything. The only thing that Dahan won’t allow is what’s called a pocket veto, the right to say no at any stage you feel like it. There’s no leaving the meeting room and going out into the corridor and trying to overturn a discussion that has already ended. That kind of thing can kill a company.”
What about the shouting at employees during discussions?
”He can’t stand people arguing without reference to the facts. Some people carry on arguments divorced from the reality of the marketplace, as though they were preserving a religion. The market changed, we had to cope with tough problems, and for some of the people the train went too fast. Some took it personally that in tough discussions they were required to produce information. It could be that in that respect he’s completely different from Zeevi Bregman. Still, you have to remember that Zeevi was in charge during a period in which telecoms, particularly mobile telephony, grew 30-40% annually. It’s easy to be nice when the market is growing, and also much easier to cover up for mistakes.”
The symbiosis between the two cultures is a substantial problem at Comverse today. It starts with small signs: former senior managers talk nostalgically about the status symbol-free Comverse, with no marked parking spots, not even for Bregman. Of course, salary levels and options matched seniority, but almost all of them had the same car, apart from vice presidents. The offices were modest, and when they flew to conventions, managers stayed at the same hotels as the staff.
”At a conference in Rome,” a former senior manager says in describing the change, “the plane landed, all the employees went to the bus, and suddenly we see a limousine draw up to take the CFO. At a conference in Barcelona, Andre stayed in a suite in another part of town, and still came and complained to us that the room wasn’t good enough.”
But these are minor matters, the kind that people let off steam about. The really big mentality gap is over layoffs. Comverse has been through mass layoffs in the past, in difficult periods, but when it came to the firing of some individual who suddenly became excess to requirements, the company always took a cautious, hesitant approach. It gave notice, and allowed time for reorientation and finding work. The most prominent American characteristic was the cold-blooded, sudden-death firings of managers. “Sometimes, people were informed in a short e-mail message that didn’t even thank them for their service,” a former Comverse senior manager says.
It’s not the same company
Even Dahan himself has slowly come to the realization, as his associates testify, that a problem has arisen at the emotional level of the employees’ identification with the company.
At an employees gathering held in Tel Aviv a few months ago, one of them got up and put it to Dahan that the dismissals were being made coldly, without notice, without respect, and that this was very discordant in a company that had been so much a family. “His American side was blind to this aspect,” people close to him say, “thirty years in the US damage the Israeli DNA somehow. But the company is putting things right, and recent layoffs have been carried out in a more transparent, fair, manner, with mutual respect.”
At that same gathering, which was particularly stormy, one woman employee asked, “Andre, are you a Zionist at all?” Dahan understood how bad the breach was, and after announcing in an emotional voice that he was “unreservedly a Zionist”, he answered the woman’s real question by saying, “I’ve learned from the mistakes, and we’ll correct them.”
For the time being, the atmosphere among the workers remains difficult. As if the speculation about the company’s future were not enough, rumors have recently spread about a wave of layoffs of 5-10% of the workforce after the holidays.
Sources close to the management respond, “Once a quarter there is a face-to-face management meeting (as opposed to the weekly Tuesday conference calls), and every time there’s a meeting like that, there are rumors of layoffs. At present, there is no downsizing plan. But that it certainly one scenario among others that the management has examined.”
Two months ago, there were other rumors, about production being partly moved to places like India. People who know the company well say that Dahan stepped back from that particular plan after talks with workers in Israel who persuaded him that it would hurt the products.
For the time being, the company will be satisfied with outsourcing very specific work, “but the fierce competition can’t be forgotten, and there will be areas, such as billing services in certain parts of the world, in which the cheap option will be preferred, if there is one.”
No wonder that “people at lower levels in the company are no longer depressed but apathetic,” one former senior manager puts it. Another says that that kind of thing “is bound to hurt the company, and has indeed hurt it.”
Former Comverse managers who have been taken on elsewhere say they are inundated by resumes from Comverse workers who want to leave. One of them relates, “Someone who approached me recently said to me, ‘Today, you don’t ask yourself whether to stay at Comverse, but whether to leave now, from the point of view of the resume and the market situation, or to wait a little and leave later,’ and that was a company that I loved the most of all the places I have worked at.”
”People approach me who I thought would die at Comverse,” another former senior employee says. People feel, as a former senior manager describes it, “that we had an Israeli company and we met the manager in the bathroom or by the coffee machine, and suddenly the bad Americans have taken us over. If someone wants to buy a pen, he has to send an e-mail, and that’s a real change.”
Another mistake was cutting the regular holiday gift, as a symbolic act, “to send a message to the workers that times are extremely tough.” But in an Israel company, a measure like that is interpreted differently from the way it would be understood in an American company. Sources close to Dahan say he regrets that act. “There are things whose real significance you don’t appreciate from a distance. But as far as he is concerned, Comverse is rooted in its Israeli DNA, and he will never be able to change that, or wish to do so.”
In the past three or four months, those around him believe, there has been some improvement in the corridors at Comverse, but it is doubtful whether that belief is well grounded. The company has not yet carried out the employee satisfaction survey that it was supposed to have carried out last November, and claims arise that the management is scared of the results and so is delaying it.
Those close to Dahan rebut these claims, and explain the delay by problems in the structure of the survey and by the fact that, in the middle of the process, it was decided to replace the company carrying it out. They say further that the survey will take place soon, perhaps at the end of this month, but in the same breath admit that “there is no expectation that the survey results will show high satisfaction.”
Israelis? Second class citizens
One thing that Comverse’s Israeli employees were angry to discover recently is that the company is repricing the options that its employees hold, but only for the American employees. “They have stopped taking the Israeli workers into account; the Israelis are second class citizens at the company,” a former senior manager says.
Senior Comverse managers explain that the discrimination against workers who do not pay taxes in the US happened out of a lack of choice. The backdatings affair led to a change in US tax law, whereby workers holding options are liable to high taxes without being able to exercise the options. In the light of the special situation of the company without financial statements, every action to do with options required permission from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). After negotiations, the SEC gave permission for the workers to be offered replacement of their options with options with a strike price closer to the share price - $5.60.
According to sources close to Comverse’s senior management, Dahan sought permission for Comverse employees worldwide, including in Israel, but the SEC refused. “It’s true that the American workers and those who pay taxes in the US received a benefit, but the company had no choice,” the sources say.
Recently, the company has disclosed, as a defense against the claim of preferential treatment for American employees, it managed to obtain permission from the Israel Securities Authority to renew its options plan “very selectively, because the truth is that there aren’t many options to give.”
|
||||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
1
| 63
|
https://www.galatea-associates.com/
|
en
|
Galatea Associates
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Wall Street Without the Suit Boston - London - Durham - Tampa Join Us
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en
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Galatea Associates
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https://www.galatea-associates.com
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solving Wall Street's toughest problems through custom software solutions
Galatea Associates has established a rock-solid reputation among Wall Street investment banks for delivering mission-critical systems in a timely and efficient manner. We've built this reputation with our excellent teams and our unique organizational approach. Some of the largest financial firms in the world choose to partner with Galatea for several key reasons:
understanding of the Business
Our Associates, with the help of Galatea's training program, learn the fundamentals of the investment banking industry and, for this reason, have an unparalleled understanding of the business problems faced by our end-users.
END TO END COLLABORATION
Since our Associates know both the business and IT infrastructure of our clients' operations, we are uniquely positioned to collaborate with clients throughout project lifecycles. Our ‘lead from the front’ mindset means that our Associates get as deeply involved in the design phase as they do in the development, testing, and implementation phases.
TECHNOLOGY AGNOSTIC
Our Associates bring unique technical skills to the table, but we consider ourselves technologically agnostic in that we do not advocate for any single language or environment. We work with our clients to select the best combination of technologies to meet their needs. Galateans are able to work with any technology, develop in any language, and operate in any environment.
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correct_foundationPlace_00083
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FactBench
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3
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https://www.encyclopedia.com/books/politics-and-business-magazines/brite-voice-systems-inc
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en
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Brite Voice Systems, Inc.
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Brite Voice Systems, Inc.
7309 E. 21st Street, NorthWichita, Kansas 67026U.S.A.(316) 652-6648Fax: (316) 652-6800Web site: https://www.brite.com
Public CompanyIncorporated: 1984Employees: 751Sales: $110.4 million (1996)Stock Exchanges: NASDAQSICs: 7371 Computer Programming Services; 7375 Infor-mation Retrieval Services; 7372 Prepackaged Software Source for information on Brite Voice Systems, Inc.: International Directory of Company Histories dictionary.
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7309 E. 21st Street, North
Wichita, Kansas 67026
U.S.A.
(316) 652-6648
Fax: (316) 652-6800
Web site: http://www.brite.com
Public Company
Incorporated: 1984
Employees: 751
Sales: $110.4 million (1996)
Stock Exchanges: NASDAQ
SICs: 7371 Computer Programming Services; 7375 Infor-mation Retrieval Services; 7372 Prepackaged Software
Serving the fastest-growing market in the world—the telecommunications and information services industry, Brite Voice Systems, Inc. is a global leader in the deployment of speech recognition for the wireless industry, and offers systems that integrate voice response, voice recognition, voice/fax messaging, electronic information, and audiotex systems (audiotex involves access to recorded, computer-stored information over the telephone). The company introduced voice dialing to the industry in 1993. Brite offers services to a wide variety of companies and communities, including wireless carriers, financial and health-care institutions, public utilities, telephone companies, newspapers and government agencies. Brite is a leading supplier of communications and information products and services in high-growth markets worldwide, including South America, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. European sales are made through Brite’s subsidiaries, BVSGL (Manchester and Cambridge, England), Brite Voice Systems Group, GmbH (Wiesbaden, Germany), Brite Voice Systems S.p.a. (Rome, Italy), and Brite Voice Systems A.G. (Zurich, Switzerland).
Brite’s Founder Links with the Computer Revolution of the 1970s
Described by an investment analyst as “one of the better visionaries,” Brite’s founder, president, and original chief executive officer, Stanley Brannon, initially tapped into the computer and information processing explosion of the late 1970s. According to David Dinell of the Wichita Business Journal, prior to founding Brite, Brannon tested his entrepreneurial abilities when he invested $1,400 of his personal savings to form Mycro-Tek Inc., which he later sold for $10 million—and which eventually went bankrupt under the new management. Assisted by five employees, the Wichita, Kansas native founded Brite in 1984. After going public in 1989, the company began its aggressive strategy of establishing alliances and partnerships in an attempt to expand its technical services and geographical positioning. Aiming to be less vulnerable to market trends or a single technology in an industry defined by extremely rapid shifts, Brite set its sites on diversifying products and services, while continuing to invest approximately 10 percent of sales on research and engineering.
The company entered the European market when it negotiated a deal with Ferranti Business Communications in Manchester, England, and acquired the assets of their voice systems group operating division. In 1993 Brite bought Perception Technology, adding additional products and expertise in the area of interactive voice response (IVR) and computer telephony integration (CTI). IRV and CTI applications use voice processing systems to link callers to various mainframe computer databases. Callers enter information through their touch-tone keypad or with voice commands, and can retrieve or change information by following prerecorded instructions. Examples of IRV and CTI include telephone calls to obtain an account balance, transfer funds, check on the status of a shipment, order a pay-per-view movie or enroll in a college class.
1990s Phone Shopping
Shopping by phone exemplifies another interactive system made possible by Brite technology, allowing consumers to place orders by using the buttons on their touchtone phones, or utilizing the option to talk directly to a customer representative. The world’s largest electronic retailer, QVC, Inc., contracted Brite to install their BT III Voice Processor to automate the ordering process, increasing their order-taking capacity to over 40,000 calls per hour, and cutting by three times the expense of using the traditional operator-driven system. QVC handled almost 20 million calls automatically in 1994.
In addition to installing, maintaining, and repairing systems, through a geographically dispersed field service staff, Brite provides software support and a help desk for their customers. Customers are further supported by a training department which provides beginning and advanced training sessions for customers and employees in areas of software and technical development, product orientation, programming, and system operation. Brite’s systems contain built-in modems, allowing convenient diagnostic back-up via remote communications between Brite’s staff and its customers. Expertise is offered by company-sponsored technical/engineering consulting, made available to assist in the designing, engineering, procuring, and implementing of telecommunications services, networks, and equipment.
Cantel, the Canadian cellular company, implemented a Brite system that allows multiple language voice dialing, becoming the first cellular carrier in North America to offer their services with the option of either of their national languages, English and French. The two companies, Brite and Cantel, entered into a creative business partnership centered on new product development and revenue sharing. Representatives from both companies agreed to meet quarterly to assess technological developments and possibilities for improvements in cellular service. Brite instigated a similar relationship with Cellnet, the United Kingdom’s leading cellular network operator. Cellnet installed a Voice Services Director providing a range of subscriber voice messaging services on Cellnet’s Global System for Mobiles. Subscribers can access these services in 17 European countries outside the United Kingdom.
Managed Services, Brite Visions of the 1990s and Beyond
Envisioning a wider and more profitable market, the company shifted toward providing more managed services, i.e. custom audio information, a telephone-based system that is fed by satellite to newspapers, telephone companies, and others. According to company reports, “To support its electronic publishing customers, Brite has developed the industry’s largest information services group to create content for audio, fax, and the Internet. Brite broadcasts audiotex programming over the industry’s first digital satellite transmission network, ensuring crystal-clear audio quality.” The company boasts the development of more than 600 new programs daily for English and Spanish audiotex networks. The report explains that “Outsourcing all technical requirements to Brite offers many advantages. Customers avoid using their capital on technical systems. They eliminate time-consuming budget approvals and equipment selection processes. They can create and offer new services without adding new staff.”
Using Brite’s products, Voice Directories and CityLine, publishers of Yellow Pages directories and newspapers offer categories of information at no cost to callers (revenues are generated by selling advertising sponsorships to advertisers), such as sports scores, weather, stock quotes, gardening tips, horoscopes, soap opera updates, and business news. Audiotex, Connect, and Select Series systems allow “talking Classifieds” providing readers and advertisers with efficient methods of researching, buying, and selling. Select Series provides an ideal consumer profile to advertisers via phone or fax. For example, Select Series connects the prospective car buyers “Ideal Wheels Profile” with the advertisers “CarSelect,” narrowing the list of potential purchases to match appropriately-matched products offered. Similar systems coordinate house buyers with sellers, through “HomeSelect,” and apartment-searchers with available rentals, through “RentSelect.” Over 5,000 categories of information are produced with the help of Brite staff writers, editors, and broadcasters who create and load information into the system. Key customers and alliances include GTE, Sprint, the Washington Post, the New York Times, the London Financial Times, Tribune Newspapers, Fleet Services Corporation, Chemical Bank, Bank of Hawaii, PageNet, Airbourne Express, Intel, MCI, 3M, and many others. Company Audiotex revenues increased from zero to $1 million a month by 1994 according to their annual report for that year. Managed services largely accounted for a 42 percent soaring of overall Brite revenues, up from the previous year’s sales of $46.9 million to a record $66.3 million—liberating the company from all debt.
Brite expanded its IRV and CTI capabilities in April 1995, when it acquired Touch-Talk Inc., a Dallas, Texas-based company which specialized in custom software and application development tools. This move expanded Brite’s operations to include the telecommunications, financial, government, and wireless providers markets, and provided Brite customers a single vendor for all of their voice response requirements.
Company Perspectives:
Brite is committed to helping its customers prosper with voice processing systems and services that increase revenues or decrease costs. The collective expertise of customers, partners, and more than 700 Brite employees worldwide, will continue to be leveraged to create the solutions that bring people and information together.
In July 1995 Brite acquired Internet Resources Corporation, another Wichita company and one that provided local access to the Internet. Internet Resources Corporation was founded in 1994 by Stan Marekl, a former vice president of new technology for Brite, according to Dennis Pearce in a Knight-Ridder/ Tribune Business News report. The move sped the company into the Internet services sector, and within months the company bought a group of telecommunications companies, valued at more than $60 million. Comprising the group were Telecom Services Ltd. (TSL), Telecom Services Ltd. (West), TSL Software Services, and TSL Management group. Pierce explained that the companies provided service to several large enterprises such as J.P. Morgan & Co., Bank of New York Co., and Smith Barney Inc. Telecommunications services include billing verification to audit telephone rates, tariffs, taxes, surcharges, and other charges billed by telecommunications carriers and vendors. The company verifies that the client pays only for the services, circuits, and equipment it actually uses and for which it has been contracted; ensures that the proper rates are applied for taxes, tariffs, rates and surcharges; corrects billing discrepancies and prepares claims; and negotiates and collects refunds. Billing verification generally saves costs for the company’s clients. Eight U.S. states and the federal Office of Veteran’s Affairs began using Brite’s utility billing verification, estimated to save 5 to 15 percent on their operating costs.
Added to their Internet access capabilities, Brite Internet services include search engine development, secured transactions, server usage, real-time audio via Iwave, complete digital audio production facilities, server-push animation software, forms processors, and audio/video services.
Brite’s domestic sales are primarily made through a direct sales force, specializing in either industry, territory, or product line, with offices in Wichita, Kansas; Canton, Massachusetts; Dallas, Texas; New York City; Parsippany, New Jersey; and San Francisco, California. North American sales climbed steadily from $60.3 million in 1994, to $69.9 million in 1995, to $71.3 million in 1996. Companies such as Alltel, Amarex Technology, Inc., Digital Data Voice Systems, Intecom, Quotient Software, Inc., Southwestern Bell Telecom, and United States Advanced Networks utilize Brite hardware platforms for their integrated systems or services.
International sales rose more dramatically, from $19.6 million in 1994, to $27.14 million in 1995, to $39 million in 1996, amounting to between one quarter to one third of total revenues for those periods. Non-European out-of-country sales are made through the U.S.-based sales force, distributors, and local agents. Brite has speculated that Europe offers significant growth potential due to a lesser degree of audiotex and IVR systems penetration—and less competition—in that market. According to Brite’s 1996 annual report the company’s European subsidiaries “concentrate its efforts on five different vertical markets: telecommunications, home shopping, travel and transport, finance, and utilities. The company also relies on indirect distribution of its systems through prominent PBX manufacturers such as Philips, Ericsson, Telenorma and S.E.L.” European sales of IVR and audiotex systems increased 95 percent between 1995 and 1996, and the company anticipates continued growth. In a March 1996 interview with David Dinell of the Wichita Business Journal, Brannon said that he predicted that the “company could grow to the $300 million to $500 million range in annual sales within five years.” He explained that with suffer competition in the United States, he expected the strong international markets to provide the growing edge. Dinell’s article explains that, “In Europe, for example, the concept of consumer information through the yellow pages is still a new idea. Brite helped Telecom Italia set up an audiotex advertising product that is already common in many U.S. cities. That type of growth potential is ripe throughout the world, say Brite officials.”
In the highly competitive market for voice processing systems Brite contends with companies such as Edify, Intervoice, Periphonics, Syntellect, and larger companies like IBM, Lucent Technologies, and Digital. Mail order providers such as Boston Technology, Com verse Technology, and Octel compete in the European arena. In the telecommunications management market competitors range from small localized companies to nationally-known firms such as AT&T, Electronic Data Systems, and IBM. Brite feels that its specialized expertise and reputation favor its standing in the marketplace, although increased competition from larger companies with greater resources than its own could affect future performance.
In a December 1996 interview Brannon told Molly McMillan of Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News that he felt the need to hire a new Brite CEO, someone with experience broader than his own. He favored David Gergacz, the chief executive and president of Cincinnati Bell Telephone and founder of Sprint Corporation—primarily responsible for developing the first global fiberoptic network—and a member of Brite’s board of directors. Gergacz is considered to have strengths in the technical and marketing aspects of telecommunications, someone who can also contribute his own network of sales and management contacts. In his short stint at Cincinnati Bell the stock rose from about $30 to $57 a share. Brite’s stock had been dropping in the latter months of 1996 due to soft sales, but had risen slightly by the end of the year. Brannon plans to remain as chairman of the board, expecting to focus in areas where he feels comfortable—in new product development and acquisitions.
By July 1997 Brite planned to be moved into new headquarters in Heathrow, Florida, a suburb of Orlando, lured by $1.5 million in tax credits, easy airline access, and the advantages of close proximity to other high-tech companies such as AT&T and Sprint. It is estimated that only 30 to 35 top administrative, marketing, and management jobs would be moved, and the rest of the 240 Wichita employees would remain at the Kansas headquarters, which is the international headquarters for the company. The new location will include a Product Demonstration Center, designed to increase the company’s sales effectiveness and leverage its existing worldwide sales growth. The company is reorganizing in an attempt to narrow its focus, increase its ability to serve existing customers, and allow Brite to lower costs while providing new products. In an April 1997 Brite news release Gergacz stated, “The combination of consolidating in a more strategic location and eliminating unprofitable ventures will position Brite to better capitalize on the many opportunities being presented in the rapidly growing global telecommunication and information market.” He continued, “These actions, while detrimental to short-term results, are necessary in order to improve our long term prospects.” First quarter of 1997 net income was $1.3 million, or 11 cents per share, compared to $2.7 million, or 23 cents per share, in the first quarter of 1996. Revenues from telecommunications consulting and customer-premise equipment sales fell below expectations, and the reorganization and relocation is a Brite strategy aimed at improving future financial results.
Principal Subsidiaries
BVSGL (England); Brite Voice Systems Group (Germany); GmbH; Brite Voice Systems S.p.a. (Italy); Brite Voice Systems A.G. (Switzerland).
Further Reading
Boulton, Guy, “Brite Voice of Wichita, Kansas, Seeks Site for Headquarters,” Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News, August 24, 1995, p. 8240192.
“Brite Voice Systems Inc. (Executive Changes),” New York Times, December 3, 1993, p. C3(N), p. D3(L), vol. 143.
“Brite Voice Systems Inc. (To Purchase Perception),” The New York Times, September 9, 1993, p. C3(N) & D3(L).
“Brite Voice Systems, Inc. (To Merge with Perception),” The Wall Street Journal, September 3, 1993, p. A8(E).
“Brite Voice Systems, Inc. (Who’s News),” The Wall Street Journal, December 5, 1996, p. BIO (E).
Cox, Bob, “Brite Voice Systems, Inc. Leaves Wichita, Kansas for Orlando,” Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News, April 24, 1997, p. 424 B1106.
“Dial 1 for More Options,” PC Week, December 23, 1996, p. E5, vol. 13.
McMillin, Molly, “Founder Has High Goals for Brite Voice Systems,” Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News, December 5, 1996, p. 1205B1108.
Pearce, Dennis, “Brite Voice Acquires Internet Resources Corp.,” Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News, July 3, 1995, p. 7030125.
|
|||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
3
| 56
|
https://galilsoftware.com/about/board/
|
en
|
Board and Investors
|
[
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] |
[] |
[] |
[
""
] | null |
[] |
2016-09-28T19:41:52+00:00
|
A look at the board and investors members at Galil Software.
|
en
|
גליל סופטוור
|
https://galilsoftware.com/about/board/
|
From 2009 to 2014, Mr. Bregman was the President and CEO of Nice Systems, a global public software company. Nice Systems, with revenues of around Billion USD, is a market leader in analytics based solutions for customer experience, financial risk and security. Between 2007 to 2009 he was involved in various board positions in high-tech companies. Mr. Bregman was one of the founders of Galil Software and served as a Chairman of the Board from its inception in 2007 to 2009. From 1987 through 2007, Mr. Bregman held various technical and managerial positions in Comverse Inc. including being the Company CEO from 2001 to 2007.
Mr. Bregman holds a BSc Magna Cum Laude in Mathematics and Computer Science from Tel Aviv university and an MSc Summa Cum Laude in Computer Science from Tel Aviv university and EMBA from Kellog Recannatti – a joint program of Tel Aviv and Northwestern universities.
Mr. Danziger is a high-tech industry veteran, with more than thirty five years of experience in senior executive positions mostly in the telecom technology industry and twelve years of experience in active board positions of not for profit organizations. From 2009 through 2014 Itsik was the chairman of the board of Galil Software. From 1985 through 2007, Mr. Danziger held various senior management positions in Comverse Technology Group, including President of Comverse Technology Group, active Chairman of Starhome, and President of Comverse Network Systems, where he led the company from a startup stage to becoming a worldwide market leader with annual revenues of over $1B. Prior to Comverse, Mr. Danziger served for over a decade in various R&D and management positions in Tadiran Telecommunications Group. Currently, Mr. Danziger serves as a board member in several technology companies.
In the NGOs/public sector, Mr. Danziger serves as the chairman of the board of the Center for Educational Technology (CET- Matach), an NGO which is focusing on advancing the education system through integration of content, pedagogy and technology. Itsik is an executive board member of IVN (Israel Venture network) and chairman of its fund’s investment committee, where he is involved in building the innovative social businesses sector in Israel. Itsik is also a board member of the New Israel Fund (NIF). In 2004-5 he served as a member of the Israeli National Task Force for the Advancement of Education (The Dovrat Committee).
Mr. Danziger holds a BSc Cum Laude and an MSc in Electronic Engineering from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, as well as an MA Cum Laude in Philosophy and Digital Culture from Tel Aviv University.
Uri Arad is the Co-CEO of SoftWatch, a start up in the domain of applications usage analytical. Prior to joining SoftWatch, Uri served as CEO of Malam systems, one of Israel’s leading IT firms.
Before, he was an Executive VP in Comverse Technology (NASDAQ:CMVT), in various management positions. Prior to that, he founded a Teleknowledge, a startup initiative involved in content-based billing. He has also served as the Chief Information Officer of Bezeq as well as the head of the information systems division of the Israeli Air Force.
Mr. Goldwerger is the Chief Executive Officer of TargetSpot Inc., the largest digital audio advertising network. Mr. Goldwerger is a seasoned entrepreneur with diverse experience leading technology ventures in a variety of industries. Most recently, he was Chief Executive Officer of XMPie Inc., a software company providing marketing applications to enterprises, agencies and commercial printers. Mr. Goldwerger led XMPie through rapid growth up to its successful acquisition by Xerox Corporation. Prior to that, Mr. Goldwerger held various leadership positions, serving as EVP Consumer Products & Distribution at a contextual online advertising network, and was Founder and CEO of GoCargo.com, an Internet-based global trading system for container shipping capacity. Previously, he was a consultant at The Boston Consulting Group in New York.
Mr. Goldwerger holds an MBA from INSEAD Business School and a B.A. in Economics, Rector’s Honor, from Tel Aviv University.
Mr. Michaely has extensive experience as senior finance and management executive, as well as in the Israeli investment arena. Mr. Michaely served as CFO of Comverse, CFO of Housing and Construction Ltd., an infrastructure and real-estate holding company, and Chairman of the Clal Insurance Investment Committee. Mr. Michaely also served in various positions in the Finance divisions of Bezeq, AVI (Avionics Venture International), Tracor Aerospace of Austin, TX, and the Israeli Ministry of Transportation. Mr. Michaely currently serves as a board member in several Israeli companies and startups, and invests and consults in the high-tech field.
Mr. Michaely holds a BA in Economics and an MBA, both from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Rachel has more than 30 years experience in senior positions in the Human Resources field in the High Tech industry, and 8 years of experience in Board and mentoring positions for social businesses. Rachel was the senior Vice President for Human Resources in Comverse in the years 1991-2008 with extensive responsibilities for global work force, talent management, and offshore activities of the company. Since 2008, Rachel has been working as a management consultant in the High Tech industry as well as in the Arab sector, including with leading companies in Nazareth. Rachel has been involved with Galil Software from the beginning, working with senior management and HR, and supporting the company’s growth.
Mrs. Offer holds a B.A in Sociology and M.B.A studies from Tel Aviv University.
|
|||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
2
| 6
|
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/business/2011-02-10/ty-article/the-truth-about-comverse-3-0-from-the-mouth-of-the-ceo/0000017f-e3c4-d568-ad7f-f3ef43460000
|
en
|
The Truth About Comverse 3.0, From the Mouth of the CEO
|
[] |
[] |
[] |
[
"The",
"the",
"truth",
"mouth",
"Comverse",
"3.0",
"of",
"about",
"from"
] | null |
[
"Guy Grimland"
] |
2011-02-10T00:00:00
|
Andre Dahan Tells a Story of Layoffs, Falsified Records, Madness - and Confidence in the Future
|
en
|
/v1/hdc-app-bucket/static/hdc/images/favicon.ico
|
Haaretz.com
|
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/business/2011-02-10/ty-article/the-truth-about-comverse-3-0-from-the-mouth-of-the-ceo/0000017f-e3c4-d568-ad7f-f3ef43460000
|
Last week a parody was making the rounds online. The video clip contained extracts from the 2006 Hollywood movie "300," featuring King Leonidas and a force of soldiers fighting the Persians at Thermopylae in 480 B.C., but the voice track had been changed. The new track claimed that Israeli technology company Comverse was callously firing workers and depicted CEO Andre Dahan as a hedonist callously indifferent to the troops on the firing line.
The clip began circulating a few days after the latest staffing cuts at Comverse were announced.
Presumably what irked the clip's authors was the $800,000 Dahan grossed in 2010, while the company continued to rack up losses and dismiss employees. Perhaps they are also irritated by the half-billion dollars the company spent on restating its financial figures after the backdating scandal exploded - probably one of the costliest processes in the history of accounting, as Dahan himself admits.
The CEO, however, says he understands the workers.
Dahan, 62, devoted Sunday to talking with the press, but not because of the layoffs. He wanted to discuss the company's new strategy.
This isn't the first time Dahan says he's found a new path for Comverse, but this time he sounds keener. On the layoffs, he explains that the company had no choice because of liquidity difficulties, but he feels the new growth plan will emotionally involve the company's remaining staff.
"In five years Comverse will be in a totally different place," says Dahan. He sees growth in billing technology and the mobile Internet.
So what's new? Comverse sells technology to phone companies, which in turn can offer new services to their customers. Comverse's income comes from two main areas: "converged BSS" - business support systems - and "VAS" - the supply of value-added services such as text messages and image messages.
Dahan is expanding from two to four areas: BSS, VAS and mobile Internet and service maintenance.
"When Comverse started out, it provided voicemail. That was Comverse 1.0. Comverse 2005 engaged in value-added services, prepaid and post-paid. Comverse today is Comverse 3.0 - a new company," he says.
Comverse's main focus will remain billing systems - a $13 billion-a-year market. Comverse and its ilk sell the software to phone companies that create client bills, an increasingly tricky task as communication services explode. The company will be opening a new R&D center in Israel to work on billing systems. The center is to have dozens of employees, some new, some taken from the company's other divisions.
"The world is moving to mobile data, to consuming data using smart phones," Dahan says. "We want to be part of that change. We want to allow telecom operators to manage and prioritize clients without impairing network neutrality."
Oded Golan, recruited by Dahan to oversee the progress of change, claims that Comverse's operating costs have stopped bleeding.
"It also has some strong assets. Don't write us off," he quips. "The company is a leader in BSS and mobile Internet. It has a range of services in VAS and hundreds of clients, some premium clients. It operates globally. Its systems are deployed in practically every country. For all the cynicism and pessimism, the people working at Comverse are very connected to the company and want it to succeed."
So even though layoffs continue, is the crisis over?
"The trauma is over. It lasted five years. We still have to submit a financial statement for 2010, but that won't be a big problem," Dahan says.
"In March 2010 I went to the chief financial officer, Steve Swad, and said we have to start thinking about investments at Comverse, mainly in mobile Internet. I said to him, 'Find me $100 million for investment.' He came back to me and said, 'Listen, not only don't you have $100 million. We have a $50 million liquidity problem."
The company took steps. It sold land in Ra'anana for $27 million, sold subsidiary Ulticom for $90 million (which brought in $56 million for its stake ) and offloaded 2.3 million shares in another subsidiary, Verint, while keeping the 52% controlling stake. And as we know, it's cutting its workforce. This week, 200 Comverse workers are undergoing hearings ahead of dismissal.
The Comverse group, including subsidiaries, had 6,900 people on its payroll worldwide, including the people at Ulticom. Comverse itself has 3,900 of whom about half work in Israel.
Dahan declines to say how many people have been fired, but adds that the figures bruited about in the press are wrong. The media says 400 were let go in October, 200 are leaving now and hundreds more face the ax this year.
"It isn't easy to be a Comverse worker," he says, presumably meaning "at this time." "It hurts us to fire people. But what was the alternative? We're doing this to build a healthy company that has a chance to grow, and even invest in other companies. You can't just sell assets and fiddle with operational problems. Nobody would support a CEO who does nothing but that."
The company can't just tap cash reserves; "I don't want to play Russian roulette," Dahan says.
Comverse has certainly had a tough row to hoe in recent years. It stopped publishing financial statements entirely for three years following the remarkable backdating scandal uncovered in 2006, which sent founder and former CEO Kobi Alexander fleeing the arm of the law to Namibia.
Recently, the company finally managed to issue a statement for 2009. It reported revenues of $799 million (Comverse alone ), down 13.7% from 2008. For 2009, Comverse reported a loss of $37.7 million, after losing $20.5 million the year before.
Compiling financial statements for the years after the scandal erupted cost Comverse a cool half-billion dollars. Dahan predicts that this very month, Comverse can tell the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission when the statement for 2010 will be ready.
If the only problem had been backdated stock options, the process of recalculating the company's financials probably would have ended within months. But it wasn't. "There were three things that caused the process to drag out," Dahan says. "The first was backdating. The second was registration of fictitious names who received stock options."
Money was siphoned out of the company by "granting" stock options to people who never existed, to drive home the point. "That's a problem of fraud," Dahan observes. "The third problem was use of reserve bank accounts to handle profits. These three things together meant that the process of correcting the financial statements was complex and cost money."
Management racked its brains thinking of ways to truncate the process, to no avail, Dahan says.
The company's auditors at the time, Deloitte, advised Comverse in November 2007 that the method of recognizing income had to be revisited. This was a bombshell. "You have to understand what that meant. Our relations with clients are long-term," Dahan says. "The moment you reopen one order, you have to reopen the main contract." That sort of in-depth, broad inspection takes years.
"When we began the process of rechecking income, we didn't know how deep the audit would go. It was madness," Dahan says. "For instance, an American client signed a $10 million contract with us at the start of 2001, of which $50,000 was allocated for service and training on the software systems we sell. We undertook to provide 100 training days. We started to look for records of training days but couldn't find any. We had to ask the client to look for documentation from 2001."
That meant deferring recognition of $10 million in income until the records could be found. In short, Comverse's records were a mess.
And now? The situation is clearing up. Management sees light at the end of the tunnel. Dahan, who came out of retirement to lead the company back to grace, is reshaping it in the image of the new age - Comverse 3.0. Will it work? Time will tell.
|
||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
1
| 59
|
https://gotransverse.com/about
|
en
|
About Us
|
[
"https://gotransverse.com/build/images/gotransverse_logo.svg",
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"https://gotransverse.com/build/images/gotransverse-logo-icon.svg"
] |
[] |
[] |
[
"About Us"
] | null |
[] |
2018-10-02T19:41:00-05:00
|
Founded by globally recognized billing experts, we offer an intelligent billing and subscription management platform that automates the subscription order-to-cash process, including billing, rating, collections, mediation, analytics, and revenue recognition.
|
en
|
/apple-touch-icon.png
|
Gotransverse
|
https://gotransverse.com/about
|
James Messer is Founder and CEO of Gotransverse, a 25-year veteran of global enterprise software with a focus on monetization. He served as Vice President of Sales for LHS Group, one of the largest implementation and support networks in the global customer care and billing marketplace with more than 300 customer sites worldwide and 18 global and regional partners. James later served as Vice President of Sales for Sema Group plc, which became the world leader in communications software and solutions after the acquisition of LHS for $4.75 billion. Sema then surpassed all global competitors in revenue, subscribers, sites, and solutions. Related to B/OSS, James also served in senior management positions for CSG Systems, US Telecom Advanced Telecom Service (sold to CSG), and TechnoCom Wireless â a leader in wireless location-based services. Additionally, James also served as Vice President of Federal Programs for Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB), and served on the staff of U.S. Senate Leader Bob Dole focusing on telecommunications, IT, and foreign policy. James also participates as a partner in Spectrum Five LLC, the largest holder of DBS spectrum with full U.S. coverage.
Geoff has over 30 years of experience in the tech sector, with a 25+ year focus on the billing industry. Prior to joining Gotransverse, Geoff was associate vice president for business support service product offerings at Comverse Technologies. Geoff led the Product Management team for through the creation and market introduction of Comverse ONE. Comverse ONE led the way in full pre-paid and post-paid billing from a single product and was subsequently acquired by Amdocs. Geoff joined Gotransverse in a product management role before becoming the Chief Operating Officer and more recently Chief Product Officer. As chief product officer he is responsible for the product management, architecture and engineering of the Gotransverse solution.
Sean joined Gotransverse in February of 2018 as Vice President of Finance and is responsible for the finance and legal functions. Prior to Gotransverse, Sean held progressive leadership roles at Upland Software, Dell Computer, and Continental Airlines. He is a senior executive with more than 25 years of experience in finance and operations management with expertise in leading complex business analysis, aligning strategy, and driving operational excellence.
Sean enjoys traveling, live music, spending time with friends and family, and being active outdoors. He graduated with a bachelorâs degree from the University of Arizona and still claims itâs only a dry heat.
Ross leads our Professional Services and Implementation teams. He has extensive eBusiness, Business Analysis, and Program Management background and is known for building innovative solutions and driving change throughout organizations for more than 15 years. Ross has been able to evaluate cutting edge digital technology, build execution plans, and deliver exceptional results based on proven implementation. He oversees and supports all our projects for new customers and leads growing internal and external departmental teams that focus on implementations. Ross ensures that our implementations are completed on time, within budget, and meet client expectations.
Before joining the team at Gotransverse in 2016, Ross spent the first decade of his career at National Instruments performing various roles like program strategy/delivery, web site leadership, IT planning, and portfolio management, and operations management. Ross holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Management Information Systems from the University of Texas, where he was also a NCAA championship swimmer.
Tim brings more than 30-years of end-to-end billing and customer management to Gotransverse. Tim was the Director of Sales Engineering at ACE*COMM, where he supported a global sales effort of telecommunications back-office solutions. Tim was one of the original employees of Birch Telecom, a CLEC with services in 26 states. His roles included Chief Architect and Developer of Birchâs first retail rating, mediation, and billing system. Tim also led Birchâs Systems Administration and Development with expertise in data migration from legacy back-office and billing systems. Prior to Birch, Tim co-founded a software development company that specialized in billing solutions; in fact, he helped develop the client software for Qualcommâs OmniTracs platform â a project that became part of the foundation of one of Qualcomm main product lines, which remains active today. Timâs company also provided a turnkey billing and accounting solution to mid-range logistics companies throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Eric McCraw leads Gotransverse as the new VP of Operations. Previously, he was the Director of SaaS Operations that positioned Gotransverse for success in building and growing high-functioning technical teams and managing large, complex infrastructure environments. Prior to joining Gotransverse, Eric worked at National Instruments for 21 years in many different roles where he developed a strong background in software development, systems engineering, and building strong global operation teams. He holds a degree in Information Systems Management from the Rawls College of Business at Texas Tech University.
Henryk as our esteemed Senior Director of Customer Success at Gotransverse, embodies the belief that those bold enough to envision change are the ones who ultimately realize it. Currently, Henryk leads our dedicated Customer Success and Technical Support team, serving as the voice of our valued customers and ensuring their needs are prioritized and addressed promptly. Outside of work, Henryk discovers solace and inspiration through two main passions: live music and cycling. Whether fully immersed in the vibrant atmosphere of a live concert or navigating scenic routes on two wheels, Henryk finds these pursuits rejuvenating and fueling creativity. Additionally, Henryk has a keen interest in exploring and understanding the unique needs and challenges of each customer. By combining professional dedication with personal interests and a curiosity for diverse customer scenarios, Henryk is committed to delivering outstanding service and cultivating meaningful connections with our valued customers.
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https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/gartner-magic-quadrant-gnw/28874141
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en
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Gartner Research Positions Comverse as a Leader in the Magic Quadrant for Integrated Revenue and Customer Management for CSPs – Again
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2013-12-04T03:03:06+00:00
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Gartner Research Positions Comverse as a Leader in the Magic Quadrant for Integrated Revenue and Customer Management for CSPs – Again - Download as a PDF or view online for free
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https://public.slidesharecdn.com/_next/static/media/favicon.7bc3d920.ico
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1. Pre Release ess Contact: Thomas Sabol Com mverse, Inc. thom mas.sabol@c comverse.co om +1-7 781-224-8200 Gartner Resea r arch Pos sitions Comverse as a Leade er in the Magic Quadr e c rant for Integra ated Rev venue and Custom Man mer nagement for C CSPs – A Again Evaluatio Based on Vis on d sion and Executi d ion WA AKEFIELD, Mass., Oc ctober 28, 2013 – Co omverse (NASDAQ: C CNSI), the global g lead in telec der com busines enablem ss ment, has again been positioned in the Lea a aders Qua adrant by G Gartner Res search in its 2013 Mag Quadrant for Integ s gic grated Rev venue and Custome Management (IRC d er CM) for CS SPs report published October 17 by 1 Nor rbert Scholz et al. z sed on rigo orous analy ysis backed up by st d tructured m methodologies, the Ga artner Bas Mag Quadra evaluates technology provid gic ant ders’ abilitie and str es rategies to help orga anizations m make busin ness-critical technology decisions. “We believ positioning in y ve the Leaders Q Quadrant u underscores Comvers s se’s ability to deliver o what se on ervice viders and end users require to oday and in the future said Ga Nayak, SVP, n e,” ani prov Sys stems & Solutions at Co omverse at Comverse. n, s gic ant pected indu ustry bench hmark “In our opinion Gartner’s IRCM Mag Quadra is a resp viding an objective perspective on vendors’ commitmen to innova in support of nt ate prov com mmunication service p n providers’ (C CSPs’) rap pidly changing busines requirem ss ments and their ability to turn vis y sion into actions,” said Nayak. “W feel our p We placement in the i aders Quadr rant provide significan independ es nt dent validat tion of Com mverse stren ngths, Lea inno ovations an differentiators in he nd elping oper rators aroun the glob monetize the nd be digit world.” tal Acc cording to Nayak, Comv verse excel in Gartne criteria f IRCM leadership: ls er’s for • Comple eteness of Vision: A b blend of domain exper rtise, an app propriate go o-tomarket strategy, an a focus o innovatio in product functiona nd on on ality and gy enabling technolog
2. Page 2 • Ability to Execute: A combination of factors driven by product functionality, architecture and performance, and the ability to meet customer expectations during product delivery and operation. Vendors are judged on their ability and success in executing their vision. “Enabling new business models and lines of business for CSPs of all sizes, Comverse BSS is quantifiably boosting ARPU, increasing marketing and upsell effectiveness, cutting time to market and creating cost-saving operational efficiencies worldwide – with proven delivery methodologies ensuring consistently smooth and timely deployments,” noted Nayak. Learn more about Comverse BSS, view success stories, and meet with us at an upcoming industry event in a region near you. About Gartner’s Magic Quadrant Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. About Comverse Comverse is a leading global provider of telecom business solutions that enable communication service provider success in the hyper-connected world through service innovation and smart monetization. The company’s proven and innovative product portfolio includes BSS, Policy Management (PCRF) and Enforcement and Digital & Value Added Services – all backed by Managed and Professional Services. Comverse’s extensive customer base spans more than 125 countries with solutions successfully delivered to over 450 communication service providers serving more than two billion subscribers. Comverse’s solutions are available in a variety of delivery models, including on-site, cloud, hosted/SaaS and managed services. For more information, visit www.comverse.com.
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https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2011/12/09/463413/240370/en/Comverse-Technology-Announces-Third-Quarter-Results-Conference-Call-to-Discuss-Selected-Financial-Information-to-be-Held-Today-at-8-30-AM.html
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Comverse Technology Announces Third Quarter Results; Conference Call to Discuss Selected Financial Information to be Held Today at 8:30 AM
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2011-12-09T00:00:00
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NEW YORK, Dec. 9, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Comverse Technology, Inc. (
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GlobeNewswire News Room
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https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2011/12/09/463413/240370/en/Comverse-Technology-Announces-Third-Quarter-Results-Conference-Call-to-Discuss-Selected-Financial-Information-to-be-Held-Today-at-8-30-AM.html
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NEW YORK, Dec. 9, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Comverse Technology, Inc. ("CTI") (Nasdaq:CMVT) today announced its results for the three months ended October 31, 2011.
Consolidated Highlights: Below is selected consolidated financial information for the three months ended October 31, 2011 and 2010 prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") and, where indicated, not in accordance with GAAP ("non-GAAP").
Revenue increased 6.5% to $453.1 million.
GAAP net income attributable to CTI of $35.7 million.
GAAP basic and diluted earnings per share attributable to CTI's shareholders of $0.17.
Non-GAAP net income attributable to CTI¹ increased from $6.3 million to $35.2 million.
Basic non-GAAP earnings per share attributable to CTI's shareholders increased from $0.03 to $0.17.
Diluted non-GAAP earnings per share attributable to CTI's shareholders increased from $0.01 to $0.17.
CTI is a holding company that conducts business through its subsidiaries, principally its wholly-owned subsidiary, Comverse, Inc. ("Comverse"), and its majority-owned subsidiaries, Verint Systems Inc. ("Verint"), Starhome B.V. ("Starhome") and, prior to its sale during fiscal 2010, Ulticom, Inc. For the current fiscal periods, CTI's reportable segments were Comverse Business Support Systems ("BSS"), Comverse Value-Added Services ("VAS"), and Verint. The results of operations of all the other operations of the company, including the Comverse Mobile Internet operating segment ("Comverse MI"), Comverse's Netcentrex operations, Comverse's global corporate functions that support its business units, Starhome B.V. and its subsidiaries, miscellaneous operations and CTI's holding company operations are included in the column captioned "All Other" in the business segment information provided.
Comverse Subsidiary Highlights: Below is selected financial information for the three and nine months ended October 31, 2011 and 2010 for the company's Comverse subsidiary.
Comverse Subsidiary: ² Three Months Ended October 31, Nine Months Ended October 31, (Dollars in thousands) 2011 2010 2011 2010 Total revenue $ 243,797 $ 228,901 $ 589,616 $ 627,019 Gross margin 40.9% 51.7% 38.0% 43.5% Income (loss) from operations $ 29,501 $ (9,119) $ 1,417 $ (76,576) Operating margin 12.1% (4.0%) 0.2% (12.2%) Comverse performance $ 43,405 $ 40,851 $ 54,022 $ 30,290 Comverse performance margin 17.8% 17.8% 9.2% 4.8%
Charles Burdick, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CTI said, "We achieved profitability and positive operating cash flow in each of our three subsidiaries, and have a solid financial foundation to support our future success. Our Comverse subsidiary is experiencing increasing recognition for its leadership in the emerging converged billing BSS segment, with new Comverse ONE customer wins, and endorsements from network operators and other industry thought leaders. Comverse also continues to reinforce its leading market position in value-added services with the introduction of its new IP messaging platform and Service Enablement Middleware cloud-based solution. Our majority-owned Verint and Starhome subsidiaries again delivered strong operating and market performance."
1"Non-GAAP net income (loss) attributable to Comverse Technology, Inc." and "Non-GAAP earnings (loss) per share attributable to Comverse Technology, Inc.'s shareholders" have not been prepared in accordance with GAAP. See "Presentation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures" and "Consolidated Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below. 2For additional information concerning the presentation of financial information for the company's Comverse subsidiary and the computation of "Comverse Performance," see "Financial Results—Comverse Subsidiary—Comverse Performance" and "Supplemental Financial Information" below. Comverse performance margin reflects Comverse performance as a percentage of total revenue.
Comverse and Starhome Highlights: Below is selected financial information for the three and nine months ended October 31, 2011 and 2010 for the company's Comverse BSS and Comverse VAS segments, as well as Comverse Other and Starhome:
Three Months Ended October 31, Nine Months Ended October 31, (Dollars in thousands) 2011 2010 2011 2010 Comverse BSS Total and segment revenue $ 117,731 $ 90,906 $ 278,403 $ 242,151 Income from operations 30,413 26,018 56,261 36,879 Comverse VAS Total and segment revenue $ 112,655 $ 121,141 $ 276,234 $ 341,001 Income from operations 48,372 55,893 99,017 118,975 Comverse Other 1 Total revenue 2 $ 13,411 $ 16,854 $ 34,979 $ 43,867 Loss from operations (49,284) (91,030) (153,861) (232,430) Starhome Total revenue 3 $ 10,983 $ 10,713 $ 32,654 $ 27,912 Income from operations 1,984 1,899 5,765 2,884 1Relates to all the operations of the company's Comverse Subsidiary, other than the company's Comverse BSS and Comverse VAS segments. 2 Total revenue for Comverse Other includes intercompany revenue of $0.7 million and $2.4 million for the three and nine months ended October 31, 2011, respectively, and $0.6 million and $1.6 million for the three and nine months ended October 31, 2010, respectively. 3 Total revenue for Starhome includes intercompany revenue of $0.4 million and $1.6 million for the three and nine months ended October 31, 2011, respectively, and $0.2 million and $0.6 million for the three and nine months ended October 31, 2010, respectively.
Financial Results
Comverse Subsidiary
Comverse Subsidiary Total Revenue
Total revenue for the company's Comverse subsidiary (including intercompany revenue) was $243.8 million for the current fiscal quarter, an increase of 6.5% compared to the $228.9 million for the prior year fiscal quarter. Total revenue for the company's Comverse subsidiary was $589.6 million for the nine months ended October 31, 2011, a decrease of 6.0% compared to the $627.0 million for the corresponding prior year period. Comverse's revenue for the three and nine months ended October 31, 2011 includes $39.0 million and $41.2 million, respectively, of additional revenue recognized due to the adoption of new accounting guidance. This includes $33.9 million recognized in the current fiscal quarter resulting from the material modifications of certain existing contracts.
Comverse's revenue from customer solutions was $160.6 million for the current fiscal quarter, an increase of $19.3 million, or 13.7%, compared to the prior year fiscal quarter. Comverse's revenue from customer solutions was $344.9 million for the nine months ended October 31, 2011, a decrease of $34.9 million, or 9.2%, compared to the corresponding prior year period.
Comverse's revenue from maintenance was $83.2 million for the current fiscal quarter, a decrease of $4.4 million, or 5.1%, compared to the prior year fiscal quarter. Comverse's revenue from maintenance was $244.7 million for the nine months ended October 31, 2011, a decrease of $2.5 million, or 1.0%, compared to the corresponding prior year period.
Comverse Subsidiary Income (Loss) from Operations
Income from operations for the company's Comverse subsidiary was $29.5 million for the current fiscal quarter, compared to loss from operations of $9.1 million for the prior year fiscal quarter. BSS and VAS segment operating income of $30.4 million and $48.4 million, respectively, do not include corporate overhead allocations. Such expenses are included in Comverse Other operating loss, which was $49.3 million.
Comverse Performance
Comverse performance was $43.4 million for the current fiscal quarter, representing a Comverse performance margin of 17.8%, compared to $40.9 million for the prior year fiscal quarter, also representing a segment performance margin of 17.8%.
Comverse performance represents the operating results of the company's Comverse subsidiary without the impact of significant expenditures incurred by Comverse in connection with the efforts to become or remain current in periodic reporting obligations under the federal securities laws which are expected to be eliminated over time, certain noncash charges, and certain other gains and charges.
Comverse BSS Revenue
Comverse BSS revenue from customer solutions and maintenance was $117.7 million for the current fiscal quarter, an increase of $26.8 million, or 29.5%, compared to the prior year fiscal quarter. Revenue from Comverse BSS customer solutions was $82.3 million for the current fiscal quarter, an increase of $30.2 million, or 58.0%, compared to the prior year fiscal quarter. The increase in revenue from Comverse BSS customer solutions in the current fiscal quarter was primarily attributable to material modifications of certain existing contracts that allowed the recognition of additional revenue of approximately $33.5 million. Comverse BSS maintenance revenue was $35.4 million for the current fiscal quarter, a decrease of $3.4 million, or 8.7%, compared to the prior year fiscal quarter.
Comverse BSS revenue from customer solutions and maintenance was $278.4 million for the nine months ended October 31, 2011, an increase of $36.3 million, or 15.0%, compared to the corresponding prior year period.
Comverse VAS Revenue
Comverse VAS revenue from customer solutions and maintenance was $112.7 million for the current fiscal quarter, a decrease of $8.5 million, or 7.0%, compared to the prior year fiscal quarter. Revenue from Comverse VAS customer solutions was $69.8 million for the current fiscal quarter, a decrease of $5.9 million, or 7.8%, compared to the prior year fiscal quarter. Comverse VAS maintenance revenue was $42.9 million for the current fiscal quarter, a decrease of $2.6 million, or 5.6%, compared to the prior year fiscal quarter.
Comverse VAS revenue from customer solutions and maintenance was $276.2 million for the nine months ended October 31, 2011, a decrease of $64.8 million, or 19.0%, compared to the corresponding prior year period.
Comverse Other Revenue
Comverse Other revenue from customer solutions and maintenance was $13.4 million for the current fiscal quarter, a decrease of $3.4 million, or 20.4%, compared to the prior year fiscal quarter. Comverse Other revenue was $35.0 million for the nine months ended October 31, 2011, a decrease of $8.9 million, or 20.3%, compared to the corresponding prior year period.
Starhome Revenue
Starhome's revenue from customer solutions and maintenance (including intercompany revenue) was $11.0 million for the current fiscal quarter, an increase of $0.3 million, or 2.5%, compared to the prior year fiscal quarter. Starhome's revenue from customer solutions and maintenance was $32.7 million for the nine months ended October 31, 2011, an increase of $4.7 million, or 17.0%, compared to the corresponding prior year period.
Financial Condition of CTI and its Comverse Subsidiary
As of October 31, 2011, CTI and its Comverse subsidiary had combined cash, cash equivalents, bank time deposits and restricted cash of approximately $342.6 million, compared to approximately $374.2 million as of July 31, 2011. During the current fiscal quarter, CTI and Comverse made significant disbursements aggregating approximately $36.5 million, primarily related to $20.0 million paid under a class action settlement agreement, $10.4 million in professional fees, $4.0 million in restructuring payments, and $2.1 million in payments made in connection with a separation agreement with CTI's former President and Chief Executive Officer. In addition, during such period, CTI's holding company operations experienced negative cash flows from operations. These decreases were partially offset primarily by positive cash flows from operations at Comverse.
Restricted cash aggregated $61.8 million as of October 31, 2011, compared to $78.5 million as of July 31, 2011. Cash, cash equivalents, bank time deposits and restricted cash excludes ARS. As of October 31, 2011 and July 31, 2011, CTI had $68.7 million and $68.9 million aggregate principal amount of ARS, respectively, with a carrying amount on each such date of approximately $50.3 million and $51.9 million, respectively. Proceeds from sales and redemptions of ARS (including interest thereon) were restricted under the terms of the consolidated shareholder class action settlement agreement.
Subsequent to October 31, 2011, CTI paid all remaining amounts under the settlement agreement aggregating $91.3 million, of which $82.5 million was paid using CTI shares of common stock and the remaining $8.8 million in cash. Following such payment, all ARS and cash proceeds from sales of ARS became unrestricted. In addition, in November 2011, CTI sold ARS with an aggregate principal amount of approximately $61.2 million and a carrying amount of $50.0 million for approximately $49.2 million.
As of October 31, 2011 and July 31, 2011, CTI and its Comverse subsidiary had combined indebtedness of approximately $2.2 million.
Verint Segment
Verint is a majority-owned subsidiary of CTI. Its common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol "VRNT."
For additional information concerning Verint's results for the three and nine months ended October 31, 2011, please see the press release issued by Verint on December 7, 2011, which is available on Verint's website, www.verint.com and is included as an exhibit to the Current Report on Form 8-K filed by Verint with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), and Verint's quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended October 31, 2011.
Conference Call Information
We will be conducting a conference call today at 8:30 am to discuss our results for the third quarter. An on-line, real-time webcast of the conference call will be available on our website at www.cmvt.com. The conference call can also be accessed live via telephone at 1-678-825-8369. Please dial in 5-10 minutes prior to the scheduled start time.
A replay of the call will be available, beginning at approximately 11:00 am on December 9, 2011, for thirty days, at 1-404-537-3406, and archived via webcast at www.cmvt.com. The replay access code is 34995666.
Segment Performance
CTI evaluates its business by assessing the performance of each of its operating segments. CTI's Chief Executive Officer is its chief operating decision maker ("CODM"). The CODM uses segment performance, as defined below, as the primary basis for assessing the financial results of the operating segments and for the allocation of resources. Segment performance, as the company defines it in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standard Board's ("FASB") guidance relating to segment reporting, is not necessarily comparable to other similarly titled captions of other companies. Segment performance, as defined by management, represents operating results of a segment without the impact of significant expenditures incurred by the segment in connection with the efforts to become or remain current in periodic reporting obligations under the federal securities laws which are expected to be eliminated over time, certain non-cash charges, and certain other insignificant gains and charges.
Segment performance is computed by management as income (loss) from operations adjusted for the following: (i) stock-based compensation expense; (ii) amortization of acquisition-related intangibles; (iii) compliance-related professional fees; (iv) compliance-related compensation and other expenses; (v) impairment charges; (vi) litigation settlements and related costs; (vii) acquisition-related charges; (viii) restructuring and integration charges; and (ix) certain other gains and charges. Compliance-related professional fees and compliance-related compensation and other expenses recorded for fiscal periods ended on or before July 31, 2011 relate to fees and expenses incurred in connection with (a) the company's efforts to complete current and previously issued financial statements and audits of such financial statements, and (b) the company's efforts to become current in its periodic reporting obligations under the federal securities laws. Compliance-related professional fees and compliance-related compensation and other expenses recorded for the three months ended October 31, 2011 relate to fees and expenses incurred in connection with the timely filing of the company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended July 31, 2011 and CTI's efforts to remediate material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting that are expected to be eliminated over time.
In evaluating each segment's performance, management uses segment revenue, which consists of revenue generated by the segment, including intercompany revenue. Certain segment performance adjustments relate to expenses included in the calculation of income (loss) from operations, while, from time to time, certain segment performance adjustments may be presented as adjustments to revenue. In calculating Verint's segment performance for the three and nine months ended October 31, 2011, the presentation of segment revenue gives effect to segment revenue adjustments that represent the impact of fair value adjustments required under the FASB's guidance relating to acquired customer support contracts that would have otherwise been recognized as revenue on a standalone basis with respect to acquisitions consummated by Verint during the periods presented. Verint did not have a segment revenue adjustment for the three or nine months ended October 31, 2010.
Presentation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
CTI provides Non-GAAP net income (loss) attributable to Comverse Technology, Inc. and Non-GAAP earnings (loss) per share attributable to Comverse Technology, Inc.'s shareholders as additional information for its operating results. These measures are not in accordance with, or alternatives for, GAAP financial measures and may be different from, or not comparable to similarly titled or other non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies. CTI believes that the presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures provides useful information to investors regarding certain additional financial and business trends relating to its results of operations as viewed by management in monitoring the company's businesses. In addition, management uses these non-GAAP financial measures for reviewing financial results and for planning purposes. See "Comverse Technology, Inc. and Subsidiaries Consolidated Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below.
About Comverse Technology, Inc.
Comverse Technology, Inc., through its wholly-owned subsidiary Comverse, is the world's leading provider of software and systems enabling converged billing and active customer management and value-added voice, messaging and mobile Internet services. Comverse's extensive customer base spans more than 125 countries and covers over 450 communication service providers serving more than two billion subscribers. CTI also holds majority ownership positions in Verint (Nasdaq:VRNT) and privately-held Starhome.
The Comverse Technology logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=7454
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements appearing in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements include financial projections, statements of plans and objectives for future operations, statements of future economic performance, and statements of assumptions relating thereto. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of terminology such as "may," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "estimates," "believes," "potential," "projects," "forecasts," "intends," or the negative thereof or other comparable terminology. By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause actual results, performance and the timing of events to differ materially from those anticipated, expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements in this press release. These and other risks, uncertainties and other important factors are described in CTI's filings with the SEC, including, without limitation, in Item 1A, "Risk Factors" of its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2011 (the "2010 Form 10-K") and in Part II, Item 1A, "Risk Factors" of subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and include, among other things, the following risks and uncertainties:
the risk of diminishment in our capital resources as a result of, among other things, future negative cash flows from operations at Comverse or the continued incurrence of significant expenses by CTI and Comverse in connection with the filing by CTI of periodic reports under the federal securities laws and the remediation of material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting;
the continuation of material weaknesses or the discovery of additional material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting and any delay in the implementation of remedial measures;
the review of the periodic reports of CTI and Verint Systems by the staff of the SEC could result in amendments to our and Verint Systems' financial information or other disclosures;
the risk that, if CTI ceases to maintain a majority ownership of Verint Systems' outstanding equity securities and ceases to maintain control over Verint's operations, it may be required to no longer consolidate Verint's financial statements within its consolidated financial statements and, in such event, the presentation of CTI's consolidated financial statements would be materially different from the presentation for the fiscal periods covered by this Quarterly Report and for the fiscal years covered by the 2010 Form 10-K;
we may need to recognize further impairment of intangible assets or financial assets and goodwill;
the effects of any potential decline or weakness in the global economy (due to among other things, the downgrade of the U.S. credit rating and European sovereign debt crisis) on the telecommunications industry, which may result in reduced information technology spending and reduced demand for our subsidiaries' products and services;
disruption in the credit and capital markets may limit our ability to access capital;
potential loss of business opportunities due to continued concern on the part of customers, partners, investors and employees about our financial condition and CTI's previous extended delay in becoming current in its periodic reporting obligations under the federal securities laws;
rapidly changing technology in our subsidiaries' industries and our subsidiaries' ability to enhance existing products and develop and market new products;
our subsidiaries' dependence on contracts for large systems and large installations for a significant portion of their sales and operating results including, among other things, the lengthy and complex bidding and selection process, the difficulty predicting their ability to obtain particular contracts and the timing and scope of these opportunities;
the difficulty in predicting operating results as a result of lengthy and variable sales cycles, focus on large customers and installations, short delivery windows required by customers, and the high percentage of orders typically generated late in the fiscal quarter;
the deferral or loss of one or more significant orders or customers or a delay in an expected implementation of such an order could materially and adversely affect our results of operations in any fiscal period, particularly if there are significant sales and marketing expenses associated with the deferred, lost or delayed sales;
the potential incurrence by our subsidiaries of significant costs to correct previously undetected operational problems in their complex products;
our subsidiaries' dependence on a limited number of suppliers and manufacturers for certain components and third-party software could cause a supply shortage and/or interruptions in product supply;
the risk that increased competition could force our subsidiaries to lower their prices or take other actions to differentiate their products and changes in the competitive environment in the telecommunications industry worldwide could seriously affect Comverse's business;
the risk that increased costs or reduced demand for Comverse's products resulting from compliance with evolving telecommunications regulations and the implementation of new standards may adversely affect our business and financial condition;
the risk that the failure or delay in achieving interoperability of Comverse's products with its customers' systems could impair its ability to sell its products;
the competitive bidding process used to generate sales requires our subsidiaries to expend significant resources with no guarantee of recoupment;
our subsidiaries' inability to maintain relationships with value-added resellers, systems integrators and other third parties that market and sell their products could adversely impact our financial condition and results of operations;
third parties' infringement of our subsidiaries' proprietary technology and the infringement by our subsidiaries of the intellectual property of third parties, including through the use of free or open source software;
risks of certain contractual obligations of our subsidiaries exposing them to uncapped or other significant liabilities;
the impact of mergers and acquisitions, including, but not limited to, difficulties relating to integration, the achievement of anticipated synergies and the implementation of required controls, procedures and policies at the acquired company;
risks associated with significant foreign operations and international sales, including the impact of geopolitical, economic and military conditions in foreign countries, conducting operations in countries with a history of corruption, entering into transactions with foreign governments and ensuring compliance with laws that prohibit improper payments;
adverse fluctuations of currency exchange rates;
risks relating to our significant operations in Israel, including economic, political and/or military conditions in Israel and the surrounding Middle East, and uncertainties relating to research and development grants, tax benefits and the ability of our Israeli subsidiaries to pay dividends;
potential decline in the price of CTI's common stock in the event of sales of a significant number of shares by shareholders who received shares as part of a class action settlement and by holders of securities awarded under CTI's equity incentive plans;
risks associated with Verint's significant leverage resulting from its current debt position, including Verint's ability to maintain compliance with the leverage ratio covenant under its credit facility;
the ability of Verint to pay its indebtedness as it becomes due or refinance its indebtedness as well as comply with the financial and other restrictive covenants contained therein;
risks that the credit ratings of CTI and its subsidiaries could be downgraded or placed on a credit watch based on, among other things, its financial results;
Verint's dependence on government contracts and the possibility that U.S. or foreign governments could refuse to purchase Verint's Communications Intelligence solutions or could deactivate Verint's security clearances in their countries;
risks associated with Verint's handling, or the perception of mishandling, of customers' sensitive information;
Verint's ability to receive or retain necessary export licenses or authorizations; and
other risks described in filings with the SEC.
The documents and reports we file with the SEC are available through CTI, or its website, www.cmvt.com, or through the SEC's Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system (EDGAR) at www.sec.gov. CTI undertakes no commitment to update or revise any forward-looking statements except as required by law.
COMVERSE TECHNOLOGY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Unaudited) (In thousands, except share and per share data) October 31, January 31, ASSETS 2011 2011 Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents $ 421,346 $ 581,390 Restricted cash and bank time deposits 60,070 73,117 Auction rate securities 50,259 72,441 Accounts receivable, net of allowance of $8,939 and $13,237, respectively 314,246 319,628 Inventories, net 53,883 66,612 Deferred cost of revenue 36,540 51,470 Deferred income taxes 41,956 39,644 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 96,712 91,760 Total current assets 1,075,012 1,296,062 Property and equipment, net 77,054 66,843 Goodwill 1,046,549 967,224 Intangible assets, net 216,317 196,460 Deferred cost of revenue 141,273 158,703 Deferred income taxes 18,010 20,766 Other assets 107,001 107,864 Total assets $ 2,681,216 $ 2,813,922 LIABILITIES AND EQUITY Current liabilities: Accounts payable and accrued expenses $ 381,003 $ 401,940 Convertible debt obligations 2,195 2,195 Deferred revenue 496,675 559,873 Deferred income taxes 13,596 13,661 Bank loans 6,208 6,000 Litigation settlements 101,030 146,150 Income taxes payable 11,858 11,486 Other current liabilities 44,377 50,280 Total current liabilities 1,056,942 1,191,585 Bank loans 592,695 583,234 Deferred revenue 260,425 270,934 Deferred income taxes 59,795 52,953 Other long-term liabilities 246,993 229,329 Total liabilities 2,216,850 2,328,035 Commitments and contingencies Equity: Comverse Technology, Inc. shareholders' equity: Common stock, $0.10 par value - authorized, 600,000,000 shares; issued 207,096,791 and 204,937,882
shares, respectively; outstanding, 206,055,795 and 204,533,916 shares, respectively 20,710 20,494 Treasury stock, at cost, 1,040,996 and 403,966 shares, respectively (7,803) (3,484) Additional paid-in capital 2,112,780 2,088,717 Accumulated deficit (1,770,840) (1,707,638) Accumulated other comprehensive income 10,094 14,919 Total Comverse Technology, Inc. shareholders' equity 364,941 413,008 Noncontrolling interest 99,425 72,879 Total equity 464,366 485,887 Total liabilities and equity $ 2,681,216 $ 2,813,922
COMVERSE TECHNOLOGY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (Unaudited) (In thousands, except share and per share data) Three Months Ended October 31, Nine Months Ended October 31, 2011 2010 2011 2010 Revenue: Product revenue $ 203,587 $ 176,933 $ 511,524 $ 525,464 Service revenue 249,491 248,527 677,418 667,126 Total revenue 453,078 425,460 1,188,942 1,192,590 Costs and expenses: Product costs 85,326 60,397 207,024 201,034 Service costs 130,670 110,807 358,241 334,632 Selling, general and administrative 142,466 163,444 431,435 525,824 Research and development, net 55,768 63,060 161,706 193,264 Other operating expenses (income): Litigation settlements 4,880 (17,350) 4,880 (17,500) Restructuring charges 1,838 21,800 14,888 28,776 Total costs and expenses 420,948 402,158 1,178,174 1,266,030 Income (loss) from operations 32,130 23,302 10,768 (73,440) Interest income 826 833 3,493 2,835 Interest expense (8,192) (9,020) (25,325) (21,241) Loss on extinguishment of debt -- -- (8,136) -- Other (expense) income, net (4,144) 1,563 8,253 7,178 Income (loss) before income tax benefit (provision) 20,620 16,678 (10,947) (84,668) Income tax benefit (provision) 21,647 (47,237) (35,793) (49,463) Net income (loss) from continuing operations 42,267 (30,559) (46,740) (134,131) Loss from discontinued operations, net of tax -- (947) -- (4,000) Net income (loss) 42,267 (31,506) (46,740) (138,131) Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest (6,577) (10,197) (16,462) (9,620) Net income (loss) attributable to Comverse Technology, Inc. $ 35,690 $ (41,703) $ (63,202) $ (147,751) Weighted average common shares outstanding: Basic 205,886,126 205,264,632 205,890,586 205,134,765 Diluted 206,729,005 205,264,632 205,890,586 205,134,765 Earnings (loss) per share attributable to Comverse Technology, Inc.'s shareholders: Basic earnings (loss) per share Continuing operations $ 0.17 $ (0.20) $ (0.31) $ (0.71) Discontinued operations -- (0.00) -- (0.01) Basic earnings (loss) per share $ 0.17 $ (0.20) $ (0.31) $ (0.72) Diluted earnings (loss) per share Continuing operations $ 0.17 $ (0.21) $ (0.31) $ (0.71) Discontinued operations -- (0.00) -- (0.01) Diluted earnings (loss) per share $ 0.17 $ (0.21) $ (0.31) $ (0.72) Net income (loss) attributable to Comverse Technology, Inc. Net income (loss) from continuing operations $ 35,690 $ (40,929) $ (63,202) $ (144,753) Loss from discontinued operations, net of tax -- (774) -- (2,998) Net income (loss) attributable to Comverse Technology, Inc. $ 35,690 $ (41,703) $ (63,202) $ (147,751)
COMVERSE TECHNOLOGY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (Unaudited) (In thousands) Nine Months Ended October 31, 2011 2010 Cash flows from operating activities: Net cash used in operating activities - continuing operations $ (81,473) $ (215,440) Net cash used in operating activities - discontinued operations -- (2,377) Net cash used in operating activities (81,473) (217,817) Cash flows from investing activities: Proceeds from sales and maturities of investments 26,275 57,056 Acquisition of businesses, net of cash acquired (98,698) (15,292) Purchase of property and equipment (13,145) (15,582) Capitalization of software development costs (2,542) (1,604) Net change in restricted cash and bank time deposits 11,757 3,197 Proceeds from asset sales -- 27,296 Settlement of derivative financial instruments not designated as hedges (1,134) (31,596) Other, net 1,587 (12) Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities - continuing operations (75,900) 23,463 Net cash provided by investing activities - discontinued operations -- 54,673 Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities (75,900) 78,136 Cash flows from financing activities: Debt issuance costs and other debt-related costs (15,280) (4,039) Proceeds from borrowings, net of original issuance discount 597,000 -- Repayment of bank loans, long-term debt and other financing obligations (591,542) (22,960) Repurchase of common stock (4,319) (480) Net proceeds from issuance of common stock by a subsidiary 8,567 26,426 Proceeds from exercises of stock options 1,024 -- Other, net (2,004) -- Net cash used in financing activities - continuing operations (6,554) (1,053) Net cash provided by financing activities - discontinued operations -- 258 Net cash used in financing activities (6,554) (795) Effects of exchange rates on cash and cash equivalents 3,883 1,288 Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents (160,044) (139,188) Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period including cash of discontinued operations 581,390 574,872 Cash and cash equivalents, end of period including cash of discontinued operations $ 421,346 $ 435,684 Less: Cash and cash equivalents of discontinued operations at end of period -- (66,880) Cash and cash equivalents, end of period $ 421,346 $ 368,804 Non-cash investing and financing transactions: Accrued but unpaid purchases of property and equipment $ 1,521 $ 3,058 Inventory transfers to property and equipment $ 17,377 $ 4,096 Liabilities for contingent consideration in business combination $ 33,704 $ 3,224
COMVERSE TECHNOLOGY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES BUSINESS SEGMENT INFORMATION (Unaudited) (In thousands) Comverse
BSS Comverse
VAS Verint All Other Eliminations Consolidated (In thousands) Three Months Ended October 31, 2011: Revenue $ 117,731 $ 112,655 $ 199,364 $ 23,328 $ -- $ 453,078 Intercompany revenue -- -- -- 1,066 (1,066) -- Total revenue $ 117,731 $ 112,655 $ 199,364 $ 24,394 $ (1,066) $ 453,078 Costs and expenses: Cost of revenue $ 64,823 $ 55,632 $ 70,139 $ 25,392 $ 10 $ 215,996 Intercompany purchases -- -- -- 1,066 (1,066) -- Selling, general and administrative 7,022 1,865 82,479 51,088 12 142,466 Research and development, net 15,458 6,786 28,464 5,060 -- 55,768 Other operating expenses 15 -- -- 6,703 -- 6,718 Total costs and expenses $ 87,318 $ 64,283 $ 181,082 $ 89,309 $ (1,044) $ 420,948 Income (loss) from operations $ 30,413 $ 48,372 $ 18,282 $ (64,915) $ (22) $ 32,130 Computation of segment performance: Total revenue $ 117,731 $ 112,655 $ 199,364 $ 24,394 Segment revenue adjustment -- -- 5,211 -- Segment revenue $ 117,731 $ 112,655 $ 204,575 $ 24,394 Total costs and expenses $ 87,318 $ 64,283 $ 181,082 $ 89,309 Segment expense adjustments: Stock-based compensation expense -- -- 6,650 2,010 Amortization of acquisition-related intangibles 4,245 -- 9,368 -- Compliance-related professional fees -- -- 3 5,082 Compliance-related compensation and other expenses (1) 295 -- 1,281 Impairment charges -- -- -- 1,118 Litigation settlements and related costs -- -- -- 4,882 Acquisition-related charges -- -- 2,183 -- Restructuring and integration charges -- -- -- 1,838 Gain on sale of land -- -- -- -- Other -- -- 2,329 3,155 Segment expense adjustments 4,244 295 20,533 19,366 Segment expenses 83,074 63,988 160,549 69,943 Segment performance $ 34,657 $ 48,667 $ 44,026 $ (45,549) Interest expense $ -- $ -- $ (7,905) $ (287) $ -- $ (8,192) Depreciation and amortization $ (5,116) $ (1,248) $ (13,613) $ (2,422) $ -- $ (22,399) Other non-cash items (1) $ -- $ -- $ (44) $ (1,118) $ -- $ (1,162) (1) Other non-cash items consist primarily of write-offs and impairments of property and equipment.
COMVERSE TECHNOLOGY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES BUSINESS SEGMENT INFORMATION (continued) (Unaudited) (In thousands) Comverse
BSS Comverse
VAS Verint All Other Eliminations Consolidated (In thousands) Three Months Ended October 31, 2010: Revenue $ 90,906 $ 121,141 $ 186,641 $ 26,772 $ -- $ 425,460 Intercompany revenue -- -- -- 795 (795) -- Total revenue $ 90,906 $ 121,141 $ 186,641 $ 27,567 $ (795) $ 425,460 Costs and expenses: Cost of revenue $ 42,238 $ 44,650 $ 58,941 $ 25,386 $ (11) $ 171,204 Intercompany purchases -- -- -- 1,232 (1,232) -- Selling, general and administrative 6,937 6,184 73,244 77,054 25 163,444 Research and development, net 15,698 14,405 24,063 8,894 -- 63,060 Other operating expenses 15 9 -- 4,426 -- 4,450 Total costs and expenses $ 64,888 $ 65,248 $ 156,248 $ 116,992 $ (1,218) $ 402,158 Income (loss) from operations $ 26,018 $ 55,893 $ 30,393 $ (89,425) $ 423 $ 23,302 Computation of segment performance: Total revenue $ 90,906 $ 121,141 $ 186,641 $ 27,567 Segment revenue adjustment -- -- -- -- Segment revenue $ 90,906 $ 121,141 $ 186,641 $ 27,567 Total costs and expenses $ 64,888 $ 65,248 $ 156,248 $ 116,992 Segment expense adjustments: Stock-based compensation expense -- -- 13,090 2,744 Amortization of acquisition-related intangibles 4,641 -- 7,632 -- Compliance-related professional fees -- -- 823 31,144 Compliance-related compensation and other expenses 47 -- -- 1,829 Litigation settlements and related costs -- -- -- (17,258) Acquisition-related charges -- -- 518 -- Restructuring and integration charges -- -- -- 21,800 Gain on sale of land -- -- -- (2,371) Other -- -- 646 1,230 Segment expense adjustments 4,688 -- 22,709 39,118 Segment expenses 60,200 65,248 133,539 77,874 Segment performance $ 30,706 $ 55,893 $ 53,102 $ (50,307) Interest expense $ -- $ -- $ (8,941) $ (79) $ -- $ (9,020) Depreciation and amortization $ (5,646) $ (1,104) $ (12,148) $ (2,757) $ -- $ (21,655) Other non-cash items (1) $ -- $ -- $ (15) $ (272) $ -- $ (287) (1) Other non-cash items consist primarily of write-offs and impairments of property and equipment.
COMVERSE TECHNOLOGY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES BUSINESS SEGMENT INFORMATION (continued) (Unaudited) (In thousands) Comverse
BSS Comverse
VAS Verint All Other Eliminations Consolidated (In thousands) Nine Months Ended October 31, 2011: Revenue $ 278,403 $ 276,234 $ 570,655 $ 63,650 $ -- $ 1,188,942 Intercompany revenue -- -- -- 3,983 (3,983) -- Total revenue $ 278,403 $ 276,234 $ 570,655 $ 67,633 $ (3,983) $ 1,188,942 Costs and expenses: Cost of revenue $ 154,320 $ 151,325 $ 194,597 $ 65,024 $ (1) $ 565,265 Intercompany purchases -- -- -- 3,983 (3,983) -- Selling, general and administrative 20,774 6,454 235,892 168,347 (32) 431,435 Research and development, net 46,967 19,434 81,640 13,665 -- 161,706 Other operating expenses 81 4 -- 19,683 -- 19,768 Total costs and expenses $ 222,142 $ 177,217 $ 512,129 $ 270,702 $ (4,016) $ 1,178,174 Income (loss) from operations $ 56,261 $ 99,017 $ 58,526 $ (203,069) $ 33 $ 10,768 Computation of segment performance: Total revenue $ 278,403 $ 276,234 $ 570,655 $ 67,633 Segment revenue adjustment -- -- 6,173 -- Segment revenue $ 278,403 $ 276,234 $ 576,828 $ 67,633 Total costs and expenses $ 222,142 $ 177,217 $ 512,129 $ 270,702 Segment expense adjustments: Stock-based compensation expense -- -- 20,841 7,240 Amortization of acquisition-related intangibles 13,241 -- 25,664 -- Compliance-related professional fees -- -- 1,011 32,955 Compliance-related compensation and other expenses 2,066 1,531 -- 1,885 Impairment charges -- 5 -- 1,270 Litigation settlements and related costs -- -- -- 5,444 Acquisition-related charges -- -- 7,377 -- Restructuring and integration charges -- -- -- 14,888 Gain on sale of land -- -- -- -- Other -- -- 4,335 6,250 Segment expense adjustments 15,307 1,536 59,228 69,932 Segment expenses 206,835 175,681 452,901 200,770 Segment performance $ 71,568 $ 100,553 $ 123,927 $ (133,137) Interest expense $ -- $ -- $ (24,556) $ (769) $ -- $ (25,325) Depreciation and amortization $ (15,957) $ (3,281) $ (39,152) $ (7,333) $ -- $ (65,723) Other non-cash items (1) $ -- $ -- $ (266) $ (1,275) $ -- $ (1,541) (1) Other non-cash items consist primarily of write-offs and impairments of property and equipment.
COMVERSE TECHNOLOGY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES BUSINESS SEGMENT INFORMATION (continued) (Unaudited) (In thousands) Comverse
BSS Comverse
VAS Verint All Other Eliminations Consolidated (In thousands) Nine Months Ended October 31, 2010: Revenue $ 242,151 $ 341,001 $ 539,930 $ 69,508 $ -- $ 1,192,590 Intercompany revenue -- -- -- 2,271 (2,271) -- Total revenue $ 242,151 $ 341,001 $ 539,930 $ 71,779 $ (2,271) $ 1,192,590 Costs and expenses: Cost of revenue $ 133,811 $ 155,085 $ 177,094 $ 70,130 $ (454) $ 535,666 Intercompany purchases -- -- -- 2,874 (2,874) -- Selling, general and administrative 22,055 21,422 240,082 242,245 20 525,824 Research and development, net 49,119 45,196 72,544 26,405 -- 193,264 Other operating expenses 287 323 -- 10,666 -- 11,276 Total costs and expenses $ 205,272 $ 222,026 $ 489,720 $ 352,320 $ (3,308) $ 1,266,030 Income (loss) from operations $ 36,879 $ 118,975 $ 50,210 $ (280,541) $ 1,037 $ (73,440) Computation of segment performance: Total revenue $ 242,151 $ 341,001 $ 539,930 $ 71,779 Segment revenue adjustment -- -- -- -- Segment revenue $ 242,151 $ 341,001 $ 539,930 $ 71,779 Total costs and expenses $ 205,272 $ 222,026 $ 489,720 $ 352,320 Segment expense adjustments: Stock-based compensation expense -- -- 39,095 8,492 Amortization of acquisition-related intangibles 13,953 -- 22,762 -- Compliance-related professional fees -- -- 27,090 107,492 Compliance-related compensation and other expenses 1,617 326 -- 804 Litigation settlements and related costs -- -- -- (17,148) Acquisition-related charges -- -- 1,349 -- Restructuring and integration charges -- -- -- 28,776 Gain on sale of land -- -- -- (2,371) Other -- -- 1,199 269 Segment expense adjustments 15,570 326 91,495 126,314 Segment expenses 189,702 221,700 398,225 226,006 Segment performance $ 52,449 $ 119,301 $ 141,705 $ (154,227) Interest expense $ -- $ -- $ (20,825) $ (416) $ -- $ (21,241) Depreciation and amortization $ (17,877) $ (4,348) $ (36,100) $ (7,941) $ -- $ (66,266) Other non-cash items (1) $ -- $ -- $ (238) $ (595) $ -- $ (833) (1) Other non-cash items consist primarily of write-offs and impairments of property and equipment.
COMVERSE TECHNOLOGY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES SUPPLEMENTAL FINANCIAL INFORMATION (Unaudited) (In thousands) The company has revised its segment reporting as a result of the implementation of the Phase II Business Transformation at Comverse and the manner in which its CODM reviews the operating performance of Comverse and allocates resources to its operating segments. The company is providing the following additional information, presenting the results of operations of the previous Comverse reporting segment. The company believes that such presentation provides useful information to investors regarding the performance of the company's Comverse subsidiary, including comparability to previously reported financial information. The additional information provided is not a replacement for or subset of business segment information presented above. The results of operations presented in the column below under "Comverse Other" relate to all the operations of the Company's Comverse subsidiary, other than the company's Comverse BSS and Comverse VAS segments and includes the Comverse MI operating segment, Comverse's Netcentrex operations and Comverse's global corporate functions that support its business units. The information presented for "Comverse Other" includes unallocated global corporate function costs that are consistent with prior internal allocation practices. The company determined that the operating segments of the company's Comverse subsidiary included in "Comverse Other" do not meet the aggregation criteria under the segment reporting guidance; specifically they do not have similar economic characteristics, which would permit the presentation of "Comverse Other" results of operations as a separate reportable segment in the revised segment reporting information. Accordingly, such results of operations of "Comverse Other" are included in the company's "All Other" column.
Comverse
BSS Comverse
VAS Comverse
Other Total
Comverse (In thousands) Three Months Ended October 31, 2011: Revenue $ 117,731 $ 112,655 $ 12,757 $ 243,143 Intercompany revenue -- -- 654 654 Total revenue $ 117,731 $ 112,655 $ 13,411 $ 243,797 Costs and expenses: Cost of revenue $ 64,823 $ 55,632 $ 23,101 $ 143,556 Intercompany purchases -- -- 412 412 Selling, general and administrative 7,022 1,865 34,330 43,217 Research and development, net 15,458 6,786 3,029 25,273 Other operating expenses 15 -- 1,823 1,838 Total costs and expenses $ 87,318 $ 64,283 $ 62,695 $ 214,296 Income (loss) from operations $ 30,413 $ 48,372 $ (49,284) $ 29,501 Computation of Comverse performance: Total revenue $ 117,731 $ 112,655 $ 13,411 $ 243,797 Total costs and expenses $ 87,318 $ 64,283 $ 62,695 $ 214,296 Expense adjustments: Stock-based compensation expense -- -- 974 974 Amortization of acquisition-related intangibles 4,245 -- -- 4,245 Compliance-related professional fees -- -- 4,162 4,162 Compliance-related compensation and other expenses (1) 295 1,281 1,575 Impairment charges -- -- 1,118 1,118 Litigation settlements and related costs -- -- -- -- Restructuring and integration charges -- -- 1,838 1,838 Gain on sale of land -- -- -- -- Other -- -- (8) (8) Expense adjustments 4,244 295 9,365 13,904 Expenses after adjustments 200,392 Comverse performance $ 43,405 Interest expense $ -- $ -- $ (283) $ (283) Depreciation and amortization $ (5,116) $ (1,248) $ (2,202) $ (8,566) Other non-cash items (1) $ -- $ -- $ (1,118) $ (1,118) (1) Other non-cash items consist primarily of write-offs and impairments of property and equipment.
Comverse
BSS Comverse
VAS Comverse
Other Total
Comverse (In thousands) Three Months Ended October 31, 2010: Revenue $ 90,906 $ 121,141 $ 16,279 $ 228,326 Intercompany revenue -- -- 575 575 Total revenue $ 90,906 $ 121,141 $ 16,854 $ 228,901 Costs and expenses: Cost of revenue $ 42,238 $ 44,650 $ 23,348 $ 110,236 Intercompany purchases -- -- 367 367 Selling, general and administrative 6,937 6,184 55,474 68,595 Research and development, net 15,698 14,405 6,919 37,022 Other operating expenses 15 9 21,776 21,800 Total costs and expenses $ 64,888 $ 65,248 $ 107,884 $ 238,020 Income (loss) from operations $ 26,018 $ 55,893 $ (91,030) $ (9,119) Computation of Comverse performance: Total revenue $ 90,906 $ 121,141 $ 16,854 $ 228,901 Total costs and expenses $ 64,888 $ 65,248 $ 107,884 $ 238,020 Expense adjustments: Stock-based compensation expense -- -- 858 858 Amortization of acquisition-related intangibles 4,641 -- -- 4,641 Compliance-related professional fees -- -- 23,134 23,134 Compliance-related compensation and other expenses 47 -- 1,840 1,887 Impairment charges -- -- -- -- Litigation settlements and related costs -- -- -- -- Restructuring and integration charges -- -- 21,800 21,800 Gain on sale of land -- -- (2,371) (2,371) Other -- -- 21 21 Expense adjustments 4,688 -- 45,282 49,970 Expenses after adjustments 188,050 Comverse performance $ 40,851 Interest expense $ -- $ -- $ (77) $ (77) Depreciation and amortization $ (5,646) $ (1,104) $ (2,526) $ (9,276) Other non-cash items (1) $ -- $ -- $ (272) $ (272) (1) Other non-cash items consist primarily of write-offs and impairments of property and equipment.
Comverse
BSS Comverse
VAS Comverse
Other Total
Comverse (In thousands) Nine Months Ended October 31, 2011: Revenue $ 278,403 $ 276,234 $ 32,624 $ 587,261 Intercompany revenue -- -- 2,355 2,355 Total revenue $ 278,403 $ 276,234 $ 34,979 $ 589,616 Costs and expenses: Cost of revenue $ 154,320 $ 151,325 $ 58,212 $ 363,857 Intercompany purchases -- -- 1,628 1,628 Selling, general and administrative 20,774 6,454 106,608 133,836 Research and development, net 46,967 19,434 7,589 73,990 Other operating expenses 81 4 14,803 14,888 Total costs and expenses $ 222,142 $ 177,217 $ 188,840 $ 588,199 Income (loss) from operations $ 56,261 $ 99,017 $ (153,861) $ 1,417 Computation of Comverse performance: Total revenue $ 278,403 $ 276,234 $ 34,979 $ 589,616 Total costs and expenses $ 222,142 $ 177,217 $ 188,840 $ 588,199 Expense adjustments: Stock-based compensation expense -- -- 2,671 2,671 Amortization of acquisition-related intangibles 13,241 -- -- 13,241 Compliance-related professional fees -- -- 14,629 14,629 Compliance-related compensation and other expenses 2,066 1,531 1,885 5,482 Impairment charges -- 5 1,270 1,275 Litigation settlements and related costs -- -- 474 474 Restructuring and integration charges -- -- 14,888 14,888 Gain on sale of land -- -- -- -- Other -- -- (55) (55) Expense adjustments 15,307 1,536 35,762 52,605 Expenses after adjustments 535,594 Comverse performance $ 54,022 Interest expense $ -- $ -- $ (754) $ (754) Depreciation and amortization $ (15,957) $ (3,281) $ (6,676) $ (25,914) Other non-cash items (1) $ -- $ -- $ (1,275) $ (1,275) (1) Other non-cash items consist primarily of write-offs and impairments of property and equipment.
Comverse
BSS Comverse
VAS Comverse
Other Total
Comverse (In thousands) Nine Months Ended October 31, 2010: Revenue $ 242,151 $ 341,001 $ 42,223 $ 625,375 Intercompany revenue -- -- 1,644 1,644 Total revenue $ 242,151 $ 341,001 $ 43,867 $ 627,019 Costs and expenses: Cost of revenue $ 133,811 $ 155,085 $ 64,231 $ 353,127 Intercompany purchases -- -- 908 908 Selling, general and administrative 22,055 21,422 162,278 205,755 Research and development, net 49,119 45,196 20,714 115,029 Other operating expenses 287 323 28,166 28,776 Total costs and expenses $ 205,272 $ 222,026 $ 276,297 $ 703,595 Income (loss) from operations $ 36,879 $ 118,975 $ (232,430) $ (76,576) Computation of Comverse performance: Total revenue $ 242,151 $ 341,001 $ 43,867 $ 627,019 Total costs and expenses $ 205,272 $ 222,026 $ 276,297 $ 703,595 Expense adjustments: Stock-based compensation expense -- -- 1,640 1,640 Amortization of acquisition-related intangibles 13,953 -- -- 13,953 Compliance-related professional fees -- -- 63,536 63,536 Compliance-related compensation and other expenses 1,617 326 810 2,753 Impairment charges -- -- -- -- Litigation settlements and related costs -- -- -- -- Restructuring and integration charges -- -- 28,776 28,776 Gain on sale of land -- -- (2,371) (2,371) Other -- -- (1,421) (1,421) Expense adjustments 15,570 326 90,970 106,866 Expenses after adjustments 596,729 Comverse performance $ 30,290 Interest expense $ -- $ -- $ (406) $ (406) Depreciation and amortization $ (17,877) $ (4,348) $ (7,225) $ (29,450) Other non-cash items (1) $ -- $ -- $ (595) $ (595) (1) Other non-cash items consist primarily of write-offs and impairments of property and equipment.
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correct_foundationPlace_00083
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FactBench
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2
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https://nypost.com/2016/08/22/a-decade-on-the-lam-ex-comverse-ceo-to-return-to-us/
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en
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A decade on the lam, ex-Comverse CEO to return to US
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[] |
[
"Business",
"brooklyn federal court",
"sec",
"stocks"
] | null |
[
"Kevin Dugan"
] |
2016-08-22T00:00:00
|
Jacob “Kobi” Alexander, the tech mogul who fled the US in 2006 after being fingered in a stock options scandal — his bank accounts allegedly stuffed with...
|
en
|
New York Post
|
https://nypost.com/2016/08/22/a-decade-on-the-lam-ex-comverse-ceo-to-return-to-us/
|
Jacob “Kobi” Alexander, the tech mogul who fled the US in 2006 after being fingered in a stock options scandal — his bank accounts allegedly stuffed with $138 million in fraudulent income — has decided to come back to face the music.
The 64-year-old former chief executive of New York-based Comverse Technology had been living a life of luxury in Namibia, in southwest Africa — in a ritzy neighborhood near a private airstrip.
The fugitive is expected to appear in Brooklyn federal court as early as Wednesday.
His lawyer, Ben Brafman, told The Post he is hoping Alexander can escape without a prison sentence.
“Judge can do zero to max of 10 years,” Brafman, the superstar lawyer who’s represented such high-profile clients as Michael Jackson and Martin Shkreli, told The Post. “[We’ll] be asking for [the] lowest possible sentence.”
When indicted in 2006, the disgraced tech executive faced 25 years in prison.
The US does not have an extradition treaty with Namibia.
While leading Comverse, a voicemail-software maker, Alexander mastermided a 15-year scheme to backdate stock options to put them in the money, the government alleged in its 35-count indictment.
The indictment also charged Alexander with operating a slush fund.
The Securities and Exchange Commission filed similar civil charges against Alexander — who fled with his wife and three kids before the indictment was unsealed.
By the time the Justice Department issued an arrest warrant, Alexander had gone missing in action in Israel — and even his former lawyer didn’t know where he was, according to a Wall Street Journal article at the time.
In 2010, Alexander paid $54 million to settle the SEC charges.
Meanwhile, Comverse’s general counsel, William F. Sorin, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a year and a day behind bars.
David Kreinberg, the company’s chief financial officer, pleaded guilty and cooperated with the feds in their investigation. He was sentenced to time served after a brief period in custody.
Comverse, which is now defunct, faced its own problems while Alexander was away in Namibia. In 2010, the company lost a class-action lawsuit and was forced to pay $225 million for the backdating scandal.
Alexander’s Namibia home is in a gated community on the grounds of the Windhoek Country Club, according to CNBC, which first reported his return.
While in Namibia, Alexander curried favor with the local authorities by pledging millions of dollars in aid to local schoolchildren.
“Notwithstanding his departure from Namibia, Mr. Alexander and his family will continue their charitable work in Namibia,” Brafman said in a statement to CNBC.
“Specifically, since 2007, the Alexander family has financed and operated soup kitchens in Namibia that have served more than 750,000 nutritious meals to children in Katutura and Kuisebmond,” Brafman continued. “These soup kitchens will continue to operate, employing seven people and feeding 700 children each day.”
|
|||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
2
| 85
|
https://www.solaredge.com/corporate/board-old
|
en
|
SolarEdge
|
[
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] |
[] |
[] |
[
""
] | null |
[] | null |
Guy Sella
|
en
|
/sites/default/files/favicon.ico
|
https://www.solaredge.com/corporate/board-old
|
Guy Sella
Mr. Guy Sella is a co‑founder of SolarEdge and has served as Chairman of the board of directors and Chief Executive Officer since 2006. Prior to founding SolarEdge, Mr. Sella was a partner at Star Ventures, a leading venture capital firm, where he led investments in several startups, including AeroScout, Inc. (acquired by Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.) and Vidyo, Inc. Mr. Sella holds a B.S. in Engineering from the Technion, Israel’s Institute of Technology in Haifa. Mr. Sella brings to our board of directors demonstrated senior leadership skills, expertise from years of experience in electronics industries, and historical knowledge of our Company from the time of its founding.
Avery More
Mr. Avery More has served as a member of our board of directors since 2006. Mr. More was the sole seed investor in the Company through his fund, ORR Partners I, L.P., and has participated in all successive rounds. Mr. More joined Menlo Ventures in 2013 as a venture partner, and focuses on investments in technology companies. Prior to joining Menlo Ventures, Mr. More was the president and chief executive officer of CompuCom Systems Inc. from 1989 to 1993. Mr. More currently serves on the board of directors of Vidyo, Inc., QualiSystems Ltd., Takipi, BuzzStream and Intendu Ltd. Mr. More has specific attributes that qualify him to serve as a member of our board of directors, including his historical knowledge of our company and his experience as a director of other private and public technology companies.
Dan Avida
Mr. Dan Avida has served as a member of our board of directors since 2007. Mr. Avida is a partner at Opus Capital. Before joining Opus Capital in 2005, Mr. Avida served for four years as president and chief executive officer at Decru Inc., a pioneering storage security company that Mr. Avida co‑founded in 2001. Between 1989 and 1999 Mr. Avida was employed by Electronics for Imaging, Inc. (NASDAQ:EFII), where he held a number of positions and ultimately served as chairman and chief executive officer. Prior to Electronics for Imaging, Mr. Avida served as an officer in the Israel Defense Forces. Mr. Avida holds a B.Sc. in Computer Engineering (summa cum laude) from the Technion, the Israel Institute of Technology. Mr. Avida’s historical knowledge of our company and years of experience in working with innovative companies in the United States and Israel provide a valuable perspective to the board of directors.
Doron Inbar
Mr. Doron Inbar has been a venture partner at Carmel Ventures, an Israeli-based venture capital firm that invests primarily in early stage companies in the fields of software, communications, semiconductors, internet, media, and consumer electronics, since 2006. Previously, Mr. Inbar served as the president of ECI Telecom Ltd., a global telecom networking infrastructure provider, from November 1999 to December 2005 and its chief executive officer from February 2000 to December 2005. Mr. Inbar joined ECI Telecom Ltd. in 1983 and during his first eleven years with the company, served in various positions at its wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary, ECI Telecom, Inc., in the U.S., including executive vice president and General Manager. In July 1994, Mr. Inbar returned to Israel to become vice president, corporate budget, control and subsidiaries of ECI Telecom Ltd. In June 1996, Mr. Inbar was appointed senior vice president and chief financial officer of ECI Telecom Ltd., and he became executive vice president of ECI Telecom Ltd. in January 1999. Mr. Inbar has served on the board of directors of Alvarion Ltd. (NASDAQ: ALVR), a company that designs and sells broadband wireless and Wi-Fi products, since September 2009 and is a member of its audit and compensation committees and serves as chairman of its nominating and governance Committee. Mr. Inbar also serves on the board of directors of SolarEdge Technologies Inc., an innovative start up in the photovoltaic industry, as chairman of the board of Archimedes Global Ltd., a company which provides health insurance and health provision in East Europe, and on the board of directors of MaccabiDent Ltd., the largest chain of dental service clinics in Israel. In 2012, Mr. Inbar joined the board of directors of Comverse Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: CNSI), where he is a member of the audit committee and corporate governance committee. Mr. Inbar serves also as a board member and management consultant at Degania Medical Ltd., a medical device designer and manufacturer, and as a board member and management advisor to the board of Tzinorot Ltd. Previously, Mr. Inbar served as chairman of the board of C-nario Ltd., a global provider of digital signage software solutions, chairman of the board of Followap Inc., which was sold to Neustar, Inc. in November 2006, and chairman of the board of Enure Networks Ltd. Mr. Inbar holds a B.A. in Economics and Business Administration from Bar-Ilan University, Israel.
Marcel Gani
Mr. Marcel Gani has served as a member of the board of directors since March 31, 2015. Since 2009, Mr. Gani has served as an independent consultant to various start-up companies, and between November 2009 and June 2010 acted as chief executive officer for New Pax, a private company. From 2005 to 2009, Mr. Gani lectured at Santa Clara University, where he taught classes on accounting and finance. In 1997, Mr. Gani joined Juniper Networks, Inc. where he served as chief financial officer and executive vice president from December 1997 to December 2004, and as chief of staff from January 2005 to March 2006. Prior to joining Juniper, Mr. Gani served as chief financial officer at various companies, including NVIDIA Corporation, Grand Junction Networks, Primary Access Corporation and Next Computers. Mr. Gani served as corporate controller at Cypress Semiconductor from 1991 to 1992. Prior to joining Cypress Semiconductor, Mr. Gani worked at Intel Corporation from 1978 to 1991. Mr. Gani holds a B.A. in Applied Mathematics from Ecole Polytechnique Federal and an M.B.A. from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Mr. Gani currently serves on the board of directors of Envivio Inc., where he is the chairman of the audit committee, and also serves on the board of directors of Inferna, where he is a member of the audit committee and the compensation commiteee. Mr. Gani brings valuable financial and business experience to our board through his years of experience as a chief financial officer with public companies and experience as a director of other public companies.
Tal Payne
Ms. Payne has served as chief financial officer at Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. since 2008. Prior to joining Check Point in 2008, Ms. Payne was chief financial officer at Gilat Satellite Networks, Ltd., where she was responsible for strategic planning, development and leadership of the finance organization and held the role of vice president of finance for over five years. Before joining Gilat, Ms. Payne was employed at PricewaterhouseCoopers, from 1994 to 1999. Ms. Payne holds a B.A. in Economics and Accounting and an Executive M.B.A., both from Tel Aviv University. Ms. Payne is also a certified public accountant. Ms. Payne brings valuable financial and business experience to our board through her years of experience as a chief financial officer with publicly traded companies.
Yoni Cheifetz
Mr. Yoni Cheifetz has served as a member of our board of directors since 2010. Since 2006, Mr. Cheifetz has served as a Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, where he focuses on investment activity in Israel in areas of interest, including the Internet, general media, mobile, communications, software, semiconductors and cleantech. Prior to joining Lightspeed Venture Partners, Mr. Cheifetz was a partner with Star Ventures from 2003 to 2006. Before joining Star Ventures, Mr. Cheifetz worked for several privately held software companies. Mr. Chiefetz holds a B.Sc. in Applied Mathematics from Tel Aviv University and an M.Sc. in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science from the Weizmann Institute of Science. Mr. Cheifetz’s historical knowledge of our company and extensive experience in working with technology companies qualify him to serve as a member of our board of directors.
|
|||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
3
| 26
|
https://www.justice.gov/archive/usao/nye/pr/2006/2006Aug09.html
|
en
|
Eastern District of New York
|
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August 09, 2006
Former CEO, CFO and General Counsel Charged with Fraudulently Reaping Millions in Profits $45 Million Seized in U.S. Accounts
WASHINGTON – Three former executives of Comverse Technology Inc. (“Comverse”), a publicly-held computer software company, were charged today for their roles in orchestrating a long-running scheme to manipulate the grant of millions of Comverse stock options to themselves and to employees, the Department of Justice announced today. Former Chief Executive Officer Jacob “Kobi” Alexander, former Chief Financial Officer David Kreinberg, and former General Counsel William F. Sorin allegedly orchestrated the scheme by fraudulently backdating the options and operating a secret stock options slush fund.
The charges were announced by Deputy Attorney General Paul J. McNulty and Director of the Division of Enforcement Linda Thomsen of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), joined by U.S. Attorney Roslynn R. Mauskopf of the Eastern District of New York and Acting Assistant Director James “Chip” Burrus of the FBI. The charges stem from a coordinated investigation led by the Department of Justice’s Corporate Fraud Task Force.
Alexander, Krienberg and Sorin, all of whom resigned from Comverse on May 1, 2006, in the midst of an internal company investigation relating to options backdating, have been charged by criminal complaint filed in the Eastern District of New York with conspiracy to commit securities fraud, mail fraud and wire fraud. According to the complaint, between 1998 and 2002, the defendants reaped millions of dollars in profits as a result of their scheme and issued false and misleading financial statements to the company’s shareholders and the investing public regarding the true value of the options grants.
“The Justice Department is determined to see that our markets operate fairly and honestly,” said Deputy Attorney General McNulty. “Investors take risks and do their best to see into the future when picking companies in which to invest. We cannot allow corporate leaders to operate under different rules, using 20-20 hindsight to line their own pockets. We will continue to pursue misconduct in any boardroom where we find it.”
In two related actions, the government seized over $45 million from two investment accounts held in the United States in Alexander’s name based on his alleged participation in a stock options fraud and a money laundering scheme involving the secret transfer of more than $57 million to accounts in Israel in an effort to conceal the funds from U.S. authorities. In addition, the SEC commenced a civil fraud and injunctive case against all three defendants for their roles in causing Comverse to publicly file false annual and quarterly financial reports and proxy statements from 1991 through 2005.
Initial appearances for Kreinberg and Sorin are scheduled for this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Viktor Pohorelsky in Brooklyn, N.Y. An arrest warrant has been issued for Alexander.
“As alleged in the complaint, the defendants abused their positions in order to enrich themselves and favored employees at the expense of the investing public,” stated U.S. Attorney Mauskopf. “By backdating these options, the defendants, in effect, gave themselves and others an opportunity to place a bet in the middle of a race -- a bet that paid off handsomely.”
“The alleged scheme of these defendants in back-dating options victimized both Comverse shareholders and the American people,” said Assistant Director Burrus of the FBI. “Their alleged fraud affected the company’s bottom line by deliberately misstating earnings, a material misrepresentation to shareholders.”
As alleged in the complaint, from 1998 through 2001, Comverse adopted stock option plans designed to provide additional compensation for executives, including the defendants, and other employees. In the company’s proxy statements and other public filings, the defendants represented that the options would be priced at “fair market value” on the date the options were granted. According to the public filings, the pricing of the stock options under the plans would serve shareholder interests because executives and employees who received the options would continue to work diligently to promote the success of the company and thereby contribute to a rise in the stock price.
However, as alleged in the complaint, Alexander, Kreinberg and Sorin fraudulently backdated the options awarded under each of these stock option plans to days when the stock was trading at periodic low points. As a result, the options were granted below fair market value, that is, below the trading price on the date the options were actually granted. For example, in 1999 the defendants set the option price $35 a share below the fair market value on the day the options were actually granted. Alexander allegedly took for himself more than 300,000 of those backdated options, for a paper profit of over $11 million.
The grant of options below fair market value carries significant disclosure, accounting and tax consequences. For example, the value of such options must be recorded as a compensation expense against the company’s revenue and therefore, can significantly reduce the company’s reported earnings. In addition, the grant of such options must be disclosed to the shareholders because these options: (1) erode the incentives of executives and employees to work for the future of the company because such options are at least in part a bonus for past service; (2) impose a cost on the company because the company is committed to selling its stock at a discounted price; and (3) reduce the earnings of the company.
As alleged in the complaint, the defendants fraudulently circumvented these accounting and disclosure rules by secretly backdating the grant documents and by issuing false proxy statements and periodic public filings misrepresenting that Comverse’s stock options were granted at fair market value.
In addition to the backdating scheme, the complaint also alleges that Alexander and Kreinberg generated hundreds of thousands of backdated options, which they parked in a secret slush fund to be used at Alexander’s sole discretion to benefit favored employees. To create the slush fund, Alexander and Kreinberg inserted dozens of fictitious names into the list of option recipients submitted to the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors. Once the Committee approved these options, Alexander and Kreinberg deposited the options in an account aptly named “Phantom” (later re-named “Fargo”).
According to the complaint, on two occasions in 2000, Alexander transferred a total of approximately 88,000 options from the slush fund to another top executive. Although the options had a four-year vesting period, on each occasion, Alexander made the options immediately exercisable. The executive exercised the options the day after receiving them, when the stock was trading at nearly double the strike price, and sold the stock at a profit of $4 million.
The defendants’ alleged scheme came to light in early March 2006, when a reporter from the Wall Street Journal called Comverse and inquired about the unusual pattern in the timing of the company’s stock option grants. In response, the defendants attempted to cover up their scheme by authorizing false statements to be made to the reporter, and by lying to an in-house lawyer for Comverse and to the company’s outside auditor. Additionally, Kreinberg logged onto Comverse’s computer and attempted to alter a database to hide the slush fund’s existence.
The charges in the complaint are merely allegations, and the defendants are innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ilene Jaroslaw, Linda Lacewell, Sean Casey and Kathleen Nandan. The investigation was led by the FBI New York Field Office.
|
||||||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
1
| 87
|
https://www.hwainternational.com/leadership
|
en
|
Leadership
|
[
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[] | null |
Meet our senior management team.
| null |
Mr. Javier Jimenez serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of HWA International. Prior to joining HWA, Mr. Jimenez was President of HolistiCyber Inc., where he was responsible for Sales, Marketing, and Operations in the Americas. Prior to HolistiCyber, Javier was President and CEO of Magic Software Enterprises Ltd., a publicly traded provider of enterprise-grade application development and business process integration software solutions focusing on Fortune 1000 customers. Previously he served as Chief Revenue Officer and Board member at Intraway Corporation, Senior Vice President for PeerApp (acquired by ESW Capital), officer and Vice President and General Manager Americas of Blue Phoenix Solutions. Â Mr. Jimenez also worked for Comverse Technology where he held a variety of management positions in Systems Engineering, Program Management, Channel Management and Vice President and General Manager of International Markets.
Javier Jimenez holds a BSc in electrical engineering from College of the Air Force, and MBA through University of Cumbria, and has also completed executive level courses at Harvard and MIT. He is currently pursuing his PhD in Business Management and Strategy.
Donna Manley serves as HWA Internationalâs Vice President and Chief Software Architect for the TNET Backoffice product line where she is responsible for the product strategy, roadmap, R&D, and client support. Donna has over 40 years of experience in the trust accounting industry and has managed hundreds of custom development projects for our clients in the financial sector.
Donna holds a BA in Computer Science from Southern Adventist University. She is highly respected in the industry for her trust accounting and regulatory knowledge. In her spare time Donna is treasurer of an investment club in the Memphis area and also enjoys creating pottery as a hobby.
Eric Dunn serves as Vice President of Sales and Marketing. He brings more than 20 years of financial sales, marketing, and management experience, having worked both the buy and sell side of debt, equity and real estate markets. Prior to joining HWA, Eric served as a senior asset manager for Blackstar Capital Partners, a private equity company, managing a portfolio of distressed commercial real-estate debt with successful turnaround, exit and return for private investors. Previously, Eric worked for Consulting Services Group, LLC as an analyst and consultant advising institutional, public, and private clients on asset allocation, manager selection and performance as reported by fund managers, hedge funds, private equity, and real estate funds. Eric also worked for Coastal securities, Inc. in Houston, TX as an institutional broker buying and selling SBA and USDA government guaranteed loans, mortgage backed securities and US treasuries to depository institutions and other public and private institutional investors.
When Eric isnât adding value heâs spending time with family, friends, traveling, waterfall hiking, golfing, duck hunting or working in the yard. Eric holds his BA in finance from the University of Memphis and his Master of Science in finance from the Fogelman College of Business.
Jerry Flynt serves as Vice President of the TRUSTprocessor Division. Jerry has a long history of accomplishments in the technology industry. Heâs assisted with design, development, and management of software applications used worldwide and successfully founded and exited three successful ventures across a professional career spanning more than 35 years.
Jerry is actively involved in non-profit organizations and his local church, serving a wide range of roles including deacon officer, bible study teacher, and member of numerous committees. Jerry holds an Associate degree from Jones Community College in Mississippi.
Ivette Scott serves as the Senior Director of TNET Support, bringing over a decade of dedicated experience with TNET Backoffice. Throughout her tenure, Ivette has played a pivotal role, including leading operations at a client office. Her multifaceted expertise encompasses directing and supporting the TNET team, as well as contributing significantly to the design and development of the software.
Ivette holds a B.A. in Psychology from University of St. Thomas and an MBA from the University of Houston. She boasts numerous industry certifications, serves as HWAâs architect for PCR and Tax Forms and is deeply involved in product strategy, roadmap development, and R&D. Beyond her professional achievements, Ivette is passionately engaged in the community, serving on boards and committees of various non-profit organizations.
|
|||||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
3
| 71
|
https://www.janushenderson.com/en-cn/investor/bio/haifeng-liu/
|
en
|
Haifeng Liu
|
[
"https://cdn.janushenderson.com/gwp/theme/jh-logo-slate.svg"
] |
[] |
[] |
[
""
] | null |
[] |
2019-03-13T20:52:26+00:00
|
Haifeng Liu is a Quant at Janus Henderson Investors responsible for developing Quantum Global, the firm’s proprietary fixed income research and risk management system.
|
en
|
Asia China PI (EN)
|
https://www.janushenderson.com/en-cn/investor/bio/haifeng-liu/
|
Important information
Please note that your use of this site is governed by the Legal Information on the site. By proceeding to access this site, you are deemed to have accepted those terms. The information and documents contained herein or products listed on this website has not been, and will not be, submitted to, reviewed by, approved by, verified by, registered or filed with any regulatory bodies in the People’s Republic of China (the “PRC”) (which, for the purpose of this definition, does not include Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Macau Special Administrative Region or Taiwan) and thus may not be used in connection with any offer for the subscription or sale of the products listed on this website in the PRC. The use of the content shall be limited to the extent permitted by applicable laws, regulations and relevant requirements. We may record telephone calls made to our office for our mutual protection and to improve customer service.
The information and documents provided on this website is for the use of the financial institutions in the PRC which are qualified and have been approved to purchase the products of Janus Henderson Investors under the legal regime of the Qualified Domestic Institutional Investors of the PRC (“Approved QDII”). No other PRC entities or individuals may use any information or document on this website, and they must consult with Approved QDIIs or their investment advisors before making any investment decision. Janus Henderson Investors neither intends anyone who is not an Approved QDII to use this website nor directs anyone to promote this website to any PRC investor. PRC users who view this website are out of their own initiatives and must be responsible for observing all PRC applicable laws and regulations and obtaining all required approvals and permits before accessing the information and documents contained herein and in using the same.
The products contained on this website are not intended to be offered or sold directly or indirectly within the PRC whether publicly or non-publicly. The information and documents contained or incorporated by reference herein relating to the products listed on this website do not constitute an offer or sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the products in the PRC whether publicly or non-publicly.
Janus Henderson Investors is not licensed, authorised or registered with the China Securities Regulatory Commission for investment management or investment consultancy business or otherwise approved by any PRC regulatory authorities to provide investment management or investment consultancy services in the PRC. Janus Henderson Investors makes no representation and warranties that it is, and will be, in compliance with PRC laws. Nothing in the information contained herein shall be deemed or construed as providing investment management or investment consultancy services by Janus Henderson Investors in the PRC, nor shall it be will viewed as investment advice in relation to PRC capital markets, securities and mutual funds, which may require Janus Henderson Investors to obtain or be subject to any approval, licensing, filing, registration, or other qualification requirements of the relevant PRC regulatory bodies. Approved QDII who invests in any Janus Henderson Investors product is solely responsible for observing all PRC applicable laws and regulations and obtaining all required governmental approvals, permits, verifications, licences, and registrations (if any) from all competent governmental authorities before making the investment.
The website is created by Janus Henderson Investors for information, illustration or discussion purposes only. It does not constitute an advertisement and should not constitute or form part of any offer or solicitation to issue, sell, subscribe or purchase any investment in any jurisdiction and do not purport to represent or warrant the outcome of any investment strategy, program or product. The information contained herein is obtained and / or compiled from sources believed to be reliable and current and Janus Henderson Investors do not warrant, guarantee or represent, either expressly or impliedly, the accuracy, validity or completeness of such information. Janus Henderson Investors or any of directors or employees of Janus Henderson Investors shall not be liable for any damages arising from any person's reliance on this information and shall not be liable for any errors or omissions (including but not limited to errors or omissions made by third party sources) in this information.
Anything non-factual in nature is an opinion of the author(s), and opinions are meant as an illustration of broader themes, are not an indication of trading intent, and are subject to change at any time due to changes in market or economic conditions. It is not intended to indicate or imply that any illustration/example mentioned is now or was ever held in any portfolio. No forecasts can be guaranteed and there is no guarantee that the information supplied is complete or timely, nor are there any warranties with regard to the results obtained from its use.
Janus Henderson Investors is not responsible for any unlawful distribution of this document to any third parties, in whole or in part, or for information reconstructed from this document and do not make any warranties with regards to the results obtained from its use. It is not intended to indicate or imply that current or past results are indicative of future profitability or expectations. In preparing this document, Janus Henderson Investors has reasonable belief to rely upon the accuracy and completeness of all information available from public sources. Unless otherwise indicated, the source for all data is Janus Henderson Investors.
|
|||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
1
| 91
|
https://dcra.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dcra/publication/attachments/2015%2520List%2520of%2520Businesses%2520with%2520Report%2520Due.pdf
|
en
|
The District's Newest Agencies
|
http://static1.squarespace.com/static/62752c47e55785648f4596c9/t/62aa21c8dec9f833231c0834/1655316936473/DCRA+-+Transition+Site+Graphics+1.5.2.png?format=1500w
|
http://static1.squarespace.com/static/62752c47e55785648f4596c9/t/62aa21c8dec9f833231c0834/1655316936473/DCRA+-+Transition+Site+Graphics+1.5.2.png?format=1500w
|
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[] |
[] |
[
""
] | null |
[] | null |
en
|
https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62752c47e55785648f4596c9/f50e3e04-9fdc-4ab2-86c3-edaa32879657/favicon.ico?format=100w
|
The District's Newest Agencies
|
https://dcratransition.dc.gov
|
THE TRANSITION
Passed by the Council of the District of Columbia, The Department of Buildings Establishment Act of 2020 became law on October 1, 2021, and started the process of establishing two new agencies, which began service to the District at midnight on October 1, 2022.
These new agencies, the Department of Buildings (DOB) and the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP), will serve residents, businesses, and visitors of the District of Columbia, taking on responsibilities previously under the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs’ (DCRA) purview. This transition will allow each agency to enhance their consumers’ experiences through promoting their health, safety, and quality of life.
Within their respective areas of responsibility, DOB and DLCP will deliver effective compliance, meaningful regulation, and timely maintenance, putting consumer protection at the forefront of their improved operations.
What does this mean for the consumer?
Building on the progress DCRA has made over the past three years, the transition to two agencies will allow each to better serve their respective customers by having a narrower focus and clear organizational structures. With a continued emphasis on providing good customer service, and improved access through innovative digital services, the anticipated positive impact of this transition will be clear through measured, published key performance indicators.
As with all District government agencies, each agency will operate independently with its own leadership. Efficiencies such as a single sign-on program that allows access to multiple platforms with one set of credentials and enhanced customer relationship management systems will remain, each powered by Kustomer with a “K.” It is through Kustomer that customer inquiries will be efficiently received by each agency after the transition.
WE’RE HIRING
We are currently seeking talented professionals who possess a relevant skill set and a strong desire to serve the residents and businesses of the District, to increase our ability to better serve our customers as we expand into the newly established Department of Buildings and Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection.
To join District government at this exciting time, please view the positions associated with DCRA and apply now.
If you have an interest and are potentially qualified, view the current positions and apply at the link below.
|
|||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
3
| 30
|
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cadian-capital-management-announces-its-support-for-the-spin-off-of-comverse-inc-173374101.html
|
en
|
Cadian Capital Management Announces Its Support for the Spin-off of Comverse, Inc.
|
[
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] |
[] |
[] |
[
"Cadian Capital Management",
"LLC"
] | null |
[
"Cadian Capital Management"
] |
2012-10-09T05:46:00-04:00
|
/PRNewswire/ -- Cadian Capital Management, LLC (together with its affiliates, "Cadian Capital"), today announced that it intends to vote in favor of the...
|
en
|
/content/dam/prnewswire/icons/2019-Q4-PRN-Icon-32-32.png
|
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cadian-capital-management-announces-its-support-for-the-spin-off-of-comverse-inc-173374101.html
|
NEW YORK, Oct. 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Cadian Capital Management, LLC (together with its affiliates, "Cadian Capital"), today announced that it intends to vote in favor of the spin-off of Comverse, Inc. ("CNS") from Comverse Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: CMVT) ("CTI") at the upcoming special meeting of shareholders scheduled for October 10, 2012. Cadian Capital believes the terms of the spin-off are fair and reasonable to and in the best interests of CTI's shareholders.
In May 2012, Cadian Capital entered into an agreement with CTI regarding the composition of the Boards of Directors of CTI, its majority-owned subsidiary Verint Systems, Inc., and CNS and agreed to vote in favor of the planned spin-off of CNS to CTI's shareholders, provided the terms of the spin-off were fair and reasonable to and in the best interests of CTI's shareholders.
Cadian Capital is an equity long/short hedge fund manager with a focus on the technology sector.
Contact:
Eric Bannasch / Justin Griffith
Cadian Capital Management, LLC
(212) 792-8800
SOURCE Cadian Capital Management, LLC
|
|||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
2
| 1
|
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xura
|
en
|
Wikipedia
|
https://en.wikipedia.org/static/favicon/wikipedia.ico
|
https://en.wikipedia.org/static/favicon/wikipedia.ico
|
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[] |
[] |
[
""
] | null |
[
"Contributors to Wikimedia projects"
] |
2017-07-29T23:47:20+00:00
|
en
|
/static/apple-touch/wikipedia.png
|
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xura
|
Xura, Inc. (NASDAQ: MESG), previously known as Comverse, Inc., was a technology company headquartered in Wakefield, Massachusetts, United States, in existence from 2013 to 2017, that offered a portfolio of digital services which enabled global communications across a variety of mobile devices and platforms. Xura marketed and sold to communications service providers (CSPs) and to enterprises.
History[edit]
Subsidiary of Comverse Technology[edit]
Main article: Comverse Technology
For many years, Comverse, also known as Comverse Network Systems, was part of the more widely known Comverse Technology, which had several wholly or partly owned subsidiaries. The name "Comverse" is a portmanteau of the words "communication" and "versatility". As a U.S. subsidiary, Comverse was incorporated on November 19, 1997,[1] as part of the larger Comverse Technology.
In August 2012, a series of transactions were announced that would end Comverse Technology as a functioning entity, by making Comverse Network Systems an independent company once again known simply as Comverse, allowing Verint Systems (the former Comverse Infosys) to buy back Comverse Technology's majority stake in it, and selling off other subsidiaries.[2][3] Philippe Tartavull was named as the CEO of the independent Comverse.
These transactions were completed by February 4, 2013, and represented the effective liquidation of the Comverse Technology holding entity[3][4] and the emergence of Comverse, Inc. as a fully independent company.
Comverse, Inc.[edit]
Results for fiscal year 2011, which took place as the spin-off of Comverse from Comverse Technology was happening, demonstrated a return to profitability, with a net income of $5.1 million.[5]
In March 2015 Comverse had 3,000 employees, of whom 750 were located in Israel. Company headquarters were located in Wakefield, Massachusetts in the United States.
The company focuses on providing Business Support Systems (BSS), data policy (PCEF, PCRF), traditional and IP-based value-added services to telecommunication and other service providers, complemented by professional and managed services. Comverse's products and solutions included Traditional VAS (TVAS) - Digital Services from the Cloud (mVas), Unified Communications - Cloud Business VoIP & UC, and the Evolved Communication Suite.
During June 2015 Comverse divested its BSS business to Amdocs. In August 2015 Comverse announced it had completed the previously-announced acquisition[6] of Acision, a privately held firm that specialized in secure mobile messaging and engagement services.
Xura[edit]
Following Comverse Inc.'s acquisition of Acision on 6 August 2015, a company name change was made.[7] Xura, Inc. was launched on 9 September 2015, as the new brand of the combined entity.[8][9][10][7] The name 'Xura' was adapted from the word 'Aura'.[9][10] Xura would also be renaming all Comverse and Acision subsidiaries.
Philippe Tartavull continued as President and CEO of Xura. The company's core products focus was in Digital Communications Services and Converged Communications (traditional and IP). The Xura stock symbol was MESG and it was listed on the NASDAQ exchange.
The goal of Xura was to assist customers to navigate and monetize the digital ecosystem through cloud-based offerings. Its solutions found use in over 350 service providers and enterprises across over 100 countries.
On May 23, 2016, Xura announced an agreement to be acquired by affiliates of Siris Capital Group for $25.00 per share in an all-cash deal valued at approximately $643 million.[11] This transaction was closed on August 19, 2016, when the acquisition completed taking Xura, Inc. from public to privately backed by affiliates of Siris Capital Group, LLC.
The transaction saw Hubert de Pesquidoux, a Siris Capital Executive Partner, take the role as Xura’s new Executive Chairman.
Merger to Mavenir[edit]
On December 19, 2016, affiliates of Xura entered into agreements to acquire Mitel Mobility, a division of Mitel Networks Corporation for $385 million, and Ranzure Networks, Inc., an early-stage venture focused on developing 5G cloud-based radio access network technology, for an undisclosed sum.[12][13] On February 8, 2017, this deal completed, and Xura was subsumed into a new entity known as Mavenir.[14]
Products and services[edit]
Xura's products and solutions belonged to three categories:
Digital Communications:
Xura Communications Suite.
Messaging Infrastructure
Call Completion
Network Signaling Security
Messaging Security
Monetization
Low Credit Services
Advanced Value Added Services
Enterprise
White-label Communications Application (fuseMe)
Secure Communications
Rich Web and Mobile Application Development Framework (forge)[15]
Industry recognition[edit]
During the years of its existence, Xura (and Comverse, Inc.) won a number of awards within its industry, including:
2015 – Comverse Receives 2015 WebRTC Product of the Year Award [16]
2014 – Pipeline's COMET (Communication and Entertainment) Innovation Award to Comverse Evolved Communication Suite (ECS)[17]
2014 – TMC's Communications Solutions Product of the Year Award: Comverse ONE BSS [18]
2014 – TMC's Communications Solutions Product of the Year Award: Comverse Evolved Communication Suite (ECS)[18]
2012, 2013, 2014 – Gartner’s Leaders Quadrant: Comverse ONE BSS[19]
2012, 2013 – International Business Awards (Stevie): Best New Product or Service of the Year Awards (DMM Policy Studio, Analytics)[20]
2012 – Broadband Traffic Management (BBTM) Congress’s Best Integration of Traffic Management into OSS/BSS Architectures & Best Real-Time Charging Platforms for Customers [21]
2012 – Frost & Sullivan Stratecast’s Billing Global Product Line Strategy Award [22]
References[edit]
[edit]
|
||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
3
| 47
|
https://www.janushenderson.com/en-gb/adviser/bio/haifeng-liu/
|
en
|
Haifeng Liu
|
[
"https://cdn.janushenderson.com/gwp/theme/jh-logo-slate.svg"
] |
[] |
[] |
[
""
] | null |
[] |
2019-03-13T20:52:26+00:00
|
Haifeng Liu is a Quant at Janus Henderson Investors responsible for developing Quantum Global, the firm’s proprietary fixed income research and risk management system.
|
en
|
UK financial professionals
|
https://www.janushenderson.com/en-gb/adviser/bio/haifeng-liu/
|
Haifeng Liu is a Quant at Janus Henderson Investors responsible for developing Quantum Global, the firm’s proprietary fixed income research and risk management system. Haifeng joined Janus in 2011 as a senior quantitative developer. Before that, he was a lead developer at PaySimple building web and mobile payment applications and a senior developer at Comverse, Inc, a billing solutions provider for the telecom industry.
Haifeng received his bachelor of science degree in computer science from Colorado School of Mines. He has 13 years of financial industry experience.
You are now leaving our site and entering a website not operated by or affiliated with Janus Henderson Investors. While we aim to point you to useful external websites, we cannot be responsible for their content, opinions, advice or accuracy, even if you utilise the services on the linked site to invest in our products.
The protection of your personal information on other websites is not governed by Janus Henderson Investors privacy policy and Janus Henderson Investors cannot be responsible for the privacy policies utilised on such third party sites, nor for the implementation of such policies by those third parties.
You should review the Terms and Conditions of third party websites and contact the operators of such sites if you have any queries.
You are now leaving Janus Henderson's website and will be redirected to the website of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). Money market funds are required to provide the SEC with a monthly electronic filing of more detailed portfolio holdings information on Form N-MFP.
Janus Henderson is not responsible for the content, accuracy or timeliness and does not make any warranties, express or implied, with regard to the information obtained from other websites. This link should not be construed as either a recommendation or offer to by or sell any securities.
|
|||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
3
| 51
|
https://www.zippia.com/verint-systems-careers-12370/history/
|
en
|
Verint History: Founding, Timeline, and Milestones
|
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[] |
[] |
[
""
] | null |
[] |
2020-08-27T00:00:00-08:00
|
A complete timeline of Verint's History from founding to present including key milestones and major events.
|
en
|
/ui-router/images/favicon.ico
|
https://www.zippia.com/verint-systems-careers-12370/history/
|
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Verint, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Verint. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Verint. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by Verint. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Verint and its employees or that of Zippia.
Verint may also be known as or be related to VERINT SYSTEMS INC, Verint, Verint Systems, Verint Systems Inc and Verint Systems Inc.
|
|||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
2
| 66
|
http://pipelinepub.com/1209/advertisers_page.html
|
en
|
Pipeline Publishing, Volume 6, Issue 7
|
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Nakina Systems provides Domain Control and Intelligence solutions to communications equipment and service providers worldwide. Our solutions enable service providers to scale new network service infrastructure more rapidly and cost-effectively.
What makes Nakina different? We combine:
Proven scalability to 10,000s of nodes;
Deep function-by-function control for elements of any complexity;
Built-in configurability and tier one operations processes.
That’s why Nakina solutions are deployed in daily use to manage critical telecom network infrastructure in over twenty four countries around the world.
Domain Control and Intelligence bridges the gap between "proven in the lab" and "ready for national and global rollout." Our ultimate objective is to enable service providers to roll out complex new infrastructure – Ethernet, IMS, optical, and wireless – without operational obstacles and expensive manual processes that slow deployment.
IMS, VoIP, Ethernet and all their friends.
Bring it on!
Nothing stops Nakina.
Tekelec, a global leader in core multimedia session control, mobile messaging and network intelligence, ensures scalable, secure and highly available communications. The company's market-leading signaling solutions enable the interworking of different network applications, technologies and protocols, providing a smooth transition to next-generation networks. Tekelec has more than 20 offices around the world serving customers in more than 100 countries, with corporate headquarters located near Research Triangle Park in Morrisville, N.C., U.S.A. For more information, please visit www.tekelec.com.
Tekelec's heritage in signaling combined with its pioneering expertise in SIP has yielded an innovative approach to next-generation network evolution. Tekelec is the first and only company to help operators add SIP signaling to next-generation networks. SIP can deliver the promise of IP networks to the next-generation networks operators are deploying today.
Our customers associate us with innovation, and for good reason. We were first with a purpose-built STP, first with signaling over IP, first with integrated number portability, and first with probeless monitoring. We implemented TALI (signaling over IP) in 1999, which later evolved to SIGTRAN for Orange, UK. For more than 30 years, Tekelec has consistently anticipated the evolution of the telecom market and developed the technology to deal with changing network complexities, enabling our customers to deliver their own innovative products and services.
Comverse is the world's leading provider of software and systems enabling value-added services for voice, messaging, mobile Internet and mobile advertising; converged billing and active customer management; and IP communications. Comverse's extensive customer base spans more than 130 countries and covers over 500 communication service providers serving more than two billion subscribers. The company's innovative product portfolio enables communication service providers to unleash the value of the network for their customers by making their networks smarter. Comverse's solutions support flexible deployment models, including in-network, hosted and managed services, and can run on circuit-switched, IP, IMS or converged network environments. Comverse is a subsidiary of Comverse Technology, Inc. (CMVT.PK). For more information, visit www.comverse.com.
Ontology Systems is unifying OSS/BSS data with unprecedented speed and accuracy, at a fraction of the industry's cost expectation. Ontology’s OSS/CAD application is an agile, low cost solution to manage customers, services and network infrastructure by aligning OSS/BSS systems “dirty” data in a non disruptive way, and without the need to run a huge transformation program. OSS/CAD achieves this by offering a radically new approach which uses semantics to align existing OSS/BSS systems by the bottom up unification of their data.
Based in London, Ontology was founded in 2006 by Benedict Enweani and Leo Zancani. They were responsible for leading the Orchestream technology division to being acquired by Oracle, via its Metasolv acquisition. Between them, they have grown the Ontology team to include industry-leading experts from the communications and IT sector, as well as respected professionals from the field of formal semantics.
Openet is a leading worldwide provider of event-processing and transaction-management solutions. We remain focused on delivering best-in-class network-edge solutions and specialized engagement processes that create business value from network activity.
Through its open architecture and modular design, the award-winning FusionWorks™ FrameWork serves as the scalable foundation for a range of Openet products; Convergent Mediation, Convergent Charging, Network Edge Rating, Balance Manager, and Policy Manger.
A global company, Openet implementations include long-running engagements with the world's leading service providers such as BT, Orange, AT&T, Verizon Wireless, and Telstra.
LTC International provides leading companies in the telecommunications and IT sectors with a unique level of service based on true subject matter expertise. Our Business Operations Architects® each have at least ten years of hands-on experience in service provider and IT intensive companies. Our consulting team has experience in all areas of business profit optimization, wireless and wireline communications, Internet services, as well as software and hardware planning, implementation and operations.
LTC has incorporated more than 1,000 years of first hand operating company and software application experience into our Business Management Toolkit. This comprehensive set of tools, guidelines, checklists, templates and training programs is designed to remove uncertainty and accelerate success for our clients.
NEW PARADIGM RESOURCES GROUP, Inc. (NPRG) is the nation's leading strategic consulting and research firm for innovators within the communications industry. NPRG provides business strategy and technology advice to our clients. To accomplish this, we identify, analyze and forecast emerging technologies and trends, support mission critical decision-making processes for service providers, technology developers and financial institutions, and deliver proven business strategies, product plans and market forecasts, enabling clients to succeed within evolving market conditions.
NPRG has long published an extensive array of industry analysis reports to keep up with the ongoing competitive, technological and product evolution. To present our data and analyses on a continuous basis, NPRG has moved to a completely online, dynamic set of Continuous Information & Advisory ServicesSM presenting all the sectors we cover, including the CLECs, in the dynamic delivery format.
|
||||||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
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FactBench
|
3
| 8
|
https://www.osc.ca/en/securities-law/orders-rulings-decisions/comverse-technology-inc
|
en
|
Comverse Technology, Inc.
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[] |
2011-11-15T12:00:00+00:00
|
Headnote National Policy 11-203 Process for Relief in Multiple Jurisdictions -- relief granted under subsection 74(1) of the Securities Act (Ontario) from the prospectus and registration requirements of the Act in connection with the distribution of securities by an issuer in settlement of outstanding litigation against that issuer -- relief also granted from the resale restrictions relating to the resale of such securities, subject to certain conditions. Applicable Legislative Provisions Securities Act (Ontario), R.S.O. 1990, c. S.5, as am., s. 74(1).
|
en
|
/themes/custom/osc_glider/196x196.jpg
|
OSC
|
https://www.osc.ca/en/securities-law/orders-rulings-decisions/comverse-technology-inc
|
1. The Filer is a New York corporation, which maintains its principal executive office at 810 Seventh Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10019.
2. The Filer is a registrant under the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act).
3. The Common Stock of the Filer is listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market (the Exchange) under the symbol CMVT. As at October 28, 2011, there were 206,038,130 shares of Common Stock issued and outstanding.
4. The Filer is not in default of securities legislation in any jurisdiction.
5. The Filer is not a reporting issuer in any Canadian jurisdiction. Its Common Stock is not listed or quoted in any Canadian market.
6. On April 16, 2006, the first of five individual class actions was filed against the Filer and certain of its former officers and directors (the Defendants) alleging violations of Section 10(b) and 20(a) of the Exchange Act. These actions included: Caifa v. Comverse Technology, Inc., 06-CV-1825 (E.D.N.Y.); Gorman v. Comverse Technology, Inc., 06-CV-2738 (E.D.N.Y.); Nadel v. Comverse Technology, Inc., 06-cv-3190-RPP (S.D.N.Y.); Thomas v. Comverse Technology, Inc., 06-cv-3445- RPP (S.D.N.Y.); and Moore v. Comverse Technology, Inc., 06-cv-04418-RPP (S.D.N.Y.).
7. By Order dated August 24, 2006, the cases pending in the Southern District of New York were transferred to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (the Court), and were consolidated into a single action captioned In re Comverse Technology, Inc. Securities Litigation, 06-1825 (NGG) (RER).
8. On March 2, 2007, the Court appointed Menorah Insurance Co. Ltd. and Mivtachim Pension Funds, Ltd. as lead plaintiff (Lead Plaintiff) in the consolidated class action, and Pomerantz Haudek Grossman & Gross LLP as lead counsel (Lead Counsel).
9. A "Consolidated Amended Complaint" (the Comverse Action) was filed on March 23, 2007, alleging violations of the federal securities laws. With respect to these claims, Lead Plaintiff asserted that the Defendants issued false and misleading statements in violation of Sections 10(b), 14(a), and 20(a) of the Exchange Act.
10. The named defendants were the Filer, certain of its former senior officers and directors and members of the Filer's Audit Committee and Stock Option and Remuneration Committee.
11. A "Stipulation of Settlement" settling the Comverse Action was entered into by the Filer, Lead Plaintiff and the individual Defendants on December 16, 2009 (as amended, the Settlement). The Settlement was amended by the parties on June 19, 2010.
12. On June 23, 2010, the Court approved the Settlement requiring, among other things, the Defendants to make a series of payments totalling US$225,000,000 (Settlement Amount) to the "Settlement Fund", of which US$165,000,000 was to be paid by the Filer. Attorney fees and expenses, notification costs, a compensatory award to the Lead Plaintiff, and claims administration costs will be paid out of the Settlement Amount. The Settlement Amount minus these fees, costs, expenses, and awards shall be distributed to the Class (as defined below). After giving effect to prior payments and before making certain adjustments provided for in the Settlement, the final amount payable by the Filer on or before November 15, 2011 is up to US$92,500,000.
13. The Court certified, for the purposes of the Settlement only, a class of all purchasers of the Common Stock (the Class) during the period from April 30, 2001 through January 29, 2008 (the Class Period), both dates inclusive, subject to certain exclusions.
14. In agreeing to settle the Comverse Action, the Defendants have denied and continue to deny, inter alia, that the Lead Plaintiff and the Class have suffered all damages alleged in the Comverse Action; that the price of the Filer's securities was artificially inflated by reason of the alleged misrepresentations, omissions, or otherwise; and that the alleged harm suffered by the Lead Plaintiff and the Class, if any, were causally linked to the alleged misrepresentations or omissions in the Comverse Action. Nonetheless, the Defendants concluded that further litigation of the Comverse Action would be protracted, burdensome, and expensive, and that it is desirable to secure releases and that the action be fully and finally settled and terminated.
15. Each member of the Class received from Lead Counsel a notice in April 2010 which, among other things, informed the Class that each member of the Class had the right to request that they be excluded from the Class so as not to be bound by the outcome of the Comverse Action and so as to preserve their right to take action against the Defendant independently of the Comverse Action. On June 23, 2010, the Settlement was approved and in order to receive payment from the Settlement Amount, a Class member had to submit a proof of claim form in order to be entitled to their share of the Settlement Amount.
16. There were approximately 12,000 individual claimants from 30 different countries, including approximately 2,646 individual claimants outside of the United States, that comprise the class of Authorized Claimants. Among the Authorized Claimants, only 22 Canadian Claimants provided an address located in the Jurisdictions and are entitled to receive Settlement Shares totalling approximately 13,000 shares.
<<Province>>
<<# of Authorized Claimants by Jurisdiction>>
<<Settlement Shares>>
Ontario
14
7,264
British Columbia
1
12
Québec
6
5,716
Manitoba
1
12
Total:
22
13,004
17. The Settlement provided that US$82,500,000 of the Settlement Amount could be paid in Common Stock rather than in cash, at the election of the Filer, so long as the Common Stock is listed on a US national securities exchange at the time of such election and the Filer followed the Court approved notice procedure and the procedure for determining the number of shares of Common Stock to be issued. The Filer availed itself of this election with respect to the final payment due November 15, 2011 and delivered the requisite notice to the Class pursuant to the process outlined in the Settlement on October 21, 2011. In total, 12,462,236 shares of Common Stock will be issued to Authorized Claimants in approximately 30 different countries, including Canada, at the election of the Filer, in satisfaction of the Settlement Amount, representing approximately 6% of the current outstanding Common Stock of such shares, approximately 0.10% will be issued to Canadian Claimants, which represents approximately 0.006% of the Filer's current outstanding Common Stock. The plan of allocation, which was formulated and administered by Lead Counsel and approved by the Court on June 23, 2010 as part of the Settlement, provides that, to the extent the Filer elects to pay any portion of the Settlement Amount in Settlement Shares, such shares will be allocated on a pro rata basis to each Class member that submitted a proof of claim by the applicable date (each an Authorized Claimant) as calculated by the administrator of the Settlement pursuant to the provisions of the Settlement. There is no provision in the plan of allocation to permit the Filer to pay cash in lieu of the Settlement Shares to Authorized Claimants in selected jurisdictions.
18. The Filer is relying on the exemption from the registration requirements under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the US Securities Act), pursuant to the exemption contained in Section 3(a)(10) thereof, and the Court was informed of the Filer's intention to rely on such exemption. Section 3(a)(10) provides a registration exemption from the US Securities Act for offers and sales of securities that are exchanged for securities, claims or property interests. The exemption requires, in relevant part, that a court must approve the fairness of the terms and conditions of the exchange to those to whom the securities are to be issued.
19. The Settlement required that the shares be listed on a US national securities exchange and shall not bear any legend restricting its transferability.
20. In the absence of the relief requested herein, the issuance, delivery and distribution of Settlement Shares in the Jurisdictions will be subject to the applicable prospectus requirements of the Legislation and no statutory prospectus exemptions are believed to be available under the Legislation to enable the Filer to distribute Settlement Shares to all Canadian Recipients in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Settlement. In addition, the resale of Settlement Shares will be subject to applicable resale rules.
|
||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
3
| 92
|
https://techcrunch.com/2010/04/30/keenko-reveals-facebook-and-twitter-users-on-the-same-web-page-as-you/
|
en
|
Keenko reveals Facebook and Twitter users on the same web page as you
|
http://www.crunchbase.com/assets/images/resized/0008/4724/84724v4-max-250x250.png
|
http://www.crunchbase.com/assets/images/resized/0008/4724/84724v4-max-250x250.png
|
[
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"https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-2162660378.jpg?w=1024",
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"https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/cisa-crowdstrike-cybersecurity-outage.jpg?w=1024",
"https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-2162660378.jpg?w=1024",
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"https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/crowdstrike-proposal.jpg?w=1024",
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"https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/sphere-crowdstrike-outage.jpg?w=1024",
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"https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/GettyImages-646462292.jpg?w=1024",
"https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/j-michael-cline-fandango.jpg?w=1024"
] |
[] |
[] |
[
""
] | null |
[
"Mike Butcher"
] |
2010-04-30T00:00:00
|
Readers would be forgiven for not remembering the Odigo IDproject. This was an instant messaging service based in Israel, founded in 1998 by Avner Ronen. It was purchased by Comverse Technology in 2002, and then shut down in 2004. However, like a handful of startups that came after it, it allowed you to interact with your instant messenger friends who were surfing the same web page at the same time. IМ services stayed put but social networks have since come to the fore. But now, in the era of social networking, the idea has come to light again. Now Moscow-based company Keenko has created a web-service of this type in the form of a plug-in for the Firefox browser. The service is integrated with Facebook and Twitter and enables users to see who is looking at the same webpage and view the social network profiles of these users. Clearly that can lead to people friending eachother on these existing social nets.
|
en
|
TechCrunch
|
https://techcrunch.com/2010/04/30/keenko-reveals-facebook-and-twitter-users-on-the-same-web-page-as-you/
|
Readers would be forgiven for not remembering the Odigo IDproject. This was an instant messaging service based in Israel, founded in 1998 by Avner Ronen. It was purchased by Comverse Technology in 2002, and then shut down in 2004. However, like a handful of startups that came after it, it allowed you to interact with your instant messenger friends who were surfing the same web page at the same time. IМ services stayed put but social networks have since come to the fore. But now, in the era of social networking, the idea has come to light again.
Now Moscow-based company Keenko has created a web-service of this type in the form of a plug-in for the Firefox browser. The service is integrated with Facebook and Twitter and enables users to see who is looking at the same webpage and view the social network profiles of these users. Clearly that can lead to people friending eachother on these existing social nets. At this point we should declare that occasional TechCrunch Europe blogger Denis Dovgopoliy is a consultant on the project.
However, a unique feature of keenko lets you see which of your followers are online and send each other messages on any web page.
The company is in Beta testing now and is planning to expand the number of social networks Keenko can plug into, and support other browsers like IE and Chrome.
Of course, where it all falls down is that everyone has to have this plug-in installed, a fact which stopped similar startups taking off in previous years. It may however be the case that finding people on existing social networks which already have lots of take-up, like Facebook and Twitter, will be more appealing to users.
|
|||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
2
| 31
|
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cadian-capital-management-sends-letter-to-the-board-of-directors-of-comverse-technology-147565155.html
|
en
|
Cadian Capital Management Sends Letter to the Board of Directors of Comverse Technology
|
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] |
[] |
[] |
[
"Cadian Capital Management",
"LLC"
] | null |
[
"Cadian Capital Management"
] |
2012-04-16T08:30:00-04:00
|
/PRNewswire/ -- Cadian Capital Management, LLC (together with its affiliates, "Cadian Capital"), today announced that it has delivered a letter to the Board of...
|
en
|
/content/dam/prnewswire/icons/2019-Q4-PRN-Icon-32-32.png
|
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cadian-capital-management-sends-letter-to-the-board-of-directors-of-comverse-technology-147565155.html
|
NEW YORK, April 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Cadian Capital Management, LLC (together with its affiliates, "Cadian Capital"), today announced that it has delivered a letter to the Board of Directors (the "Board") of Comverse Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: CMVT) (the "Company") in which it expressed its concerns about the strategic direction of the Company and the continued decline in shareholder value. Cadian Capital beneficially owns 4,186,158 shares of common stock of the Company.
The full text of the letter is as follows:
CADIAN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC
535 MADISON AVENUE, 36th FLOOR
NEW YORK, NY 10022
April 16, 2012
VIA HAND DELIVERY AND CERTIFIED MAIL
Board of Directors
c/o Corporate Secretary
Comverse Technology, Inc.
810 Seventh Avenue
New York, NY 10012
Dear Members of the Board:
Cadian Capital Management, LLC, together with its affiliates (collectively, "Cadian Capital"), beneficially owns 4,186,158 shares of common stock of Comverse Technology, Inc. (the "Company"). Cadian Capital has been a shareholder of the Company since February 2008. We, like many other shareholders, have significant concerns about the lack of progress the Company has made under the current Board of Directors (the "Board") over the past several years. In the Fall of 2011, we conducted a successful "Vote No" campaign against several of the directors nominated for re-election at the 2011 annual meeting of shareholders (the "2011 Annual Meeting"). At the time of the 2011 Annual Meeting, we decided against seeking a more dramatic overhaul of the Board because we felt the Vote No campaign would send a message of accountability, which we hoped the Board would clearly hear. Unfortunately, our message has fallen on deaf ears.
Since the 2011 Annual Meeting, we believe the Board has continued to pursue several misguided and/or ill-executed strategies that have continued to prevent the Company from realizing value for shareholders. Earlier this month, the Company reported disappointing operating metrics for the Comverse Network Systems (CNS) business, which further underscores the effect of this Board's failure to attract and retain world-class senior management, and the disruptive effects of a quality asset held in strategic limbo in a market with substantial opportunities for revenue growth and margin expansion. While three recent acquisitions in the CNS space have been completed (or announced and are in the process of being completed) (Convergys Corporation, Intec Telecom Systems, and AsiaInfo Linkage, Inc.), the Board is currently pursuing what we believe is a sub-optimal strategy of 'spinning' CNS into a stand-alone, publicly-traded entity. We do not believe this Board, as currently constituted, is capable of effectively running CNS and/or unlocking shareholder value in the Company in the short or long run. We believe a majority of new directors should be nominated for the 2012 annual meeting of shareholders (the "2012 Annual Meeting").
The impact of the Board's failure can be seen very clearly in the Company's stock price. Since January 1, 2007, the Company's stock price has declined by nearly 70% and since its relisting on the NASDAQ Global Market in September 2011, the Company's stock price has declined by more than 10%. By contrast, since January 1, 2007, the S&P 500 is down by only 4%, and since September 2011, is up by more than 20%. Moreover, since its relisting on the NASDAQ Global Market in July 2010, the stock price of the Company's majority-owned subsidiary, Verint Systems Inc., has increased by approximately 30% and is relatively close to its price of $34 on January 1, 2007, clearly demonstrating that the predominant cause of the Company's continued underperformance is its CNS business and the dissipation of its cash.
We believe the Company's massive underperformance can be attributed to a number of factors, including failed hiring decisions, failed and misguided strategic planning, poor execution of the CNS business, and a poorly managed re-statement process. These problems have occurred under this Board's supervision and have resulted in the destruction of over $2.0 billion of shareholder value.
Lack of Proper Senior Officer Hires. One of the major issues raised as part of the Vote No campaign was the lack of a permanent and well-qualified CEO and CFO for the CNS business. For the past 14 months (in the case of the CEO) and 18 months (in the case of the CFO), each of these roles have been filled on (what was supposed to be) an interim basis by individuals we believe are not properly qualified to hold such positions. This has clearly directly impacted the performance of the CNS business since that time (as evidenced, most recently, by the Company's very poor performance in Q4 2011, as well as its own admission in its Annual Report for fiscal 2011 that it continues to have material weaknesses in its internal controls over financial reporting), as well as this Board's ability to unlock shareholder value with respect to the CNS business. Five months after the 2011 Annual Meeting (and more than 14 months since the departure of the prior CEO and CFO), these positions remain inadequately filled. This situation must be solved immediately.
Failure to Realize Value in the CNS Business. In the past 18 months, there have been three separate deals announced for companies comparable to the CNS business: Convergys Corporation just announced it is selling its Information Management business to NEC Corporation; CSG Systems International purchased Intec Telecom Systems; and AsiaInfo Linkage, Inc. is going private. In each case, the relevant CNS-comparable businesses were valued at between 1.0 – 1.4x trailing twelve month revenue. The CNS business would be a prime candidate for a similar sale (either in whole or in multiple parts), but for a number of actions we believe this Board has failed to complete, including hiring a permanent operating CEO and CFO (discussed above), having separate financials for the BSS and VAS business units, and correcting the organization's internal controls. The press has reported that the Board has retained Goldman Sachs and Rothschild to explore strategic alternatives for the CNS business, including multiple attempts to purportedly sell the CNS business. We believe these efforts have not yet been successful because of the Board's failure to execute these steps.
Misguided Spin-Off Plan. The Board has announced it intends to try to spin-off the CNS business later this year. We think that is a fundamentally flawed strategy. We believe a spin-off would be very costly and likely require large amounts of the Company's cash. Furthermore, based on recent comparable acquisitions in this space, the CNS stand-alone entity would likely provide an unattractive subscale publicly-traded vehicle with weak financial processes. We believe the Board should instead focus on hiring an appropriate CEO (one with substantial operating and relevant industry experience) and CFO, and then working to improve the business's operations and internal controls, and preparing it for sale (including having complete separate financials for the BSS and VAS business units). As noted above, there is substantial interest in the market for an asset like CNS, and if the business unit's executive leadership (and subsequently operating issues) can be addressed, we believe a sale can be achieved in a much more efficient (and cash-generating, rather than cash-consuming) way.
Failure to Address the Holding Company Structure. We believe the Company's current "holding company" structure has created a substantial drag on its stock price (as well as on the stock price of its most valuable assets, its majority interest in Verint Systems Inc.) for several years. Nevertheless, the Board has only recently indicated it intends to dissolve the structure, and only if/when it is able to complete a spin-off of the CNS business. We believe the Board should work to collapse its current holding company structure as soon as possible, and irrespective of whether/when a spin-off is completed.
Continued Poor Operating Performance of the CNS Business. As the Company's most recent quarterly reporting confirms, the CNS business continues to disappoint. There was a surprising decline in both revenue and bookings, signaling underperformance relative to the Board's prior commitments to investors and relative to the rest of the industry.
All of the members of this Board have served for at least three years, and all but one Board member for five or more years. We believe this Board, as currently constituted, has categorically failed in its duties to create value for shareholders. Immediate change at the Board level is necessary to end the erosion of shareholder value and to realize the core value of the Company's assets. We believe a reconstituted Board with a majority of new, highly-qualified directors focused on reviewing all strategic options, with a skill set designed to allow for better execution on such options, is the best way to create value going forward. We have lost confidence in this Board's ability to make and execute on the wide range of important actions that need to be taken. Moreover, both Institutional Shareholder Services ("ISS") and Glass Lewis & Co. ("Glass Lewis"), two of the leading independent proxy voting advisory firms, agreed with Cadian Capital that change was needed on the Board at the 2011 Annual Meeting. ISS recommended a vote against two directors and Glass Lewis recommended a vote against five directors. Ultimately, two directors were forced to resign from the Board for failing to receive a majority of votes cast. We believe further change is warranted to restore shareholder value.
Since the Board currently has six members, we have nominated a slate of four new directors (a copy of their biographies was previously sent to you but is attached hereto for your convenience). We have not nominated a full slate of six new directors because we believe a newly constituted Board should retain some historical/institutional knowledge by having some of the current directors remain. In our view, the members of the Strategic Committee (August Oliver (Board member since May 2007), Theodore Schell (Board member since December 2006), and Mark Terrell (Board Member since July 2006)), as well as Robert Dubner (Board member since January 2009, and whom, along with Mr. Oliver and Mr. Terrell, is a member of the Audit Committee), are most responsible for the failings of the Board and should not be nominated for re-election at the 2012 Annual Meeting.
As shown on the attached biographies, the four nominees we have proposed have the extensive range of relevant operating expertise and quality industry experience necessary to address the difficult challenges currently facing the Company, and are well equipped to both evaluate and execute the strategic steps necessary to improve shareholder value. These nominees should be much more effective at (i) seeking, attracting and hiring quality executive personnel (most importantly, a new CEO and CFO), (ii) working with such senior officers to help address the various issues causing CNS's continuing poor operating performance, and (iii) preparing for and executing an effective sales process with respect to the CNS business (either in whole or in parts).
We also wish to note that none of the directors we have nominated have any ties to Cadian Capital, other than with respect to our having nominated them to serve as directors of the Company. We have gotten to know these proposed directors over the past several months as we became increasingly disillusioned with the current Board's performance and sought new qualified leadership.
It is ultimately in the best interests of shareholders to avoid a disruption and expense of a protracted proxy fight. Therefore, we urge the Board to engage in discussions with us regarding the composition of the Board in hopes of ultimately reaching a mutually agreeable resolution that will serve the best interests of all shareholders.
Sincerely,
Eric Bannasch
Managing Member
Cadian Capital Management, LLC
Biographies of Cadian Capital Nominees
Stephen Andrews, age 54, has been an independent Technology, Media & Telecommunications advisor and investor at AbbeyBarn Communications Limited since June 2009 and in such capacity has served as the Chairman of a Global TelCo Consortia (TelCo Futures Forum), sponsored by Deutsche Telekom and Swisscom. During this time he has also been an Executive Advisor to companies such as: Microsoft (UK), Qsensei (Germany/USA), Mimedia (USA), Aap3 (UK/USA), and Elinia (UK). From 2003 to April 2009, Mr. Andrews served as the Group Managing Director of BT Mobility & Convergence and Managing Director of Strategy and Products at BT Retail, a division of BT Group plc, a global communications services provider, where he supervised approximately 500 employees and executives. From 2000 to 2003, Mr. Andrews was the President of the International Carrier and Networks Business of BT Global Services, a division of BT Group plc. From 1996 to 2000, Mr. Andrews was a Director of European Alliances responsible for investments in joint ventures and 100% owned TMT companies at BT Europe, a division of BT Group plc. Mr. Andrews holds a Full Technological Certificate in Advanced Telecommunications from Bristol College (UK) and a Certificate in Industrial Management from Kingston upon Thames Management College.
James Budge, age 45, has served as the Chief Financial Officer of Rovi Corporation (NASDAQ:ROVI), a global provider of digital entertainment technology solutions, since September 2005 and as its Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer since February 2012. Mr. Budge served as Chief Financial Officer of Trados, Inc., an enterprise management software provider, from January 2004 until its merger with SDL International in August 2005. From August 2002 until joining Trados, Inc., Mr. Budge served as Chief Financial Officer of Sendmail, Inc., a secure email provider, and from April 1999 until its merger with IBM in January 2002, Mr. Budge served as Chief Financial Officer of CrossWorlds Software, Inc., a provider of business infrastructure software. Mr. Budge holds a B.S. in Accounting from Brigham Young University and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Doron Inbar, age 62, has been a Venture Partner at Carmel Ventures, an Israeli-based venture capital firm that invests primarily in early stage companies in the fields of Software, Communications, Semiconductors, Internet, Media, and Consumer Electronics, since 2006. Previously, Mr. Inbar served as the President of ECI Telecom Ltd., a global telecom networking infrastructure provider, from November 1999 to December 2005 and its Chief Executive Officer from February 2000 to December 2005. Mr. Inbar joined ECI Telecom Ltd. in 1983 and during his first eleven years with the company, served in various positions at its wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary, ECI Telecom, Inc., in the U.S., including Executive Vice President and General Manager. In July 1994, Mr. Inbar returned to Israel to become Vice President, Corporate Budget, Control and Subsidiaries of ECI Telecom Ltd. In June 1996, Mr. Inbar was appointed Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of ECI Telecom Ltd., and he became Executive Vice President of ECI Telecom Ltd. in January 1999. Mr. Inbar has served on the board of directors of Alvarion Ltd. (NASDAQ: ALVR), a company that designs and sells broadband wireless and Wi-Fi products, since September 2009 and is a member of its audit committee. Mr. Inbar also serves on the board of directors of SolarEdge Technologies Inc., an innovative start up in the photovoltaic industry, as Chairman of the Board of Archimedes Global Ltd., a company which provides health insurance and health provision in East Europe, and on the board of directors of Maccabi dent Ltd., the largest chain of dental service clinics in Israel. Previously, Mr. Inbar served as Chairman of the Board of C-nario Ltd., a global provider of digital signage software solutions, Chairman of the Board of Followap Inc., which was sold to Neustar, Inc. in November 2006, and Chairman of the Board of Enure Networks Ltd. Mr. Inbar holds a B.A. in Economics and Business Administration from Bar-Ilan University, Israel.
Richard Nottenburg, Ph.D., age 58, has served as a member of the board of directors of Aeroflex Holding Corp. (NYSE:ARX), a global provider of radio frequency and microwave integrated circuits, components and systems used in the design, development and maintenance of high-performance wireless communication systems, since November 2010, and as a member of the board of directors of PMC-Sierra, Inc. (NASDAQ:PMCS), a semiconductor innovator transforming networks that connect, move and store digital content, since August 2011. From June 2008 to October 2010, Dr. Nottenburg served as President, Chief Executive Officer, and a director of Sonus Networks, Inc., a provider of voice and multimedia infrastructure solutions. From July 2004 until May 2008, Dr. Nottenburg was an officer with Motorola, Inc. (now known as Motorola Solutions, Inc., "Motorola") ultimately serving as its Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Technology Officer. While at Motorola, Dr. Nottenburg was responsible for shaping Motorola's overall corporate strategy. Prior to joining Motorola as an officer in July 2004, Dr. Nottenburg was a strategic consultant to the Company from January 2004 to July 2004. Dr. Nottenburg previously served as a member of the Board from December 2006 to November 2011 and as a member of the board of directors of Verint Systems, Inc. ("Verint") from July 2011 to November 2011. Dr. Nottenburg holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Polytechnic Institute of New York, an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Colorado State University, and a Doctor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne in Lausanne, Switzerland.
CERTAIN INFORMATION CONCERNING PARTICIPANTS
Cadian Capital Management, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company ("Cadian Capital"), together with the other Participants (as defined below), intends to make a preliminary filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") of a proxy statement and accompanying proxy card to be used to solicit proxies for the election of its slate of director nominees at the 2012 annual meeting of shareholders of Comverse Technology, Inc., a New York corporation (the "Company").
CADIAN CAPITAL STRONGLY ADVISES ALL SHAREHOLDERS OF THE COMPANY TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT AND OTHER PROXY MATERIALS AS THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. SUCH PROXY MATERIALS WILL BE AVAILABLE AT NO CHARGE ON THE SEC'S WEB SITE AT HTTP://WWW.SEC.GOV. IN ADDITION, THE PARTICIPANTS IN THIS PROXY SOLICITATION WILL PROVIDE COPIES OF THE PROXY STATEMENT WITHOUT CHARGE UPON REQUEST. REQUESTS FOR COPIES SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO THE PARTICIPANTS' PROXY SOLICITOR, MORROW & CO., LLC, TOLL-FREE AT (800) 662-5200 or (203) 658-9400.
The Participants in the proxy solicitation are anticipated to be Cadian Capital, Cadian Fund LP, a Delaware limited partnership ("Cadian Fund"), Cadian Master Fund LP, a Cayman Island exempted limited partnership ("Cadian Master"), Cadian GP, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company ("Cadian GP"), Eric Bannasch, Stephen Andrews, James Budge, Doron Inbar, and Richard N. Nottenburg (collectively, the "Participants").
As of the date hereof, the Participants collectively own an aggregate of 4,226,158 shares of common stock of the Company, consisting of the following: (1) 1,674,463 shares owned directly by Cadian Fund, (2) 2,511,695 shares owned directly by Cadian Master, and (3) 40,000 shares owned directly by Dr. Nottenburg. Cadian Management is the investment manager of Cadian Fund and Cadian Master. Cadian GP is the general partner of Cadian Fund and Cadian Master. Eric Bannasch is the managing member of Cadian Management. Accordingly, each of Cadian Management, Cadian GP and Eric Bannasch may be deemed to beneficially own the shares directly owned by Cadian Fund and Cadian Master.
As members of a "group" for the purposes of Rule 13d-5(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, each of the Participants may be deemed to beneficially own the shares of common stock of the Company owned in the aggregate by the other Participants. Each of the Participants disclaims beneficial ownership of such shares of common stock except to the extent of his or its pecuniary interest therein.
Contact:
Eric Bannasch / Justin Griffith
Cadian Capital Management, LLC
(212) 792-8800
or
Tom Ball / John Ferguson
Morrow & Co., LLC
(203) 658-9400
SOURCE Cadian Capital Management, LLC
|
|||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
1
| 72
|
https://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/250.html
|
en
|
Five IU alumni to be honored at annual Business Conference on March 6: IU News Room: Indiana University
|
https://www.indiana.edu/favicon.ico
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https://www.indiana.edu/favicon.ico
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Five alumni of the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University will be honored for professional achievement at the annual IU Business Conference on March 6 in Indianapolis.
|
https://www.indiana.edu/favicon.ico
| null |
Five IU alumni to be honored at annual Business Conference on March 6
Five alumni of the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University will be honored for professional achievement during an awards ceremony at the 56th annual IU Business Conference at the Indianapolis Convention Center on March 6 in Indianapolis.
Being named to the Kelley School of Business Academy of Alumni Fellows are David M. Baum of Short Hills, N.J., co-head of Goldman, Sachs & Co.'s mergers and acquisitions business in the Americas; Ronald W. Dollens of Zionsville, Ind., president and chief executive officer of Guidant Corp.; and John W. Eck of Southport, Conn., president of broadcast and network operations at NBC.
The 2002 Distinguished Entrepreneur Award will be presented to Scott A. Jones of Carmel, Ind., chairman, CEO and president of Escient Technologies LLC.; and to Jane H. Martin, Bloomington, Ind., managing director of capital investments for Village Ventures Inc.
David M. Baum
Since 1999, Baum has served as co-head of Goldman, Sachs & Co.'s mergers and acquisitions business in the Americas. For eight of the last 10 years and in every year since 1997, Goldman Sachs has ranked as the world's leading merger adviser. A mergers and acquisitions generalist, Baum has worked on a wide variety of transactions across many industries on a global basis during his 15-year career at the firm.
He joined Goldman Sachs as an analyst in 1986 and was promoted to associate in 1988, to vice president in 1992 and to managing director in 1996. He was named a partner in 1998. Baum has served as co-head of the firm's Retail Investment Banking Practice as well as its Finance Committee.
Baum received a bachelor's degree in accounting from IU in 1986. He serves on the Kelley School Dean's Advisory Council. Baum lives with his wife and three children in Short Hills, N.J.
Ronald W. Dollens
Ron Dollens is president and chief executive officer of Guidant Corp., a $2.5 billion company that is a world leader in the design and development of cardiovascular medical products. Prior to the formation of Guidant in 1994, Dollens was president of Eli Lilly and Co.'s Medical Devices and Diagnostics Division. He also has served as president and senior vice president of sales, marketing and development for Advanced Cardiovascular Systems, headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif.
Dollens received a bachelor's degree in pharmacy from Purdue University and an MBA degree in marketing from IU in 1972. He is a member of the boards of the Advanced Medical Technology Association, Alliance for Aging Research, Healthcare Leadership Council, Indiana Health Industry Forum, Kinetic Concepts Inc. and Beckman Coulter Corp.
Active in civic affairs, he serves on the boards of Butler University, the Eiteljorg Museum, St. Vincent Hospital and the Indiana State Symphony Society. He also is a member of the Kelley School Dean's Advisory Council and the IU School of Medicine Dean's Advisory Group. Dollens also serves on the board of directors of IU's Advanced Research and Technology Institute.
He has been appointed by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson to serve on the newly created Advisory Committee on Regulatory Reform.
John W. Eck
Since 1998, John Eck has served as president of broadcast and network operations at NBC, where he oversees production operations, program distribution, real estate and sourcing. He joined NBC in 1993 as vice president of financial planning and analysis. He also has held the positions of senior vice president, chief quality officer and chief financial officer for NBC international and business development.
Eck started his career in GE's financial management program with GE Lighting. He also has held various positions with GE Capital, GE Power Generation and GE Aircraft Engines.
He is the recipient of the Boy Scouts of America 2001 Communication Arts Industries "Good Scout" Award and is a member of the David Rockefeller Fellows Program.
A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Eck received his bachelor's degree in business in 1982 from IU, where he serves as a member of the Kelley School Dean's Advisory Council. He lives in Connecticut with his wife and two children.
The annual Distinguished Entrepreneur Award, presented by the Kelley School of Business and its alumni association, will be given to Jones and Martin. The award recognizes them for significant achievement and innovation in developing a business through individual effort, personal responsibility and ingenuity.
Scott A. Jones
Scott Jones is chairman, CEO and president of Escient Technologies LLC, a high-technology accelerator and management company he co-founded in 1996 that channels new technologies into strategic positions in the marketplace.
In 1986, he co-founded his first company, Boston Technology Inc., which he chaired until 1992. Using patented voice-messaging technologies, the firm later merged with Comverse Technologies, resulting in a multibillion-dollar company whose products are used by the majority of telephone companies throughout the world.
At Escient, Jones applies his technological savvy and business acumen toward the realization of a parallel vision -- merging Internet power with electronic appliances and devices.
He received a bachelor's degree in computer science from IU in 1984. He is chairman of the Indiana Technology Partnership, of the Gazelle Fund, and of GrowIndiana Media Ventures. He also serves on the boards of the state-funded 21st Century Fund and the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership. Active in civic affairs, Jones is on the boards of Art Technology Group, UNX, the Indianapolis Zoo and The Children's Museum. His charitable foundation makes significant contributions to worthy causes that include local schools and technology efforts.
Jane H. Martin
Jane Martin is managing director of capital investments for Village Ventures Inc., a Massachusetts-based network of 14 funds that is backed by four of the largest venture firms in the nation -- Bain Capital, Highland, Sandler and Janus. Village Ventures' new Indiana Fund will focus on information technology and life sciences.
Previously Martin was CEO at WisdomTools, IU's first technology spinoff, a software company that provides online corporate training. She also was a general partner at U.S. Venture Partners, a leading venture capital firm in Silicon Valley that funded Sun Microsystems, Advanced Cardiovascular, Amgen and Callaway Golf.
She received a bachelor's degree in business from Indiana University in 1972 and then joined Allstate's Investment Department in Chicago. She became a principal in Allstate's Venture Capital Division while earning her CFA designation.
Martin returned to Bloomington in 1990 and lives on a farm with her husband, children and Paso Fino horses. Her family has funded a chair and two professorships in neurosciences at the IU School of Medicine. She is a member of the executive committee of Gazelle Tech Ventures and the advisory boards of Dunrath Partners and Arch Development Partners, and she serves on the board of Indiana Technology Partners.
The honors presentation will be part of a day-long program that will focus on the theme '"Winning in Turbulent Times." Speaking at this year's conference will be Dollens; Richard Lambert, editor of the Financial Times; and John Yokoyama, owner of the world-famous Pike Place Fish Market, the fun Seattle shop that is the subject of the best-selling book Fish.
|
||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
2
| 27
|
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20120813005597/en/Verint-Signs-Definitive-Agreement-to-Acquire-Comverse-Technology-Holding-Company-Following-Spin-Off-of-its-Telecom-Business
|
en
|
Verint Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire Comverse Technology Holding Company Following Spin Off of its Telecom Business
|
https://mms.businesswire.com/bwapps/mediaserver/ViewMedia?mgid=230996&vid=2
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https://mms.businesswire.com/bwapps/mediaserver/ViewMedia?mgid=230996&vid=2
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2012-08-13T12:00:00+00:00
|
Verint® Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: VRNT) today announced that it has signed a definitive merger agreement (the “Merger Agreement”) with Comverse Technology
|
en
|
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20120813005597/en/Verint-Signs-Definitive-Agreement-to-Acquire-Comverse-Technology-Holding-Company-Following-Spin-Off-of-its-Telecom-Business
|
MELVILLE, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Verint® Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: VRNT) today announced that it has signed a definitive merger agreement (the “Merger Agreement”) with Comverse Technology, Inc. (“CTI”). Under this Agreement, following the completion of CTI’s previously announced distribution of its telecom business and substantially all of its other assets, other than its holdings in Verint, to its shareholders Verint will acquire CTI, eliminating CTI’s majority ownership in and control of Verint. CTI currently holds approximately 41.0%, of Verint’s outstanding common shares and all of Verint’s outstanding convertible preferred shares which, if converted, would result in CTI holding approximately 53.7% of Verint’s basic outstanding common shares.
“We look forward to becoming a non-controlled and independent public company. Clarifying our ownership structure is a significant positive for Verint as we continue to focus on increasing shareholder value,” said Dan Bodner, CEO and President.
Financial Terms
Under the terms of the Merger Agreement, Verint will acquire CTI for approximately 27.5 million Verint common shares (a number of shares equal to CTI’s ownership on an as converted basis at the expected time of transaction closing) plus up to an additional $25 million in Verint common shares (with the final additional amount dependent on the timing of CTI’s distribution or other disposition of substantially all of its non-Verint assets (the “Comverse Disposition”)). The Verint convertible preferred shares held by CTI are currently entitled to accrued dividends at an annual rate of 3 7/8%, and as such, the maximum additional amount of $25 million is equivalent to approximately two years of dividends that CTI would otherwise have been entitled to receive if the convertible preferred shares had remained outstanding.
Dan Bodner continued, “The elimination of the convertible preferred stock and dividend will simplify Verint’s capital structure and the distribution of Verint’s shares directly to CTI’s shareholders will significantly increase Verint’s public float and liquidity for investors.”
Timing
The closing of the merger is subject to certain conditions including, among other things, the completion of the Comverse Disposition, the filing by Verint and effectiveness of a Form S-4 registration statement, and receipt of the requisite approval of Verint and CTI shareholders. CTI has agreed to vote all of its Verint shares in favor of the merger at the Verint stockholder meeting to approve the merger. In addition to the stockholder approvals required by applicable law, the Merger Agreement provides that the merger must be approved by the affirmative vote of holders of a majority of Verint common shares present at the stockholder meeting that are not held by CTI or its subsidiaries. Verint currently expects to file the Form S-4 registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission in its third quarter or early in its fourth quarter and to close the merger in its first quarter of next year, however, there can be no assurance as to when or if the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement will be consummated.
Special Committee Process
Verint's board of directors, acting upon the unanimous recommendation of a special committee of the board comprised solely of independent and disinterested directors (the "Special Committee") approved the Merger Agreement and the transactions contemplated thereby and recommended that Verint's stockholders (other than CTI) vote to approve the Merger Agreement and the transactions contemplated thereby. The Special Committee negotiated the terms of the Merger Agreement with the assistance of its financial and legal advisors, Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Loeb & Loeb LLP. Verint received legal advice from Jones Day.
Board of Directors
Verint’s nine person board currently includes four CTI-affiliated directors (members of the CTI’s board of directors or management). Prior to completion of the merger, it is expected that two of these CTI-affiliated directors will be replaced with independent directors pursuant to an existing agreement between CTI and Cadian Capital previously disclosed by CTI. Concurrent with the merger, the remaining CTI-affiliated directors are expected to resign from the Verint board.
For more information regarding the merger, please see Verint’s Current Report on Form 8-K that was filed this morning. The Form 8-K includes a copy of the Merger Agreement as an exhibit.
********
This press release does not constitute an offer of any securities for sale. In connection with the merger, Verint and CTI expect to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission a joint proxy statement/prospectus as part of a registration statement regarding the proposed transaction. Investors and security holders are urged to read the joint proxy statement/prospectus and any other relevant documents filed by Verint and/or CTI with the Securities Exchange Commission because they will contain important information about Verint and CTI and the proposed transaction. Investors and security holders may obtain free copies of the definitive joint proxy statement/prospectus and other documents when filed by Verint and CTI with the Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov or www.verint.com or www.cmvt.com. Investors and security holders are urged to read the joint proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant material when they become available before making any voting or investment decisions with respect to the merger.
This press release is not a solicitation of a proxy from any security holder of Verint or CTI and shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. No offer of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933. However, Verint, CTI and certain of their respective directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from stockholders in connection with the proposed transaction under the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Information about the directors and executive officers of Verint may be found in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 31, 2012 and in its definitive proxy statement relating to its 2012 Annual Meeting of Stockholders filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 14, 2012. Information about the directors and executive officers of CTI may be found in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 31, 2012 and in its preliminary proxy statement on Schedule 14A filed with the SEC on June 7, 2012 and the preliminary information statement attached thereto.
********
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding expectations, predictions, views, opportunities, plans, strategies, beliefs, and statements of similar effect relating to Verint Systems Inc. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees and they are based on management's expectations that involve a number of risks and uncertainties, any of which could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements. Some of the factors that could cause actual future results or events to differ materially from current expectations include: uncertainties regarding the expected benefits from the merger; risks associated with Verint’s and CTI’s ability to satisfy the conditions and terms of the merger, and to execute the merger in the estimated timeframe, if at all; and risks associated with the expected governance of Verint upon completion of the merger. For a detailed discussion of certain risk factors, see our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2012 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended April 30, 2012, and other filings we make with the SEC. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release and, except as required by law, Verint assumes no obligation to update or revise them or to provide reasons why actual results may differ.
About Verint Systems Inc.
Verint® (NASDAQ: VRNT) is the global leader in Actionable Intelligence® solutions and value-added services. Its extensive portfolio of Enterprise Intelligence Solutions™ and Security Intelligence Solutions™ helps worldwide organizations capture and analyze complex, underused information sources—such as voice, video and unstructured text—to enable more timely, effective decisions. More than 10,000 organizations in 150 countries, including over 85 percent of the Fortune 100, use Verint solutions to improve enterprise performance and make the world a safer place. Headquartered in N.Y. and a member of the Russell 3000 Index, Verint has offices worldwide and an extensive global partner network. Learn more at www.verint.com.
VERINT, ACTIONABLE INTELLIGENCE, INTELLIGENCE IN ACTION, IMPACT 360, WITNESS, VERINT VERIFIED, VOVICI, GMT, AUDIOLOG, ENTERPRISE INTELLIGENCE SOLUTIONS, SECURITY INTELLIGENCE SOLUTIONS, VOICE OF THE CUSTOMER ANALYTICS, NEXTIVA, EDGEVR, RELIANT, VANTAGE, STAR-GATE, ENGAGE, CYBERVISION, FOCALINFO, SUNTECH, and VIGIA are trademarks or registered trademarks of Verint Systems Inc. or its subsidiaries. Other trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners.
# # #
|
||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
1
| 25
|
http://i2v.cooper.edu/speakers.php
|
en
|
Invention2Venture
|
http://i2v.cooper.edu/images/favicon.ico
|
http://i2v.cooper.edu/images/favicon.ico
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images/favicon.ico
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John Pavley
John is currently the Chief Technology Officer of The Huffington Post. John has led technology teams at numerous companies, including Spotify, Lime Wire, and Yahoo!. He also has extensive experience with the technology needs of start-ups, having worked at advertising and search engine optimization firms ContextWeb and Conductor, as well as several Silicon Valley firms, including BitLocker and Apple. John regularly blogs about all aspects of the tech industry. John has a BA in Visual Art from Rutgers University, and a Masters from Pratt Institute.
Steven Silberstang
Steven is a Cooper Union Alumnus (CE `70) who is currently the owner of Foolhardy Investors, a New York based investment firm. Steven was the founder, chairman, president and CTO of Amarex Technology, Inc for a number of years. He is considered a leader in the development of automated technologies. His work includes Cititran, a self-contained retail branch banking system, Citicorp's merchant credit card switch, and Con Edison's RMCC reads usage data from various recording devices and prepares data for billing. Amarex developed "intelligent network" products and systems for call handling and media processing within the telephone network. These systems were used to automate facilities for national and international networks. Following the 1999 acquisition of Amarex by Comverse Technology, Silberstang served as president and CTO of the Voice Services Platform Division until his retirement.
Owen Davis
Owen is currently Managing Director of NYC Seed, a seed stage venture capital fund in New York City. Owen has worked in all aspects of the online world, including work with early versions of AOL and MSN. He created one of the first 200 web sites on-line and founded Thinking Media in the summer of 1995, an online marketing firm which pioneered client-side tracking of pages and advertisements, which has become the standard method for online measurement. He co-founded Sonata in 1999, a wireless company that provided location-based services and marketing to cell phones. Owen was named various times as one of the 100 Top Internet Executives in New York by The Silicon Alley Reporter and most recently was named one of the 100 most influential people in Silicon Alley for 2008. He received his bachelor's degree from Brown University and an MBA from Columbia Business School.
David Kalow
David is a founding partner of Kalow & Springut, LLP. He represents clients in patent, trade secret, copyright and trademark matters arising in the course of transactions, trials, appeals, licensing, and strategic counseling. David has prosecuted and litigated pioneering patents on DNA synthesis, pharmacogenomics, antisense, RNAi and bar codes; expedited vindication of trademark, copyright and misappropriation rights; developed creative licensing programs; acted as special IP counsel in transactions and pharmaceutical antitrust litigations; and created and implemented strategies to maximize returns on intellectual property assets. He is particularly experienced in innovative litigation strategies, portfolio analysis, IP audit design and implementation and patent validity and infringement opinions.
Barry Negrin
Barry is a Cooper Union Alumnus (ME `89) and registered patent attourney, practicing with Kane Kessler, P.C. and currently serving as counsel to the firm. Throughout his career, Barry has drafted patent applications and infringement/non-infringement opinions, has litigated patent infringement issues, and has conducted patent reexamination proceedings, all in a wide variety of technologies, including X-ray optical systems, rapid blood clotting treatments, social media monitoring and interaction, video software codec systems, software for developing and executing distributed applications, ultraviolet water purification systems, internet search functionality, and many others. Prior to joining Kane Kessler, Barry was the co-founder of the patent group at a New York based 125-attorney general practice firm.
Chaitanya Kanojia
Chaitanya "Chet" Kanojia is the founder and CEO of Aereo, Inc., a groundbreaking online TV platform. Backed by a group of premiere investors and powered by a stellar engineering team, Aereo has developed proprietary cloud-based antenna and DVR technology that allows consumers to watch live or recorded HD broadcast television on virtually any type of Internet-connected device, including smart TVs, smartphones, tablets and computers. Previously, Chet was the founder and CEO of Navic Networks. Under Chetâs direction, Navic Networks grew to be the undisputed industry leader in advanced television advertising. Navic Networks was subsequently acquired by Microsoft in 2008. Chet, who holds more than 14 patents in fields ranging from robotics to data communications systems, is an innovative leader known for pushing beyond the conventional and developing breakthrough solutions. He was recognized as a young executive making a lasting impact on his company and the cable and telecommunications industries in Multichannel News' "40 under 40." He holds a master's degree in Computer Systems Engineering from Northeastern University and a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the National Institute of Technology in Bhopal, India.
Alyssa Davis
Alyssa Davis is a sophomore in the Albert Nerken School of Engineering. She works with her sister, Hannah, and her grandfather, Stephen Mecca, under the Ghana Sustainable Aid Project (GSAP). GSAP received a $100,000 Grand Challenges Explorations (GCE) grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2011. They attended the Reinvent the Toilet Fair in Seattle in August to showcase the toilet prototypes that were built using the GCE grant. Alyssa's sister, Hannah, founded GSAP while she was an undergraduate at New York University in 2007, originally focusing on literacy and female empowerment in Pokuase, Ghana. Alyssa, Hannah, and their grandfather have helped build an organization that promotes healthy and sustainable development in rural areas in Ghana. Alyssa has had the chance to help the organization through various stages of social entrepreneurship, including designing the GSAP center in Pokuase, Ghana, securing funding from various sources, and developing partnerships. Alyssa graduated from Parsons the New School for Design in 2010.
|
|||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
1
| 24
|
https://www.recordnet.com/story/business/2003/08/24/customer-service-monitored/50712267007/
|
en
|
Customer service monitored
|
[] |
[] |
[] |
[
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] | null |
[
"Jeffrey Gold, The Stockton Record"
] |
2003-08-24T00:00:00
|
Software provides means to hear millions of calls \n \n RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- If you've ever had the feeling that the customer service representative at the other end of that toll-free number was not …
|
en
|
The Record
|
https://www.recordnet.com/story/business/2003/08/24/customer-service-monitored/50712267007/
|
Software provides means to hear millions of calls
RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- If you've ever
had the feeling that the customer service representative at the other end of
that toll-free number was not really paying attention, you might be right. But
they probably won't get away with goofing off for much longer.
New call monitoring software is
allowing companies check up on their employees and identify those who are playing
computer solitaire, job hunting or even viewing pornography instead of helping
customers.
Reel-to-reel tape has allowed employers
to monitor calls for years, but the new programs work at a much faster rate
and don't require humans to listen in. Software can be programmed to key in
on certain words, such as obscenities or a competitor's name, or keep track
of call times and origins. A computer can even alert a supervisor to join a
call if it becomes a bit heated.
''I don't believe there are limitations
on what they can measure,'' said David Spindel, an analyst at Datamonitor, a
market research firm.
Sales of call monitoring software
reached $323 million last year, up 16 percent from 2001, and are projected by
Datamonitor to reach $538 million in 2007.
Financial services company Conseco
Inc. installed a system in late 2002 to help analyze its 55,000 weekly calls,
and has revised its training of customer service reps as a result, said Don
Papp, director of the life insurance and annuities call center.
''We've been able to go in there
and identify trends'' so managers no longer have to make assumptions based on
spot checks, he said.
The biggest provider of such computer
programs is NICE Systems Inc., an Israeli company with offices in Rutherford.
Its products are used by hundreds of companies in about 60 nations, NICE said.
NICE accounted for nearly a quarter
of the sales of call recording software, followed by Witness Systems Inc. and
Verint Systems Inc., according to Datamonitor figures for the first quarter,
the most recent period available.
Witness, which does business in
about 40 countries, is based in Roswell, Ga. Verint, which says its software
is used in more than 50 nations, is based in Melville, N.Y., and is a subsidiary
of Comverse Technology Inc.
NICE's big customers include FedEx,
Carnival Corp. and the Federal Aviation Administration, which uses the system
to record all conversations between pilots and air traffic controllers at nearly
700 control towers and radar rooms across the nation.
''The advantage there, is you can
go to any point on the digital recording to listen, and the quality is better''
than the magnetic tape the FAA had used, agency spokesman Jim Peters said.
In many cases, customers are notified
computer-monitoring is in place by an announcement stating, ''This call may
be recorded for quality control or training purposes.''
The increased recording of consumer
calls has not prompted complaints to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit
group concerned with digital rights, senior staff attorney Lee Tien said. But
he questioned whether the announcement at the start of calls is enough, since
many call centers offer no alternative if callers do not wish to be recorded.
Recordings also need to be secure, he said.
Software companies say the recordings
are encrypted, cannot be altered, and can only be played on special software.
Most companies destroy the recordings after a few weeks, although in some cases
the tapes are kept longer to comply with securities industry and other regulations.
For all their strengths, though,
software data systems still require a human touch -- and human interpretation.
Oscar Alban, a consultant for Witness
Systems, recalled a company that wanted to determine if any of its sales agents
were cursing at the customers.
Sure enough, the Witness software
showed one woman was regularly using rough language -- but in this case that
wasn't a bad thing. The saleswoman was the No. — seller of the company's products,
which were computer programs for law enforcement agencies.
''She wasn't swearing at customers,
she was mirroring the type of communication that they were using, and they felt
comfortable with her,'' Alban said.
The saleswoman continued in her
job, but not the agent at a financial services company whom the software red-flagged
for his long calls with customers.
''He was actually doing Web chat
on the topic of pigs,'' Alban said. ''He was in the Web chat room, just going
at it, and he refused to help the customer until he was done.''
INFOBOX:
On the Net
NICE Systems: www.nice.com
Verint Systems: www.verintsystems.com/corporate/index.cfm
Witness Systems: www.witness.com
GRAPHICS. AP illustration.
|
|||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
3
| 9
|
http://getfilings.com/o0000922423-98-000348.html
|
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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
Annual Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
for the Fiscal Year ended December 31, 1997
Commission File Number 0-15502
COMVERSE TECHNOLOGY, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
New York 13-3238402
(State or other jurisdiction of (I.R.S. Employer
incorporation or organization) Identification No.)
170 Crossways Park Drive
Woodbury, New York 11797
(Address of principal executive offices)
Registrant's telephone number, including area code: 516-677-7200
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of
the Act:
Name of each exchange
Title of each class on which registered
Not applicable Not applicable
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
Common Stock, $.10 par value per share
(Title of Class)
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports
required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the
registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such
filing requirements for the past 90 days.
Yes:[X] No: [_]
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Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to
Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained,
to the best of registrant's knowledge, in definitive proxy or information
statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any
amendment to this Form 10-K.
[X]
The aggregate market value of the voting stock held by non-affiliates of
the registrant on March 24 , 1998 was approximately $1,975,000,000. The closing
price of the registrant's common stock on the NASDAQ National Market System on
March 24, 1998 was $47.25 per share.
There were 43,461,824 shares of the registrant's common stock outstanding
on March 24, 1998.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
The registrant hereby incorporates by reference in this report the
information required by Part III appearing in the registrant's proxy statement
or information statement distributed in connection with the 1998 Annual Meeting
of Shareholders of the registrant or in an amendment to this report on Form
10K/A.
----------------------------
TRILOGUE and Access NP are registered trademarks and
TRILOGUE INfinity, AUDIODISK, ULTRA, and SignalWare are
trademarks of the Company.
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PART I
ITEM 1. BUSINESS.
INTRODUCTION
Comverse Technology, Inc., a New York corporation ("Comverse" and,
together with its subsidiaries, the "Company"), designs, develops, manufactures,
markets and supports computer and telecommunications systems and software for
multimedia communications and information processing applications. The Company's
products are used in a broad range of applications by fixed and wireless
telephone network operators, government agencies, call centers, financial
institutions and other public and commercial organizations worldwide.
The Company's line of enhanced services platform products enable
telecommunications network operators to offer a variety of revenue-generating
services that are accessible to large numbers of simultaneous users, including a
broad range of integrated messaging, information distribution and personal
assistant services, such as call answering, voice mail, fax mail, unified
messaging, pre-paid services, short text messaging and audiotext. The Company's
Comverse Network Systems ("CNS") Division's principal market consists of
organizations that use the systems to provide services to the public, usually on
a subscription or pay-per-usage basis, and includes both fixed and wireless
telephone network operators and other telecommunications services organizations.
In January 1998, Boston Technology, Inc., a Delaware corporation
("Boston"), merged with and into Comverse in a transaction in which former
shareholders of Boston received an aggregate of 18,141,185, shares of Comverse's
Common Stock, par value $0.10 per share ("Common Stock"). Boston, like the
Company's CNS Division, manufactures multimedia enhanced services platforms for
service provider organizations, including both fixed and wireless telephone
network operators. Boston's enhanced services platforms are similar in features
to those of the Company, but have traditionally been sold to different market
segments, which include, among others, several of the Regional Bell Operating
Companies in the United States and NTT in Japan. Prior to its merger with
Boston, Comverse's marketing efforts were focused primarily on international
network operators, as well as wireless personal communications network operators
in the United States. The business and assets of Boston have been combined with
the CNS Division following the merger of Boston with Comverse (the "Merger").
Except for financial information and as otherwise indicated, discussion of the
business of the Company in this report includes the business of Boston.
The Company markets its enhanced services platforms throughout the world,
with its own direct sales force and in cooperation with a number of leading
international vendors of telecommunications infrastructure equipment. The
Company is the market-share leader in providing large capacity enhanced services
platforms for wireless and wireline telecommunications network operators. More
than 250 fixed and wireless telephone network operators in more than 65
countries, including 13 of the 20 largest telephone companies in the world, have
selected the Company's platforms to provide enhanced telecommunications services
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to their public customers. CNS customers include, among others, AT&T (USA), Bell
Atlantic (USA), BellSouth (USA), Deutsche Telekom (Germany), Hongkong Telecom
(Hong Kong), NTT (Japan), SBC Communications (USA), SFR (France), Sprint PCS
(USA), Telebras (Brazil), Telecom Italia (Italy), Telmex (Mexico) and Telstra
(Australia).
The Company's Comverse Information Systems ("CIS") Division
manufactures multiple channel, multimedia digital monitoring systems, which
support the monitoring, recording, surveillance, and information gathering and
analysis activities of law enforcement and intelligence agencies, and digital
recording systems which support the voice, fax and data recording and analysis
activities of a variety of governmental and commercial organizations. The
Company's monitoring systems enable many simultaneous users to monitor, record
and process voice, image (facsimile) and data communications from multiple
channels in a variety of analog and digital formats, provide facilities for
archiving large volumes of recorded information and allow the use of computer
database processing techniques for analysis, management and retrieval
operations. The systems have been sold to law enforcement, military and
intelligence agencies that monitor and record communication channels for a
variety of purposes, such as surveillance in support of police actions and the
collection and processing of information for intelligence analysis. Customers
such as inbound and outbound call centers, commercial organizations, emergency
service (e.g., "911") providers, correctional facilities, public health and
safety organizations and financial institutions, use the Company's call
recording systems to record and process large volumes of audio, image and data
communications. Traditionally, analog tape recorders, alone or coupled with a
variety of special purpose devices, have been used for these applications. The
worldwide growth in telecommunications traffic in general and digital
communications in particular, and the increasing use of a variety of digital
transmission formats in telecommunications networks, have created a need for
user organizations to modernize their monitoring, recording and processing
capabilities. The Company's systems provide a number of advantages over analog,
tape recorder-based equipment, including improvements in capacity, reliability,
accuracy, processing efficiency and archiving and retrieval capabilities. Most
importantly, the systems enable users to adapt efficiently to the emergence of
new telecommunications technologies, such as digital transmission, Integrated
Services Digital Network ("ISDN") and enhanced signaling systems, for which
analog, tape recorder-based equipment was not designed. CIS Division products
have been sold to end-users in more than 30 countries.
The Company's DGM&S Telecom ("DGM&S") Division provides Signaling
System Number Seven ("SS7") telecommunications software and hardware. DGM&S's
products provide Intelligent Network ("IN") and Advanced Intelligent Network
("AIN") applications for voice, data and mobility communications services such
as 800 number translation, voice mail, Internet routing, short text messaging,
local number portability, cellular roaming and emergency "911" services. DGM&S's
products are marketed to wireline and wireless equipment providers and network
operators to enable global connectivity, inter-platform portability,
client/server flexibility and clustering reliability. The products provide the
global standards and national variants needed to communicate between the
disparate signaling protocols worldwide, and enable operators to use either a
UNIX or Windows NT platform. The products, which offer
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mediated access to the telecommunications signaling network, operate in a
client/server configuration.
DGM&S's customers include, among others, Amdahl, Compaq, DSC
Communications, Ericsson, MCI, Nokia, PTT Telecom (Netherlands), Qualcomm,
Siemens, Sprint and Sun Microsystems.
Through subsidiaries and affiliates, the Company is also involved in
the development of technologies and products incorporating video compression and
networking, the design and development of systems for telephone answering
service bureaus, the operation of telemessaging service bureaus and capital
market activities for its own account.
Throughout this document, references are made to technologies,
features, capabilities, capacities and specifications in conjunction with the
Company's products and technological resources. Such references do not
necessarily apply to all product lines, models, system configurations and
Company operating Divisions.
The Company was incorporated in the State of New York in October 1984.
Its principal executive offices are located at 170 Crossways Park Drive,
Woodbury, New York 11797, where its telephone number is (516) 677-7200.
THE COMPANY'S PRODUCTS
Comverse Network Systems Division: Enhanced Services Platform Product Family
The market for network-based enhanced services platforms has grown
rapidly over the past several years. The Company believes that a number of
factors have contributed to this growth, including the heightened emphasis among
wireless and wireline telecommunications network operators on offering new
services for revenue-generation and competitive differentiation, the increasing
public awareness and acceptance of multimedia messaging services resulting from
the growing installed base of messaging systems in the business community, the
expanding availability from the major telephone companies of call answering
services, and the growing use of wireless telephone services, which almost
universally offer a mailbox-based call answering service.
The CNS Division's primary focus has been on supplying large-capacity
enhanced services platforms, which are marketed under the names Access NP and
TRILOGUE INfinity, to fixed and wireless telecommunications network operators.
These organizations benefit from the ability to offer their customers a variety
of revenue-generating services provided by the Company's systems, such as
automated call answering, voice and fax messaging, unified messaging, pre-paid
services, short text messaging, audiotext, voice activated dialing, call
screening, one-touch call return, automated personal assistant services and
"virtual telephone" service, usually on a subscription or pay-per-call basis.
With call answering and voice and fax
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messaging, telephone operating companies benefit not only from service
subscription fees, but also from traffic revenue generated by the increase in
billable completed calls. In addition, these services improve overall network
efficiency by reducing congestion from repeated unbillable busy/no-answer calls.
Wireless telephone service operators are almost universally adding voice
mailboxes to their service offerings, and often as part of their basic service
package, not only because of these benefits, but also because wireless messaging
services directly increase billable airtime by stimulating outbound calls.
The Company's enhanced services platforms have been designed and
packaged to meet the capacity, reliability, scalability, maintainability and
physical requirements of large telephone network operators. The systems are
offered in a variety of sizes and configurations, extending to a capacity of up
to 6,000 ports, 45,000 voice storage hours and 1,000,000 mailboxes. The systems
also offer redundancy of critical components, so that no single failure will
interrupt the service. The Company's platforms are available in both centralized
and widely distributed configurations, and maintain their integrity as a single
system in distributed configurations.
The Company's systems also incorporate components that are compatible
with the IN and AIN protocols for Intelligent Peripherals ("IP"), permitting the
Company's network operator customers to develop and deploy services based on the
overall IN/AIN architecture. In addition, when the system is configured as a
Service Node ("SN"), it enables customers to offer next-generation IN/AIN-based
services such as personal number, call screening/caller introduction, one-touch
call return and pre-paid. The incorporation of IN and AIN-related software also
allows a customer, which has not yet implemented intelligent network
infrastructure, to purchase an enhanced services platform from the Company with
the confidence that it contains a built-in migration path to IN/AIN standards,
should the network operator decide to implement IN/AIN infrastructure in the
future.
The Company's platforms incorporate proprietary and third-party
software, and industry standard and proprietary hardware, in an open system
architecture. Most hardware is based on Industry Standard Architecture ("ISA"),
which facilitates the integration of commercially available ISA technologies
with the Company's core technologies. The systems support a wide variety of
analog and digital telephony interfaces and signaling systems, enabling them to
adapt to a variety of different telephony environments and IN/AIN applications,
and provide a "universal port" -- a single port that supports any combination of
voice and fax services at any time during a single call. The Company has also
introduced Internet messaging capabilities, enabling end-users to access their
voice, fax and e-mail text messages from anywhere in the world via the World
Wide Web.
Comverse Information Systems Division: Monitoring and Recording Systems
Comverse's Information Systems Division develops, manufactures and
markets monitoring and recording systems primarily for law enforcement,
intelligence agencies, call centers and financial institutions.
- 4 -
The Company's AUDIODISK systems are multiple channel, multimedia
digital monitoring systems, sold primarily to law enforcement and intelligence
agencies, which enable multiple users simultaneously to monitor, record and
process audio, image (facsimile) and data communications over multiple channels
in a variety of analog and digital formats, and provide facilities for archiving
large volumes of recorded information. The systems automatically decode and
record a variety of signals without operator intervention and store the recorded
information on magnetic and optical disks to permit quick and easy random access
and the use of computer database techniques for analysis, archival and retrieval
operations. AUDIODISK also enables multiple users to access the same recorded
information simultaneously for processing and analysis.
The Company's ULTRA line of multiple channel, multimedia digital
recording systems are marketed primarily to call centers, financial
institutions, emergency "911" service providers, correctional institutions, and
other organizations that record large volumes of communications, and require
fast and easy retrieval of recorded information.
Traditionally, analog tape recorders, alone or coupled with a variety
of other special purpose devices, have been utilized for communications
monitoring, recording and related applications. The limited capacity and
processing capability inherent in these systems have imposed constraints on
organizations that process large amounts of multimedia information from multiple
channels and that need to store the processed information for long periods while
keeping it available for rapid retrieval. The Company's systems interface with a
variety of analog and digital communications protocols and automatically
recognize and adapt to voice, fax or modem content on each recorded channel.
Most importantly, they also enable users to adapt efficiently to the emergence
of new telecommunications technologies, such as digital transmission and
enhanced signaling systems, for which analog, tape recorder-based equipment was
not designed. The systems provide a number of advantages over analog, tape
recorder-based systems, including improvements in capacity, reliability,
accuracy, processing efficiency and archiving and retrieval capabilities.
The AUDIODISK product design is based on open system architecture and
client/server concepts, and supports a broad range of multimedia monitoring
capabilities, such as the recording, processing and retrieval of analog audio
signals, such as telephone and radio channels; analog facsimile and modem
communications; digital audio and data signals, including ISDN, T1, E1 and X.25;
and telephony signaling, including Pulse Dialing, DTMF, Calling Line
Identification and Call Progress Tones (such as busy, no-answer and ringback).
AUDIODISK systems simultaneously process incoming signals over multiple
channels, apply digital signal processing technologies and use magnetic and
optical disks for temporary and long-term digital storage. Digital signal
processing technologies that are employed by AUDIODISK to enhance monitoring
applications include, among others, signal compression, automatic signal
identification, automatic signal interpretation and noise cancellation. Magnetic
and optical disks permit virtually instantaneous retrieval and sharing of stored
information among many users. The systems also enable users to transmit
multimedia information among multiple sites over
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communication links. AUDIODISK is designed to support various communications
links, including T1, E1, ISDN, Dial-up telephone lines (over secure modems),
satellite links, TCP/IP over Ethernet (with routers) and X.25. AUDIODISK systems
also provide a facility for archiving large volumes of recorded information on
rewritable optical disks. This archive function allows a single recording
session, groups of sessions, a single recording channel, selected channels or
all channels to be stored on the same disk. The archive disk records all the
signals on a particular channel and automatically associates the signal-related
information ("SRI") as well as the date and time with the recorded information.
For larger AUDIODISK systems, automatic disk library systems, referred to as
"jukeboxes", provide very large amounts of on-line storage. The product employs
a database management system to provide a central facility for access to all
stored information. This feature allows any operator to use computer database
query techniques to retrieve the audio and SRI data quickly and efficiently.
The Company offers AUDIODISK systems in a range of configurations,
which share substantially the same hardware, software and user interface. The
AUDIODISK systems' multimedia server can be configured in a variety of models to
support a range of applications, including large, fixed-site audio monitoring
platforms with up to 350 channels. Moreover, several AUDIODISK multimedia
servers may be networked for increased capacity or to satisfy redundancy
requirements. Storage configurations include magnetic disks, optical drives and
optical jukebox devices. Up to 50 four-gigabyte magnetic disks can be configured
in a disk array to provide a recording buffer. Removable optical cartridges are
used for archiving, with each cartridge capable of storing up to 180 compressed
audio hours. Multiple jukebox configurations provide automated management of
optical media, storing up to 30,000 hours of audio or 4,500,000 pages of fax for
rapid automated retrieval.
ULTRA systems provide Computer-Telephony Integration ("CTI") enabled
recording, including integration with major PBX/ACDs, Predictive Dialers and
middleware products. The CTI connection allows the customer to easily search
calls through database queries. In addition, selective recording is possible
through time-driven schedules or event triggers. ULTRA systems support high
volume of simultaneous playbacks over the telephone or through LANs, WANs, and
the Internet. Immediate access to recordings is possible through advanced
optical disk technology and jukeboxes. The ULTRA Series comprises six products,
tailored to customer-specific requirements for capacity, storage and special
features.
DGM&S Telecom Division: Telecommunications Signaling Products
The DGM&S Telecom Division provides SS7 telecommunications software and
hardware, marketed under the name SignalWare. DGM&S's SignalWare products
provide IN/AIN applications for voice, data and mobility communications services
such as 800 number translation, voice mail, Internet routing, short text
messaging, local number portability, cellular roaming and emergency "911"
services. DGM&S's products are marketed to wireline and wireless equipment
providers and network operators to enable global connectivity, inter-platform
portability, client/server flexibility and clustering reliability. The products
provide the global
- 6 -
standards and national variants needed to communicate between the disparate
signaling protocols worldwide, and enable operators to use either a UNIX or
Windows NT platform. SignalWare products, which offers mediated access to the
telecommunications signaling network, operates in a client/server configuration.
DGM&S's customers include, among others, Amdahl, Compaq, DSC
Communications, Ericsson, MCI, Nokia, PTT Telecom (Netherlands), Qualcomm,
Siemens, Sprint and Sun Microsystems.
MARKETS, SALES AND MARKETING
The Company's CNS Division markets enhanced services platforms
throughout the world, with its own direct sales force and in cooperation with a
number of leading international vendors of telecommunications infrastructure
equipment. The Company is a market share leader in providing large capacity
messaging systems for telephone network operators around the world.
More than 250 fixed and wireless telephone network operators in more
than 65 countries, including 13 of the 20 largest telephone companies in the
world, have selected the Company's platforms for messaging and other enhanced
services. The Company's network operator customers include, among others, AT&T
(USA), Bell Atlantic (USA), BellSouth (USA), Deutsche Telekom (Germany),
Hongkong Telecom (Hong Kong), NTT (Japan), SBC Commmunications (USA), SFR
(France), Sprint PCS (USA), Telebras (Brazil), Telecom Italia (Italy), Telmex
(Mexico) and Telstra (Australia).
The Company provides its customers with programs of marketing
consultation, seminars and materials designed to assist them in marketing
enhanced telecommunications services, and also undertakes to play an ongoing
supporting role in their business and market planning processes.
The Company's CIS Division markets AUDIODISK and ULTRA systems
worldwide through its direct sales force and, where appropriate, through agents,
distributors and system integrators. The Company sells AUDIODISK directly to the
law enforcement, military and intelligence markets. Primary target markets for
the ULTRA Series include call centers, public safety and emergency services
organizations and financial institutions.
TECHNOLOGIES
The Company's research and development efforts focus particularly on
the design of very large, high throughput systems and digital signal processing
technologies for voice, image and data communications. The Company's products
use advanced technologies in the areas of digital signal processing, facsimile
protocols, telephony interfaces, mass storage, digital networking,
multi-processor computer architecture and real-time software design. The Company
- 7 -
also possesses considerable technology and expertise in the development of
software products, solutions and applications within the IN and AIN environment.
The Company's products are based upon flexible system architectures
specifically designed to handle multiple channel, multimedia communication and
processing applications. Multimedia processing computers require a much higher
throughput than conventional data processing systems, especially when a large
number of channels have to be processed simultaneously. The Company's products
employ open system, modular architectures, which use distributed processors,
rather than one large central processor, as well as multiple storage devices and
digital networking. The product design is intended to be readily adaptable to
the usage and capacity requirements of the individual end-user. The product
architectures also allow the Company to add enhancements and new technologies to
its systems without rendering existing products obsolete.
A primary focus of the Company's research and development efforts has
been digital signal processing technologies required for voice, image and data
communications. Computer systems designed for signal processing applications,
such as processing of voice and image communications, handle information
differently from conventional data processing systems and require greater
processing and storage resources. For example, a digitized voice message, even
when subjected to data compression techniques, may require as much as 150 times
the storage capacity as the same message processed in textual form. The computer
must be designed to function at a fast and efficient rate to produce a form of
speech acceptable to the human ear. The Company has developed a number of speech
compression algorithms, which provide the Company's products with optimal
compression taking into account the level of speech quality required for each
application. The Company also has developed a special signal detector, which
identifies signals as voice, fax or modem. Voice processing algorithms currently
available with the Company's products include speech enhancement (noise
reduction) and variable playback speed with pitch compensation. Fax and modem
processing algorithms offered by the Company enable communication and
interception of a large number of standard and non-standard communications
protocols.
The Company has developed interfaces for its products to most telephony
environments used around the world, including digital interfaces, such as T1, E1
and ISDN, and SS7 interfaces designed to encompass both basic network
connectivity and the IN/AIN capabilities of Intelligent Peripherals and Service
Nodes. The Company has implemented facsimile communication and intercept
protocols for Group 3 facsimile. Certain of the Company's products incorporate
local area network and wide area network technologies used for the transfer of
digitized voice, fax and modem information, as well as for the transfer of data
among various network elements.
The Company utilizes state-of-the-art mass storage technologies in many of
its products. Proprietary algorithms developed by the Company are utilized for
storage of multimedia information to facilitate real-time processing of large
amounts of information and optimal use of media. A variable number of disks may
be configured in a disk array to serve large numbers of users and to provide
full or partial disk redundancy for critical applications. Special algorithms
utilized by the Company to handle optical disks within a number of jukebox
devices include automatic channel-to-disk allocation, automatic retrieval of
multimedia information from any disk located in the jukeboxes and redundant
archiving on two or more cartridges simultaneously.
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RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Because of the continuing technological changes that characterize the
telecommunications and computer industries, the Company's success will depend,
to a considerable extent, upon its ability to continue to develop competitive
products through its research and development efforts.
The Company is engaged in ongoing research and development efforts
intended to expand and enhance the technical capabilities, features and range of
uses of its products, and to design and develop new generations of its product
offerings. The Company currently employs more than 1,200 scientists, engineers
and technicians with broad experience in the areas of digital signal processing,
computer architecture, facsimile protocols, telephony, digital networking,
multi-processing, mass storage, and real-time software design.
A substantial portion of the Company's research and development
operations benefit from financial incentives provided by government
instrumentalities to promote research and development activities, including its
research and development activities situated in Israel. The cost of such efforts
is affected by the continued availability of funding under such programs. The
percentage of the Company's total research and development expenditures
reimbursed under these programs has declined in recent years, and will continue
to decline with the growth in the Company's overall operations and the
increasing amount of research and development conducted by the Company at
locations other than those in which reimbursement programs are available to it.
The Company pays royalties on its sales of certain products developed in part
with funding supplied under such programs. Permission from the government of
Israel is required for the Company to manufacture outside of Israel products
resulting from research and development activities funded under such programs,
or to transfer outside of Israel related technology rights, and in order to
obtain such permission the Company may be required to increase the royalties to
the applicable funding agencies and/or repay certain amounts received as
reimbursement of research and development costs. The Company expects to incur
additional royalty expenses and/or repayment obligations as a result of the
Merger and the location of certain manufacturing and research and development
operations pertaining to its TRILOGUE product line at its Boston facilities. See
"Business--Licenses and Royalties," "Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and Note 3 to the financial
statements.
PATENTS AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
The Company currently holds a total of 17 United States patents and a
number of foreign patents. While the Company files patent applications
periodically, no assurance can be given that patents will be issued on the basis
of such applications or that, if patents are issued, the claims allowed will be
sufficiently broad to protect the Company's technology. In addition, no
assurance can be given that any patents issued to the Company will not be
challenged, invalidated or circumvented or that the rights granted under the
patents will provide significant benefits to the Company.
9
In order to safeguard its unpatented proprietary know-how, trade
secrets and technology, the Company relies primarily upon trade secret
protection and non-disclosure provisions in agreements with employees and others
having access to confidential information. There can be no assurance that these
measures will adequately protect the Company from disclosure or misappropriation
of its proprietary information.
The Company and its customers from time to time receive communications
from third parties, including some of the Company's competitors, alleging
infringement by the Company of such parties' patent rights. While such
communications are common in the computer and telecommunications industries and
the Company has in the past been able to obtain any necessary licenses on
commercially reasonable terms, there can be no assurance that the Company would
prevail in any litigation to enjoin the Company from selling certain of its
products on the basis of such alleged infringement, or that the Company would be
able to license any valid patents on reasonable terms.
LICENSES AND ROYALTIES
The Company licenses certain technology, know-how and related rights
for use in the manufacture and marketing of its products, and pays royalties to
third parties under such licenses and under other agreements entered into in
connection with research and development financing. The Company believes that
its rights under such licenses and other agreements are sufficient for the
manufacturing and marketing of its products and, in the case of licenses, extend
for periods at least equal to the estimated useful lives of the related
technology and know-how. The Company currently pays royalties on substantially
all sales of enhanced services platforms and on certain sales of AUDIODISK,
ULTRA and derivative products. The royalties vary in amount based upon the
revenues attributable to the various components of such products. During 1995,
1996 and 1997, aggregate license and royalty payments by the Company amounted to
approximately $2,419,000, $4,365,000 and $6,865,000, respectively.
INTERNATIONAL SALES
Sales of the Company's products outside of North America have increased
from approximately $92,046,000 in 1995 to approximately $136,236,000 in 1996 and
$205,988,000 in 1997. International sales and marketing efforts may be adversely
affected by a number of factors, including the need for system customization and
special integrations, government approvals and export licenses, instability in
international trading relations, currency fluctuations and additional costs of
marketing, service and support due to lack of proximity with the end-users. In
certain cases, the Company's contracts are denominated in local currencies, and
as such, the Company may be adversely affected by fluctuations in those
currencies. International sales of certain systems manufactured by the Company
also are subject to a variety of legal restrictions governing the export of such
products.
10
While the Company believes that prevailing economic conditions in the
Far East and Southeast Asia have reduced the demand for its systems in certain
countries, overall sales in the region have increased over the past 12 months.
The Company cannot currently predict the effect on its business should regional
economic conditions fail to improve.
For additional information regarding foreign operations, see Notes 16
and 18 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements and "Management's
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations -
Certain Trends and Uncertainties" appearing elsewhere in this report.
BACKLOG
At December 31, 1997, the backlog of the Company amounted to
approximately $87,644,000, compared with approximately $70,339,000 at December
31, 1996, an increase of approximately $17,305,000. Substantially all of the
current backlog is expected to be delivered within the next 12 months.
SERVICE AND SUPPORT
The Company has a strong commitment to provide product service and
support to its customers and emphasizes such commitment in its marketing.
Because of the intensity of use of systems by telephone network operators and
other customers of the Company's products, and their low tolerance for
down-time, the Company is required to make a greater commitment to service and
support of systems used by these customers, and such commitment increases
operating costs.
The Company's general warranty policy is to replace or repair any
component that fails during a specified warranty period. Broader warranty and
service coverage is provided in certain instances, and is usually made available
to customers on a contractual basis for an additional charge.
The Company provides centralized technical assistance from several
locations around the world. Technical support is available for the Company's
customers 24 hours-a-day, seven days-a-week.
COMPETITION
The enhanced services platform industry is highly competitive, and
includes numerous products offering a broad range of features and capacities.
The primary direct competitors of the CNS Division are manufacturers of
stand-alone voice mail systems, including, among others, Brite Voice Systems,
Inc., Centigram Communications Corporation, Glenayre Electronics, Inc., Octel
Communications Corporation (acquired in 1997 by Lucent Technologies, Inc.),
Tecnomen Oy, Unisys Corporation, and manufacturers of central office
telecommunications equipment, including Northern Telecom Limited and
Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson. Competitors of the Company that manufacture
other telecommunications equipment may derive a competitive advantage in selling
voice processing and message management systems to customers that are purchasing
or have previously purchased other compatible equipment from such manufacturers.
11
Indirect competition is provided by voice and fax messaging products
employed at end-user sites as an alternative to the use of services available
through telephone network operators. This "customer premises equipment" includes
a broad range of products, such as stand-alone voice mail systems, products
offering "call processing" services that are supplied with voice mail features
or integrated with other voice mail systems, as well as personal computer modems
and add-on cards and software designed to furnish voice processing and message
management features.
The Company believes that competition in the sale of enhanced services
platforms is based on a number of factors, the most important of which are
product features and functionality, system performance and reliability,
marketing and distribution capability and price. Other important competitive
factors include service and support and the capability to integrate systems with
a variety of central office and cellular switches and other communications
systems. The Company believes that the range of features provided by, and the
ease of use of, its enhanced services platforms are competitive with other
platforms currently being marketed, and that its products are among the leading
systems designed specifically for telephone network operators.
Neither the Company nor any of the Company's competitors is a dominant
vendor of enhanced services platforms in any market segment or product line. The
Company anticipates that a number of its direct and indirect competitors will be
introducing new or improved enhanced services platforms during the next several
years.
The Company is aware of a relatively small number of manufacturers of
products that compete with the AUDIODISK product line at the present time.
Manufacturers of products that have been offered in competition with the
AUDIODISK system include Applied Signal Technology, Inc., the E-Systems division
of Raytheon Corporation, GTE Government Systems Division, Harris Corporation,
JSI Corporation and Nice Systems, Ltd. Competition also has been provided by
manufacturers and integrators of custom designed computer and telecommunications
systems in response to particular government procurements in specific markets
where they have entrenched customer relationships. The Company believes that it
derives a competitive advantage over many potential competitors of its AUDIODISK
product line by reason of its ability to offer prospective customers a family of
products that can provide a solution to most customer requirements without
extensive special development effort. The government market in general is highly
competitive and difficult to penetrate, and the Company may be at a competitive
disadvantage in respect of certain customers and market segments as a result of
its small size in relation to other potential vendors and the existence of
entrenched customer relationships with other vendors. The market in which ULTRA
products are sold is also highly competitive. Primary competitors include Atis
Assmann GmbH, Dictaphone Corporation, Kreutler GmbH, Nice Systems, Ltd., Racal
Recorders Ltd., Seltronics Corp., TEAC America, Inc., Teknekron Infoswitch
Corporation and Witness Systems, Inc.
12
Many of the Company's present and potential competitors are
considerably larger than the Company, are more established, have a larger
installed base of customers and have greater financial, technical, marketing and
other resources.
MANUFACTURING AND SOURCES OF SUPPLIES
The Company's manufacturing operations consist primarily of final
assembly and testing, involving the application of extensive testing and quality
control procedures to materials, components, subassemblies and systems. The
Company uses third parties to perform printed circuit board assembly and sheet
metal fabrication. Although the Company generally uses standard parts and
components in its products, certain components are presently available only from
a limited number of sources. To date, the Company has been able to obtain
adequate supplies of all components in a timely manner from existing sources or,
when necessary, from alternative sources. However, the inability to obtain
sufficient quantities of components or to locate alternative sources of supply
if and as required in the future, would adversely affect the Company's
operations.
The Company maintains organization-wide quality assurance
procedures, coordinating the quality control activities of the Company's
research and development, manufacturing and service departments. The Company's
primary manufacturing and research and development facilities have received
certification to Quality Standard ISO 9001.
CAPITAL MARKET ACTIVITIES
The Company has organized a wholly-owned subsidiary, CTI Capital
Corp. ("CTI Capital"), in support of its exploration of strategic acquisition
and investment opportunities. CTI Capital, directly and through a wholly-owned
subsidiary in Israel, Comverse Investments Ltd., seeks to identify and implement
suitable strategic investments for the Company, and engages in portfolio
investment and capital market activities, primarily in Israel. Such activities
include, in addition to direct investment in public and private companies,
investment and merchant banking activities and short-term trading of debt and
equity securities. Through ComSor Investment Fund N.V., formed by CTI Capital in
partnership with a subsidiary of Soros Fund Management LLC., the Company seeks
to invest venture capital in high technology firms, primarily those located in
Israel, and engages in other investment activities. The ComSor fund has a $25
million dollar capital commitment each from CTI Capital and a subsidiary of
Soros Fund Management. Comverse also engages in direct strategic and capital
management investment activities for its own account.
13
OPERATIONS IN ISRAEL
A substantial portion of the Company's research and development and
manufacturing operations are conducted at its wholly-owned subsidiary, Efrat
Future Technology Ltd. ("Efrat"), which is located in Israel and, accordingly,
may be affected by economic, political and military conditions in that country.
The Company's business is also dependent to some extent on trading relationships
between Israel and other countries. Certain of the Company's products
incorporate components imported into Israel from the United States and other
countries and most of the Company's products are sold outside of Israel.
Accordingly, the Company's operations would be adversely affected if major
hostilities involving Israel should occur or if trade between Israel and its
current trading partners were interrupted or curtailed. The Company benefits
from various policies of the Government of Israel, including reduced taxation
and special subsidy programs, designed to stimulate economic activity,
particularly high technology industry, in that country. As a condition of its
receipt of funds for various research and development projects conducted under
programs sponsored by the Government of Israel, the Company has agreed that
products resulting from these projects may not be manufactured, nor may the
technology developed in the projects be transferred, outside of Israel without
government consent.
Since the establishment of Israel in 1948, a state of hostility has
existed, varying in degree and intensity, between Israel and the Arab countries,
and Israel and countries doing business with Israel have been the subject of an
economic boycott by the Arab countries. Following the Six-Day War in 1967,
Israel commenced administering the territories of the West Bank and the Gaza
Strip and, since December 1987, increased civil unrest has existed in these
territories and resulted in acts of violence in other parts of Israel. Although
Israel has entered into various agreements with Arab countries and the Palestine
Liberation Organization ("PLO"), and various declarations have been signed in
connection with efforts to resolve some of the regional problems, no prediction
can be made as to whether a full resolution of these problems can be achieved or
as to the nature of any such resolution. To date, these problems have not had a
material adverse impact on the financial condition or operations of the Company,
although there can be no assurance that continuation of these problems will not
have such an impact in the future.
Israel is a member of the United Nations, the International Monetary
Fund, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the
International Finance Corporation, and is a signatory to the General Agreement
on Tariffs and Trade, which provides for reciprocal lowering of trade barriers
among its members. In addition, Israel has been granted preferences under the
Generalized System of Preferences from the United States, Australia, Canada, and
Japan. These preferences allow Israel to export the products covered by such
programs either duty-free or at reduced tariffs.
Israel and the European Union are parties to a Free Trade Agreement
pursuant to which, subject to rules of origin, Israel's industrial exports to
the European Union are exempt from customs duties and other non-tariff barriers
and import restrictions. Israel also has an agreement with the United States to
establish a Free Trade Area ("FTA") which is intended ultimately to eliminate
all tariff and certain non-tariff barriers on most trade between the two
countries. Under the FTA agreement, most products received immediate duty-free
status in 1985, and all tariffs have since been eliminated. In 1993, Israel
14
entered into an agreement with the European Free Trade Association ("EFTA"),
which includes Austria, Norway, Finland, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein,
that established a free-trade zone between Israel and EFTA nations exempting
manufactured goods and some agricultural goods and processed foods from customs
duties, while reducing duties on other goods. Israel is the only country which
has free-trade area agreements with the United States as well as with the
European Union and EFTA states. The end of the Cold War has also enabled Israel
to establish commercial and trade relations with a number of nations, including
Russia, China and the nations of Eastern Europe, with whom Israel had not
previously had such relations.
Israel's economy has from time to time been subject to various
destabilizing factors, including a period of rampant inflation in the early to
mid-1980s, low foreign exchange reserves, fluctuations in world commodity
prices, military conflicts and civil unrest. For these and other reasons, the
Israeli Government has intervened in all sectors of the economy, employing,
among other means, fiscal and monetary policies, import duties, foreign currency
restrictions and controls of wages, prices and exchange rates. The Israeli
Government has frequently changed its policies in all these areas. For the
calendar years 1993 through 1997, the annual rates of inflation were
approximately 11%, 14%, 8%, 11% and 7%, respectively. This inflation, and the
associated increases in salaries that are linked by Israeli law to increases in
the consumer price index, have increased the cost of the Company's operations in
Israel, and salary costs have further increased as a result of the growing
competition for qualified scientific, engineering and technical personnel in
Israel. The increase in costs in recent periods has not been offset by
proportional devaluation of the Israeli shekel against the U.S. dollar, and
accordingly has had a negative impact on the Company's overall results of
operations.
The results of operations of the Company have been favorably affected
by Efrat's participation in Israeli Government programs related to research and
development, as well as its utilization of certain tax incentives and other
incentives available under applicable Israeli laws and regulations, some of
which have been reduced, discontinued or otherwise modified in recent years. In
addition, the Company's ability to obtain benefits under various discretionary
funding programs has declined and may continue to decline as its internal
financial and operational resources increase relative to other applicants. The
results of operations of the Company could be adversely affected if these
programs were further reduced or eliminated and not replaced with equivalent
programs or if Efrat's ability to participate in these programs were to be
reduced significantly.
EMPLOYEES
At December 31, 1997, the Company employed 2,827 individuals,
approximately 76% of whom are scientists, engineers and technicians engaged in
research and development, marketing and support activities.
15
The Company is not a party to any collective bargaining or other
agreement with any labor organization; however, certain provisions of the
collective bargaining agreements between the Histadrut (General Federation of
Labor in Israel) and the Coordinating Bureau of Economic Organizations
(including the Industrialists' Association) are applicable to the Company's
Israeli employees by order of the Israeli Ministry of Labor. Israeli law
generally requires the payment by employers of severance pay upon the death of
an employee, his retirement or upon termination of his employment, and the
Company provides for such payment obligations through monthly contributions to
an insurance fund. Israeli employees and employers are required to pay
pre-determined sums to the National Insurance Institute, which payment covers
medical and other benefits similar to the benefits provided by the United States
Social Security Administration.
The continuing success of the Company will depend, to a considerable
extent, on the contributions of its senior management and key employees, many of
whom would be difficult to replace, and on the Company's ability to attract and
retain qualified employees in all areas of its business. Competition for such
personnel is intense, particularly in the computer and telecommunications
industries. In order to attract and retain talented personnel, and to provide
incentives for their performance, the Company has emphasized the award of stock
options as an important element of its compensation program, including, in the
case of certain key management level personnel, options to purchase shares in
certain of the Company's subsidiaries, and cash bonuses based on several
parameters, including the profitability of their respective business units.
ITEM 2. PROPERTIES.
As of December 31, 1997, the Company, excluding Boston, leased an
aggregate of approximately 548,000 square feet of space for its operations
worldwide, including approximately 414,000 square feet in Tel Aviv, Israel,
approximately 46,000 square feet in Woodbury, New York, approximately 31,000
square feet in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey, approximately 22,000 square feet in
Irvine, California, and an aggregate of approximately 35,000 square feet at
various other locations in the United States, Israel, Western Europe, the Far
East and Australia. The aggregate base monthly rent for the facilities under
lease at December 31, 1997 was approximately $604,000, and all of such leases
are subject to various pass-throughs and escalation adjustments.
In March 1998, the Company entered into a lease for approximately
93,500 square feet in Tel Aviv, Israel to increase the capacity of its Israeli
operations. The monthly base rent for the new premises starts at approximately
$103,000.
The Company believes that its facilities currently under lease are
adequate for its current operations, and that additional facilities are
available on competitive market terms to provide for such future expansion of
the Company's operations as may be warranted.
16
ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.
On November 16, 1995, a purported class action was filed in the United
States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against Boston
and certain of its officers. Two similar complaints were filed on November 20,
1995 and November 21, 1995. The plaintiffs alleged violations of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934. On February 15, 1996, the Court consolidated the three
cases into one captioned In re Boston Technology, Inc., Securities Litigation.
On November 13, 1996, Boston was allowed to transfer the consolidated action to
the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. On February
5, 1998, the Court issued an order granting the defendants' motion to dismiss
the Amended Complaint. No final judgment has been entered in the case. The
Company has received no information regarding any plans the plaintiffs may have
to ask the Court to reconsider its order, attempt to re-plead their claims, or
appeal from any judgment that might be entered. However, if any of these actions
are taken by the plaintiffs, the Company and the other defendants intend to
contest these actions vigorously.
On or about March 11, 1997, a complaint was filed in the Fourteenth
Judicial District Court of Dallas County, Case No. 9702187, by Syntellect
Technology Corporation ("Syntellect"). The complaint alleges, among other
things, breach of contract by Boston in failing or refusing to pay certain
royalties allegedly due under the Patent License Agreement between Boston and
Syntellect's predecessor, Dytel Corporation (the "License Agreement").
Syntellect claims that the License Agreement required Boston to pay royalties on
sales of its software and hardware products. On February 10, 1998, the Court
granted the Company partial summary judgment, holding that the License Agreement
requires payment of royalties on software products only, and not on hardware
sales. Discovery on the remaining claims continues, and a trial is scheduled for
the summer of 1998. The Company is currently engaged in negotiations with
Syntellect for the settlement of the litigation and the license by the Company
of a number of patents for which Syntellect holds licensing rights. Should such
negotiations not result in the settlement of the action, the Company intends to
contest Syntellect's claims vigorously.
On February 2, 1998, Computel Computadores e Telecommunicacoes S.A.
("Computel") filed a Request for Arbitration with the International Chamber of
Commerce ("ICC") in Paris, France, claiming breaches by Boston and its
wholly-owned subsidiary, Boston Technology Investments, Inc., in respect of
agreements with Computel and its affiliates for the distribution of Boston's
systems in Brazil. Computel claims, among other things, that the defendants have
breached their obligations to Computel by engaging in the Merger and thereby
competing with the joint venture established by the parties in connection with
such distribution activities, by delivering equipment that did not conform to
specification, by failing to support this equipment and by "fraudulently
inducing" Computel to terminate the agreement that established the joint venture
without advising it of the possibility of the Merger. In its prayer for relief,
Computel alleges damages in excess of US $50 million as a result of lost
business opportunities, injury to its business reputation, investment losses and
losses due to currency devaluation. On March 10, 1998, the Company commenced an
action against Computel and an affiliate in the Middlesex Superior Court of
Massachusetts (Civil Action No. 98-1155) seeking declaratory judgments as to
17
arbitrability and the continuing validity of the Purchase and Sale Agreement
between the parties, Computel's specific performance of such agreement and
injunctions to prevent Computel from proceeding with the ICC arbitration. The
Company also seeks damages in excess of $3,767,500 as a result of Computel's
failure to pay monies owed under the Purchase and Sale Agreement, as well as
costs and attorneys' fees. The Company has also filed a Demand for Arbitration
with the American Arbitration Association in Boston, Massachusetts, against
Computel and certain of its affiliates claiming breach of a Distribution
Agreement between the parties and unfair and deceptive trade practices. The
Company seeks to recover damages in excess of $12,000,000, plus interest, for
systems shipped to respondents, and additional damages for respondents'
repudiation and anticipatory breach of contract and unfair and deceptive trade
practices. The Company intends to vigorously contest Computel's claims and
assert its claims against Computel and its affiliates.
ITEM 4. SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS
At the 1997 Annual Meeting of Shareholders of Comverse, held on January 13,
1998, the following matters, in addition to the reelection of the incumbent
Board of Directors, were approved by the shareholders with the votes indicated:
Number of Shares
Abstentions and
Voted For Voted Against Broker Non-Votes
1. Adoption of the Agreement and Plan
of Merger providing for the Merger
and related actions. 19,518,465 55,052 4,023,159
2. Ratification of the appointment of
Deloitte & Touche LLP as Comverse's
independent auditors for the fiscal year
ending December 31, 1997. 23,419,355 17,998 75,567
3. Approval of Comverse's 1997 Stock
Incentive Compensation Plan under
which up to 2.5 million shares of
Common Stock may be issued as
equity-based compensation to Company
employees and directors. 11,585,060 7,902,484 4,025,376
4. Approval of Comverse's 1997 Employee
Stock Purchase Plan under which up to
250,000 shares of Common Stock may be
issued for purchase by employees of the
Company. 19,391,347 175,745 3,945,828
18
PART II
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY
AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS.
The Common Stock trades on the NASDAQ National Market System under
the symbol CMVT. The following table sets forth the range of closing prices of
the Common Stock as reported on NASDAQ for the past three calendar years and for
the first calendar quarter of 1998, through March 24, 1998.
YEAR CALENDAR QUARTER LOW HIGH
1995 First Quarter $ 11 $ 14-5/8
Second Quarter $ 13-1/4 $ 18-1/4
Third Quarter $ 17-9/64 $ 23-3/8
Fourth Quarter $ 19-15/16 $ 25-11/16
1996 First Quarter $ 16-5/8 $ 25-1/8
Second Quarter $ 23-3/8 $ 30-1/2
Third Quarter $ 23-3/4 $ 41-3/8
Fourth Quarter $ 32-9/16 $ 38-1/8
1997 First Quarter $ 36-7/8 $ 46-3/8
Second Quarter $ 36-1/2 $ 52
Third Quarter $ 45-15/16 $ 53-1/16
Fourth Quarter $ 32-5/16 $ 54-3/16
1998 First Quarter
(through March 24, 1998) $ 30-5/8 $ 47-3/4
There were 3,005 holders of record of Common Stock at March 24, 1998.
Such record holders include a number of holders who are nominees for an
undetermined number of beneficial owners; the Company believes that the number
of beneficial owners of the shares of Common Stock outstanding at such date was
approximately 40,000.
The Company has not declared or paid any cash dividends on its equity
securities and does not expect to pay any cash dividends in the foreseeable
future, but rather intends to retain its earnings to finance the development and
growth of the Company's business. Any future determination as to the declaration
and payment of dividends will be made by the Board of Directors in its
discretion, and will depend upon the Company's earnings, financial condition,
capital requirements and other relevant factors. See "Management's Discussion
and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations--Liquidity and
Capital Resources."
19
ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA.
The following tables present selected consolidated financial data for
the Company for each of the years in the five years ended December 31, 1997.
Such information has been derived from the Company's audited consolidated
financial statements and should be read in conjunction with the Company's
consolidated financial statements and the notes to the consolidated financial
statements included elsewhere in this report. All financial information
presented herein for periods prior to the 1995 acquisition of DGM&S has been
retroactively adjusted to account for that transaction as a pooling of
interests.
Year Ended December 31,
----------------------------------------------------------------
1993(1) 1994(1) 1995 1996 1997
(In thousands, except per share data)
Statement of Operations Data:
Revenues:
Sales $ 81,388 $ 108,150 $ 137,149 $ 197,181 $ 280,281
Interest and other income 3,203 6,162 8,747 10,130 16,209
---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------
Total revenues 84,591 114,312 145,896 207,311 296,490
Costs and Expenses:
Cost of sales 35,125 47,715 59,297 84,319 118,857
Selling, general and administrative 23,468 33,681 41,388 53,347 74,064
Research and development, net 8,161 12,640 19,426 27,441 38,659
Interest expense and other 1,057 3,947 4,406 7,063 9,769
Royalties and license fees 1,911 2,186 2,419 4,365 6,865
Total costs and expenses 70,105 100,431 126,789 176,500 248,175
Income before income tax provision and
extraordinary item 14,486 13,881 19,107 31,346 48,315
Income tax provision 1,021 1,783 2,057 3,358 4,815
---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------
Net income $ 13,465 $ 12,098 $ 17,050 $ 27,988 $ 43,500
========== ========== ========== ========== =========
Earnings per share -diluted $ 0.65 $ 0.55 $ 0.75 $ 1.16 $ 1.61
========== ========== ========== ========== =========
Weighted average number of common
and common equivalent shares outstanding 20,756 21,868 22,602 26,447 27,099
December 31,
----------------------------------------------------------------
1993(2) 1994 1995 1996 1997
(In thousands)
Balance Sheet Data:
Working capital $ 138,149 $ 141,344 $ 155,064 $ 292,249 $ 330,303
Total assets 174,468 192,502 221,454 390,901 457,563
Long-term debt, including current portion 63,232 62,810 61,086 115,605 115,630
Stockholders' equity 91,608 101,613 121,766 212,058 261,482
(1) Includes results for DGM&S for its fiscal year ended September 30.
(2) Includes amounts for DGM&S as of its fiscal year ended September 30.
20
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This report contains forward-looking statements that involve a
number of risks and uncertainties, including without limitation information
regarding competition and future trends in the industries in which the Company
competes, the Company's future revenues and expenses, and the Company's plans,
strategies and expectations for its business. There are a number of factors that
could cause the Company's actual results and business plans to differ materially
from those forecasted or projected in such forward-looking statements. These
factors include, without limitation, those set forth below under the caption
"Certain Trends and Uncertainties". Readers are cautioned not to place undue
reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date
hereof. The Company undertakes no obligations to publicly release any revisions
to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the
date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis of the Company's results of
operations covers the operating results of Comverse and its consolidated
subsidiaries for the fiscal years included in the foregoing selected financial
data. The operating results of Boston are not included. In connection with the
Merger, the fiscal year of the Company has been changed from the calendar year
to the fiscal year ending January 31, corresponding to Boston's fiscal year. The
Company is recognizing substantial charges relating to the Merger and the
resulting combination of the two companies, effective upon the consummation of
the Merger in January 1998. Sales in the January, 1998 one-month transition
period (including Boston) were approximately $14,401,000, with a net loss of
approximately $115,207,000.
Comparison of 1996 and 1997 Operations
Total Revenues. Total revenues increased from 1996 to 1997 by
approximately $89,179,000 (43%). The increase is attributable primarily to a
higher volume of sales of systems and parts. Sales increased from 1996 to 1997
by approximately $83,100,000 (42%), primarily resulting from increased sales in
the TRILOGUE product line. Interest and other income increased from 1996 to 1997
by approximately $6,079,000 (60%), resulting primarily from increased interest
and dividend income, the investment of funds generated through the issuance of
convertible subordinated debentures in October 1996, and realized gains on sales
of investments.
Cost of Sales. Cost of sales increased by approximately $34,538,000
(41%) from 1996 to 1997 primarily as a result of the increase in sales. Gross
margins increased from approximately 57.2% in 1996 to approximately 57.6% in
1997.
21
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses. Selling, general and
administrative expenses increased from 1996 to 1997 by approximately $20,717,000
(39%) and as a percentage of total revenues decreased from approximately 26% in
1996 to approximately 25% in 1997. The increased amount was a result of
increased sales, marketing and administrative activities associated with the
overall growth of the Company's operations, and particularly with the expansion
of direct sales and marketing activities.
Research and Development Expenses. Net research and development
expenses during 1997 increased by approximately $11,218,000 (41%) over 1996 due
to overall growth of research and development operations, the initiation of
significant new research and development projects and increases in salaries and
other costs associated with research and development operations in Israel.
Royalties and License Fees. Royalties and license fees increased from
1996 to 1997 by approximately $2,500,000 (57%) due primarily to growth in sales
of royalty-bearing products. Royalties and license fees as a percentage of total
sales increased from approximately 2.2% in 1996 to approximately 2.4% in 1997,
reflecting an increase in the royalty rate payable to a funding agency that
became effective in 1996.
Income Tax Provision. Provision for income taxes increased from 1996 to
1997 by approximately $1,457,000 (43%), while the Company's overall effective
tax rate decreased from approximately 10.7% during 1996 to approximately 10.0%
in 1997. The Company's overall rate of tax is reduced significantly by the tax
benefits associated with qualified activities of one of its Israeli
subsidiaries, which is entitled to favorable income tax rates under a program of
the Israeli Government for "Approved Enterprise" investments in that country.
Net Income. Net income after taxes increased from approximately
$27,988,000 in 1996 to approximately $43,500,000 in 1997, an increase of
approximately $15,512,000 (55%), while net income after taxes as a percentage of
total revenues increased from approximately 13.5% in 1996 to approximately 14.7%
in 1997. The increases resulted primarily from the factors described above.
Comparison of 1995 and 1996 Operations
Total Revenues. Total revenues increased from 1995 to 1996 by
approximately $61,415,000 (42%). The increase is attributable primarily to a
higher volume of sales of systems and parts. Sales increased from 1995 to 1996
by approximately $60,032,000 (44%), primarily resulting from increased sales in
the TRILOGUE product line. Interest and other income increased from 1995 to 1996
by approximately $1,383,000 (16%), resulting primarily from increased interest
and dividend income, the investment of funds generated through the issuance of
convertible subordinated debentures in October 1996, and realized gains on sales
of short-term investments.
22
Cost of Sales. Cost of sales increased by approximately $25,022,000
(42%) from 1995 to 1996 primarily as a result of the increase in sales. Gross
margins increased from approximately 56.8% in 1995 to approximately 57.2% in
1996.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses. Selling, general and
administrative expenses increased from 1995 to 1996 by approximately $11,959,000
(29%) and as a percentage of total revenues decreased from approximately 28% in
1995 to approximately 26% in 1996. The increased amount was a result of
increased sales, marketing and administrative activities associated with the
overall growth of the Company's operations, and particularly with the expansion
of direct sales and marketing activities.
Research and Development Expenses. Net research and development
expenses during 1996 increased by approximately $8,015,000 (41%) over 1995 due
to overall growth of research and development operations, the initiation of
significant new research and development projects and increases in salaries and
other costs associated with research and development operations in Israel.
Royalties and License Fees. Royalties and license fees increased from
1995 to 1996 by approximately $1,946,000 (80%) due primarily to growth in sales
of royalty-bearing products. Royalties and license fees as a percentage of total
sales increased from approximately 1.8% in 1995 to approximately 2.2% in 1996,
reflecting an increase in the royalty rate payable to a funding agency that
became effective in 1996.
Income Tax Provision. Provision for income taxes increased from 1995 to
1996 by approximately $1,301,000 (63%), while the Company's overall effective
tax rate decreased from approximately 10.8% during 1995 to approximately 10.7%
in 1996. The Company's overall rate of tax is reduced significantly by the tax
benefits associated with qualified activities of one of its Israeli
subsidiaries, which is entitled to favorable income tax rates under a program of
the Israeli Government for "Approved Enterprise" investments in that country.
Net Income. Net income after taxes increased from approximately
$17,050,000 in 1995 to approximately $27,988,000 in 1996, an increase of
approximately $10,938,000 (64%), while net income after taxes as a percentage of
total revenues increased from approximately 11.7% in 1995 to approximately 13.5%
in 1996. The increases resulted primarily from the factors described above.
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
At December 31, 1997, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of
approximately $173,531,000, bank time deposits of approximately $40,700,000,
short-term investments of approximately $60,787,000 and working capital of
approximately $330,303,000. The Company believes that its existing working
capital, together with funds generated from operations, will be sufficient to
provide for its planned operations at least through December 31, 1998.
23
The Company regularly examines opportunities for strategic
acquisitions of other companies or lines of business, and anticipates that it
may from time to time issue additional debt and/or equity securities either as
direct consideration for such acquisitions or to raise additional funds to be
used (in whole or in part) in payment for acquired securities or assets. The
issuance of such securities can be expected to have a dilutive impact on the
Company's shareholders, and there can be no assurance as to whether or when any
acquired business would contribute positive operating results commensurate with
the associated acquisition cost.
The Company's liquidity and capital resources have not been, and
are not anticipated to be, materially affected by restrictions pertaining to the
ability of its subsidiaries in Israel to pay dividends or by withholding taxes
associated with any such dividend payments. Cash dividends paid by an Israeli
corporation to United States residents are subject to withholding of Israeli
income tax at source at rates of up to 25%, depending on the particular
facilities that have generated the earnings that are the source of the
dividends.
YEAR 2000
The Company has taken actions to understand the nature and extent of
the work required to make its systems, products and infrastructure Year 2000
compliant and has begun work to prepare its products and its financial,
information and other computer-based systems for the Year 2000, including
replacing and/or updating existing legacy systems. The Company continues to
evaluate the estimated costs associated with these efforts. While these efforts
will involve additional costs, the Company believes, based on available
information, that it will be able to manage its total Year 2000 transition
without any material adverse effect on its business operations, products or
financial prospects.
CERTAIN TRENDS AND UNCERTAINTIES
The Company has benefited from the growth in its business and capital
base over the past three years to make significant new investment in its
operations and infrastructure intended to enhance its opportunities for future
growth and profitability. The Company's results of operations reflect the
significant increase in its investment in operations over the past three years.
The Company intends to continue during 1998 to make significant investments in
the growth of its business, and to examine opportunities for additional growth
through acquisitions and strategic investments. The impact of these decisions on
future profitability cannot be predicted with assurance, and the Company's
commitment to growth may increase its vulnerability to unforeseen downturns in
its markets, technology changes and shifts in competitive conditions. However,
the Company believes that significant opportunities exist in the markets for
each of its main product lines, and that continued strong investment in its
technical, product development, marketing and sales capabilities will enhance
its opportunities for long term growth and profitability.
24
The Merger involves the integration of two companies that have
previously operated independently. The combination of two sizable
technology-based companies involves significant complexities, and no assurance
can be given that the combined Company will be able to integrate the operations
of Boston into the Company without encountering difficulties or experiencing the
loss of key Comverse or Boston personnel or that the benefits expected from such
integration will be realized. The integration of two companies across
geographically dispersed operations can create the risk of disruption in
operations of the combined company, and neither company's management has
substantial experience in managing such integration or the operations of an
entity the size of the combined Company. The Company does not expect to realize
cost savings in the near future as a result of the Merger, and no assurance can
be given that any savings can be achieved in future periods. Furthermore, there
can be no certainty that the Merger will not adversely affect the relationships
with key customers or key vendors of either company. As a result of its
significantly greater concentration on a small number of large telephone company
customers, Boston's business has historically been considerably more volatile
than that of Comverse, and the operations of the combined Company are likely to
be less predictable and subject to greater risks from actions of individual
customers than the operations of Comverse in recent years.
The telecommunications industry is subject to rapid technological
change. The Company's revenue stream will depend on its ability to enhance its
existing products and to introduce new products on a timely and cost-effective
basis. This includes any customer-requested custom software enhancements
required in the normal course of product delivery and customer demands for the
technological convergence of the Company's products. The Company's products
involve sophisticated hardware and software technology that performs critical
functions to highly demanding standards. There can be no assurance the Company's
current or future products will not develop operational problems, which could
have a material adverse effect on the Company. In addition, if the Company were
to delay the introduction of new products, or to delay the delivery of specific
custom software enhancements, the Company's operating results could be adversely
affected. The Company sells a majority of its products to companies in the
telecommunications industry. This industry is undergoing significant change as a
result of deregulation and privatization worldwide, reducing restrictions on
competition in the industry. Unforeseen changes in the regulatory environment
may have an impact on the Company's revenues and/or costs in any given part of
the world. The worldwide enhanced services systems industry is already highly
competitive and the Company expects competition to intensify. The Company
believes that existing competitors will continue to present substantial
competition, and that other companies, many with considerably greater financial,
marketing and sales resources than the Company, may enter the enhanced services
systems markets. The 1997 acquisition of Octel Communications Corporation, a
significant competitor of the Company, by Lucent Technologies, Inc. may
intensify the competitive environment in the industry, and there can be no
assurance that similar business combinations or industry consolidation will not
occur in the future.
25
The enhanced services platforms industry has experienced a continuing
evolution of product offerings and alternatives for delivery of services. These
trends have affected and may be expected to have a significant continuing
influence on conditions in the industry, although the impact on the industry
generally and on the Company's position in the industry cannot be predicted with
assurance. Significant changes in the industry make planning decisions more
difficult and increase the risk inherent in the planning process.
The market for telecommunications monitoring systems is also in a
period of significant transition. Budgetary constraints, uncertainties resulting
from the introduction of new technologies in the telecommunications environment
and shifts in the pattern of government expenditures resulting from geopolitical
events have increased uncertainties in the market, resulting in certain
instances in the attenuation of government procurement programs beyond their
originally expected performance periods and an increased incidence of delay,
cancellation or reduction of planned projects. The continuing delay and
uncertainties surrounding the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act
("CALEA") have had a significant impact on acquisition plans of law enforcement
agencies in North America engaged in monitoring activities, and no assurances
can be given as to the timing or ultimate content of the proposed legislation.
Competitive conditions in this sector have also been affected by the increasing
use by certain potential government customers of their own internal development
resources rather than outside vendors to provide certain technical solutions. In
addition, a number of established government contractors, particularly
developers and integrators of technology products, have taken steps to redirect
their marketing strategies and product plans in reaction to cut-backs in their
traditional areas of focus, resulting in an increase in the number of
competitors and the range of products offered in response to particular requests
for proposals. The lack of predictability in the timing and scope of government
procurements have similarly made planning decisions more difficult and have
increased the associated risks.
The Company has historically derived a significant portion of its sales
and operating profit from a relatively small number of contracts for large
system installations with major customers. Boston's operating results, in
particular, have often been characterized by volatility and lack of
predictability, reflecting its traditional customer concentration among major
telecommunications services providers such as the Regional Bell Operating
Companies. The Company continues to emphasize large capacity systems in its
product development and marketing strategies. Contracts for large installations
typically involve a lengthy and complex bidding and selection process, and the
ability of the Company to obtain particular contracts is inherently difficult to
predict. The Company believes that opportunities for large installations will
continue to grow in both its commercial and government markets, and intends to
continue to expand its research and development, manufacturing, sales and
marketing and product support capabilities in anticipation of such growth.
However, the timing and scope of these opportunities and the pricing and margins
associated with any eventual contract award are difficult to forecast, and may
vary substantially from transaction to transaction. The Company's future
operating results may accordingly exhibit a higher degree of volatility than the
operating results of other companies in its industries that have adopted
different strategies, and than the Company has experienced in prior periods.
Although the Company is actively pursuing a number of significant procurement
opportunities in the United States and internationally, both the timing of any
eventual procurements and the probability of the Company's receipt of
significant contract awards are uncertain. The degree of dependence by the
Company on large orders, and the investment required to enable the Company to
perform such orders, without assurance of continuing order flow from the same
customers and predictability of gross margins on any future orders, increase the
risk associated with its business.
26
The Company has significantly increased its expenditures in all areas
of its operations during recent periods, including the areas of research and
development and marketing and sales, and the Company plans to further increase
these expenditures in the foreseeable future. The increase in research and
development expenditures reflects the Company's concentration on enhancing the
range of features and capabilities of its existing product lines and developing
new generations of its products. The Company believes that these efforts are
essential for the continuing competitiveness of its product offerings and for
positioning itself to participate in future growth opportunities in both the
commercial and government sectors. The increase in sales and marketing
expenditures primarily results from the Company's decision to expand its
activities and direct presence in a growing number of world markets. The
Company's costs of operations have also been affected by increases in the cost
of its operations in Israel, resulting both from general inflation and increases
in the cost of attracting and retaining qualified scientific, engineering and
technical personnel in Israel, where the demand for such personnel is growing
rapidly with the expansion of technology-based industries in that country. The
increase in these costs in recent periods has not been offset by proportional
devaluation of the Israeli shekel against the United States dollar, and
accordingly has had a negative impact on the Company's overall results of
operations. Continuation of such trends may have a material adverse effect on
the Company's future results of operations.
A significant portion of the Company's research and development and
manufacturing operations are located in Israel and may be affected by
regulatory, political, military and economic conditions in that country. The
Company's historical operating results reflect substantial benefits from
programs sponsored by the Israeli government for the support of research and
development, as well as favorable tax rates available to "Approved Enterprises"
in Israel. The Israeli government has indicated its intention to reexamine
certain of its policies in these areas. Recently, the government acted to
increase, from between 2% and 3% of associated product sales to 3% of associated
product revenues (including service and other related revenues), the annual rate
of royalties to be applied to repayment of benefits under the conditional grant
program administered by the Office of the Chief Scientist of the Ministry of
Industry and Trade, a program in which the Company has regularly participated
and under which it continues to receive significant benefits through
reimbursement of qualified research and development expenditures. The Company's
repayment of amounts received under the program will be accelerated through
these higher royalty rates until repayment is completed. In addition, permission
from the government of Israel is required for the Company to manufacture outside
of Israel products resulting from research and development activities funded
under such programs, or to transfer outside of Israel related technology rights,
and in order to obtain such permission the Company may be required to increase
the royalties to the applicable funding agencies
27
and/or repay certain amounts received as reimbursement of research and
development costs. The Company expects to incur additional royalty expenses
and/or repayment obligations as a result of the Merger and the location of
certain manufacturing and research and development operations pertaining to its
TRILOGUE product line at its Boston facilities. The Israeli authorities have
also indicated that this funding program will be further reduced in the future,
particularly for larger entities such as the Company. The Israeli government has
also shortened the period of the tax moratorium applicable to "Approved
Enterprises" from four years to two years. Although this change has not affected
the tax status of most of the Company's current projects, it will apply to any
future "Approved Enterprises" of the Company. If further changes in the law or
government policies regarding those programs were to result in their termination
or adverse modification, or if the Company were to become unable to participate
in or take advantage of those programs, the cost to the Company of its
operations in Israel would materially increase and there would be an adverse
effect on the results of the Company's operations as a whole. To the extent the
Company increases its activities outside Israel, which will result from the
Merger and possible future acquisitions, such increased activities will not be
eligible for programs sponsored by Israel. The Company's research and
development and manufacturing operations attributable to Boston are expected to
continue to be located in the United States and thus will not be eligible for
the benefits of those programs. Accordingly, the effective cost to the Company
of its future research and development activities in particular, and its
operations in general, could significantly increase relative to that of
Comverse, historically.
The Company currently derives a significant portion of its total sales
from customers outside of the United States. International transactions involve
particular risks, including political decisions affecting tariffs and trade
conditions, rapid and unforeseen changes in economic conditions in individual
countries, turbulence in foreign currency and credit markets, and increased
costs resulting from lack of proximity to the customer. Volatility in
international currency exchange rates may have a significant impact on the
Company's operating results. The Company has, and anticipates that it will
continue to receive, significant contracts denominated in foreign (primarily
Western European and Japanese) currencies. As a result of the unpredictable
timing of purchase orders and payments under such contracts and other factors,
it is often not practicable for the Company to effectively hedge the risk of
significant changes in currency rates during the contract period. Since the
Company will hedge the exchange rate risks associated with long-term contracts
denominated in foreign currencies only to a limited extent, operating results
can be affected by the impact of currency fluctuations as well as the cost of
such hedging.
While the Company believes that prevailing economic conditions in
the Far East and Southeast Asia have reduced the demand for its systems in
certain countries, overall sales in the region have increased over the past 12
months. The Company cannot currently predict the effect on its business should
regional economic conditions fail to improve.
The trading price of the Company's shares may be affected by the
factors noted above as well as prevailing economic and financial trends and
conditions in the public securities markets. Share prices of companies in
technology and government contracting businesses, and particularly smaller and
medium-sized publicly traded companies such as the Company, tend to
28
exhibit a high degree of volatility. The Company's revenues and earnings may be
more volatile than that of Comverse historically as a result of the greater
concentration of Boston's business on a limited number of large customers.
Shortfalls in revenues or earnings from the levels anticipated by the public
markets could have an immediate and significant effect on the trading price of
the Company's shares in any given period. Such shortfalls may result from events
that are beyond the Company's immediate control, can be unpredictable and, since
a significant proportion of the Company's sales during each fiscal quarter tend
to occur in the latter stages of the quarter, may not be discernible until the
end of a financial reporting period. These factors contribute to the volatility
of the trading value of its shares regardless of the Company's long-term
prospects. The trading price of the Company's shares may also be affected by
developments, including reported financial results and fluctuations in trading
prices of the shares of other publicly-held companies in the voice processing
industry, which may not have any direct relationship with the Company's business
or prospects.
ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA.
The financial information required by Item 8 is included elsewhere in
this report.
See Part IV, Item 14.
ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS
ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE.
Not applicable.
PART III
The information required by Part III is omitted pursuant to instruction
G(3).
29
PART IV
ITEM 14. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
AND REPORTS ON FORM 8-K.
Page(s)
-------
(a) Documents filed as part of this report.
--- ---------------------------------------
(1) Financial Statements.
--- ---------------------
Index to Consolidated Financial Statements F-1
Independent Auditors' Report F-2
Consolidated Balance Sheets -
December 31, 1996 and 1997 F-3
Consolidated Statements of Income -
Years ended December 31,
1995, 1996 and 1997 F-4
Consolidated Statements of Stockholders' Equity -
Years ended December 31,
1995, 1996 and 1997 F-5
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows -
Years ended December 31,
1994, 1995 and 1996 F-7
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements F-8
(2) Financial Statement Schedules.
--- ------------------------------
None
(3) Exhibits.
--- ---------
The Index of Exhibits commences on the following
page. Exhibits numbered 10.3 through 10.8, 10.13
through 10.16 and 10.24 through 10.30 comprise
material compensatory plans and arrangements of the
registrant.
- 30 -
EXHIBITS
No. Description
2.1* Agreement and Plan of Merger dated as of August 20, 1997, between
Registrant and Boston Technology, Inc. (Incorporated by reference to
the Definitive Proxy Materials for the Registrant's Annual Meeting of
Stockholders held January 13, 1998.)
3 Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws:
3.1* Certificate of Incorporation. (Incorporated by reference to
the Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 for the year ended December
31, 1987.)
3.2* Certificate of Amendment of Certificate of Incorporation
effective February 26, 1993. (Incorporated by reference to
the Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 for the year ended December
31, 1992.)
3.3* Certificate of Amendment of Certificate of Incorporation
effective January 12, 1995. (Incorporated by reference to
the Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 for the year ended December
31, 1994.)
3.4* By-Laws, as amended. (Incorporated by reference to the
Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K under the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 for the year ended December 31, 1987.)
4 Instruments defining the rights of security holders including indentures:
4.1* Excerpts from Certificate of Incorporation. (Incorporated by
reference to the Registrant's Registration Statement on Form
S-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1933, Registration
No. 33-9147.)
4.2* Excerpt from Certificate of Amendment of Certificate of
Incorporation effective February 26, 1993. (Incorporated by
reference to the Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K
under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 for the year ended
December 31, 1992.)
4.3* Excerpt from Certificate of Amendment of Certificate of
Incorporation effective January 12, 1995. (Incorporated by
reference to the Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K
under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 for the year ended
December 31, 1994.)
4.4* Excerpts from By-Laws, as amended. (Incorporated by
reference to the Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K
under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 for the year ended
December 31, 1992.)
4.5* Specimen stock certificate. (Incorporated by reference to
the Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 for the year ended December
31, 1992.)
- 31 -
4.6* Indenture dated as of October 4, 1996 from Comverse
Technology, Inc. to The Chase Manhattan Bank, N.A., Trustee.
(Incorporated by reference to the Registrant's Current
Report on Form 8-K under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
filed October 10, 1996.)
4.7* Specimen 5 3/4% Convertible Subordinated Debenture due 2006.
(Incorporated by reference to the Registrant's Current
Report on Form 8-K under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
filed October 10, 1996.)
10 Material contracts:
10.1* Proxy Agreement dated as of September 5, 1991 by and among
Comverse Government Systems Corporation, James R. Allen,
Robert W. Bazley, Robert T. Marsh and Comverse Technology,
Inc. (Incorporated by reference to the Registrant's Annual
Report on Form 10-K under the Securities Exchange Act of
1934 for the year ended December 31, 1991.)
10.2* Visitation Approval Procedure Agreement dated as of
September 5, 1991 by and among Comverse Government Systems
Corporation, James R. Allen, Robert W. Bazley, Robert T.
Marsh and Comverse Technology, Inc. (Incorporated by
reference to the Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K
under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 for the year ended
December 31, 1991.)
10.3* Form of Stock Option Agreement pertaining to shares of
certain subsidiaries of Comverse Technology, Inc.
(Incorporated by reference to the Registrant's Annual Report
on Form 10-K under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 for
the year ended December 31, 1993.)
10.4* Employment Agreement effective as of July 1, 1994 by and
between Comverse Technology, Inc. and Kobi Alexander.
(Incorporated by reference to the Registrant's Annual Report
on Form 10-K under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 for
the year ended December 31, 1994.)
10.5* 1994 Stock Option Plan. (Incorporated by reference to the
Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K under the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 for the year ended December 31, 1994.)
10.6* 1995 Stock Option Plan. (Incorporated by reference to the
Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K under the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 for the year ended December 31, 1995.)
- 32 -
10.7* 1996 Stock Option Plan. (Incorporated by reference to the
Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K under the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 for the year ended December 31, 1996.)
10.8* Form of Incentive Stock Option Agreement. (Incorporated by
reference to the Registrant's Registration Statement on Form
S-1 under the Securities Act of 1933, Registration No.
33-9147.)
10.9* Deed of Guarantee from Comverse Technology, Inc. to Bank
Hapoalim B.M. dated July 30, 1986. (Incorporated by
reference to the Registrant's Registration Statement on Form
S-1 under the Securities Act of 1933, Registration No.
33-9147.)
10.10* Continuing Guarantee from Comverse Technology, Inc. to Bank
Leumi le-Israel B.M. (Incorporated by reference to the
Registrant's Registration Statement on Form S-1 under the
Securities Act of 1933, Registration No. 33-9147.)
10.11* Patent License Agreement by and between Efrat Future
Technology Ltd. and VMX, Inc. (Incorporated by reference to
the Registrant's Registration Statement on Form S-1 under
the Securities Act of 193
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correct_foundationPlace_00083
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FactBench
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2
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https://pomlaw.com/monitor-issues/85-years-a-seismic-shift-in-assessing-losses
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en
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85 Years — A Seismic Shift in Assessing Losses — Pomerantz LLP
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2021-06-11T10:38:00-04:00
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POMERANTZ MONITOR | MAY JUNE 2021 By The Editors Illicit stock options, a slush fund for executives, an international fugitive on the run and some good, old-fashioned lawyering that wrought justice for defrauded investors. In celebration of the founding of the Pomerantz Firm 85 years ago,
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Pomerantz LLP
|
https://pomlaw.com/monitor-issues/85-years-a-seismic-shift-in-assessing-losses
|
POMERANTZ MONITOR | MAY JUNE 2021
By The Editors
Illicit stock options, a slush fund for executives, an international fugitive on the run and some good, old-fashioned lawyering that wrought justice for defrauded investors. In celebration of the founding of the Pomerantz Firm 85 years ago, the Monitor continues its look back at highlights from its history.
In 2006, Pomerantz filed a securities fraud lawsuit against Comverse Technology, Inc. and some of its directors, alleging a stock options back-dating scheme by Comverse. Unbeknownst to investors, the company’s executives, including its founder and former CEO, Jacob (“Kobi”) Alexander, were retroactively “cherry picking” dates when the stock closed at its lowest and falsely claiming that the options were granted on those dates. The exercise prices for the backdated options were thereby based on the stock closing price on the cherry-picked dates. Because the options were, in fact, granted on dates when the market price was higher, backdating placed the options “in the money” the instant they were granted. In some cases, according to the complaint, such grants were made to fictitious employees in order to create a slush fund of backdated options for management to dole out as it pleased.
Investors suffered huge losses when Comverse disclosed its backdating scheme in March and April 2006, as the company’s common stock price dropped 20 percent on the heels of the two announcements.
Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis of the Eastern District of New York referred the lead plaintiff motions to U.S. Magistrate Judge Ramon E. Reyes, Jr. The Magistrate Judge denied Pomerantz’s motion to be named lead counsel on behalf of the Menorah Group, made up of several Israeli institutional investors, and instead named the Plumbers & Pipefitters National Pension Fund (“P&P”) as lead plaintiff.
Pomerantz filed an objection to the Magistrate Judge’s Report and Recommendation and appealed his decision to the district court. The Menorah Group based its objection on the fact that most of P&P’s losses resulted from “in and out transactions,” in that both the purchase and the sale of the shares took place before the alleged misrepresentations were disclosed. The Menorah Group argued that if the “in and out” shares were excluded, P&P did not suffer a $2.9 million loss, but instead actually realized a $132,722 gain. Judge Garaufis agreed, vacated the Magistrate Judge’s ruling, and appointed the Menorah Group as lead plaintiff.
In its objection the Firm cited, among other cases, the then-recent Supreme Court decision Dura Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Broudo. There, the Court clarified the applicable standards for pleading loss causation: a purchaser must have retained shares at the time the truth was disclosed to the market. This ruling, plaintiffs alleged, essentially endorsed the Second Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision in Lentell v. Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., which held that to establish loss causation, a plaintiff must allege “that the misstatement or omission concealed something from the market that, when disclosed, negatively affected the value of the security.”
This decision secured by Pomerantz effected a seismic shift in how courts assess plaintiffs’ losses at the lead plaintiff stage. Patrick V. Dahlstrom, who led Pomerantz’s litigation with Marc I. Gross, stated at the time that the decision “reinforces the growing recognition that courts must conduct such analysis of the facts ... and eliminate those losses that are clearly not recoverable, in determining which movant has the largest financial interest.”
In December 2009, after years of hard-fought litigation, Comverse and Kobi Alexander agreed to settle the lawsuit for $225 million, with $60 million of that total to come from Alexander’s own pockets. The settlement constituted the second-largest recovery ever for shareholders alleging securities fraud claims related to options backdating. The recovery from Alexander was one of the largest ever in a federal securities action from an individual defendant.
After the initial complaints in the action were filed, the three main perpetrators of the fraud – Alexander, CFO David Kreinberg, and General Counsel William F. Sorin – were indicted by the U.S Department of Justice. Rather than surrender to the U.S. Attorney, as he had agreed to do, Alexander fled the country and surfaced months later in Namibia, which did not have an extradition treaty with the United States. Back home in the U.S., his possessions were seized, and he lived as a fugitive from justice, albeit an extraordinarily well-heeled one, for about ten years.
In 2011, Alexander settled the civil charges with the SEC and surrendered bank accounts worth $46 million to federal authorities. In 2016, after a plea bargain, he returned to the U.S. to face criminal charges. In February 2017, he sat in an Eastern District courtroom before Judge Garaufis – a stroke of poetic justice – who sentenced him to 30 months in prison. When Alexander’s attorneys requested that he be free on bail prior to sentencing, Judge Garaufis reportedly said, “Spare me – I wasn’t born yesterday.” A month later, Alexander was transferred to Israel to carry out his remaining sentence; he was released on probation in October 2018 and was not allowed to travel abroad until April 2019. The Monitor was unable to confirm reports that he is now living freely in the United States.
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[
"Local industry",
"Technology",
"Business"
] | null |
[
"Joseph Mallia"
] |
2012-04-17T22:11:00+00:00
|
en
|
/img/newsday/favicon.ico
|
Newsday
|
https://www.newsday.com/business/comverse-investors-demand-new-leadership-r98714
|
A hedge fund that owns 4.1 million shares -- about five percent -- of Comverse Technology Inc. this week made public a statement saying a majority of the company's board of directors should be replaced because it has made costly mistakes.
The hedge fund, Cadian Capital Management Llc, said it delivered a letter Monday to Comverse, a Manhattan company with a majority ownership of Melville-based Verint Systems Inc. The letter said mismanagement, poor hiring decisions and improper strategic decisions concerning subsidiary spinoffs had cost Comverse shareholders more than $2 billion in potential value.
Referring to its Verint subsidiary, the hedge fund said Comverse's operations as a holding company harmed "a quality asset held in strategic limbo in a market with substantial opportunities for revenue growth and margin expansion."
Verint makes software that allows businesses and government agencies to sift through vast amounts of data from telephone calls and surveillance cameras and provide insight on potential problems.
Paul Baker, vice president for communications at Comverse, said Tuesday the company did not wish to comment.
Cadian, of Manhattan, said that in the past year, the board has pursued "several misguided and / or ill-executed strategies that have continued to prevent the company from realizing value for shareholders," including a failure to hire and retain "world-class senior management."
Comverse Technology, or CTI, is now structured as a holding company. Its other major component, other than Verint, is a wholly owned subsidiary, Comverse Inc. -- which is expected to be spun off later this year into a stand-alone, publicly traded enterprise. In that spinoff, CTI said, its shareholders will receive distributions of the new company's stock.
The Comverse Inc. unit makes software for telecom service providers, enabling them to merge billing and customer management operations.
|
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correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
2
| 0
|
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comverse_Technology
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en
|
Comverse Technology
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2005-10-12T03:33:20+00:00
|
en
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|
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comverse_Technology
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American-Israeli technology company (1982–2013)
This article is about the overall Comverse corporate entity that existed from 1982 to 2013. For the former subsidiary's independent company from 2013 to 2017, see Xura. For that company's acquisition and subsequent history from 2017 on, see Mavenir.
Comverse Technology, Inc., often referred to as simply Comverse, was a technology company located in Woodbury, New York in the United States, that developed and marketed telecommunications software. The company focused on providing value-added services to telecommunication service providers, in particular to mobile network operators. Comverse Technology had several wholly or partly owned subsidiaries. The name "Comverse" is a fusion of the words "communication" and "versatility".
The company was founded in 1982, and went public on the Nasdaq Stock Market in 1986. Led by co-founder and CEO Jacob "Kobi" Alexander, the company originally specialized in centralized hardware/software systems for voice and fax messaging and sold them to telecommunications companies and other large enterprises. Much of its funding came from Israeli government subsidies and tax credits provided to research and development for hi-tech firms. By the mid-1990s, one of its most successful products allowed legal authorities and intelligence agencies to record and store data collected from intercepted communications. Starting in the late 1990s, Comverse's voice messaging software became its main product and the company grew rapidly with the surge in mobile phone use, passing the $1 billion mark in revenues. It established a formidable position in the worldwide mobile voicemail management market and sold a popular short message service center (SMSC) product. While headquartered in the US, most of the company's research and development was done in Israel; Comverse became one of the more visible success stories in Israel's hi-tech industry. It was one of Israel's largest employers of software engineers, was closely followed in the nation's business press, and was the first Israeli-associated company to join the S&P 500 index.
In 2006, Comverse was involved in an options backdating scandal. Alexander and two other top executives were charged in the US with multiple counts of conspiracy, fraud, money laundering and making false filings. Alexander fled the country to Namibia where he fought extensively against extradition. The scandal proved difficult for Comverse Technology to recover from; the company was delisted from Nasdaq, removed from the S&P 500, and spent the next several years consumed by the costly need to restate its financial reports for several years. Additionally affected by the financial crisis of 2008 and on and changes in the mobile phone market, the company underwent several rounds of large-scale layoffs and sold off parts of its business. By 2011 the company began a turnaround.
During 2012 and 2013, Comverse Technology divested itself of all its holdings and ceased to exist. The two independent companies that carried on its most well-known product lines were a newly independent Comverse, Inc. and Verint Systems. After further mergers Comverse, Inc. became Xura in 2015 and then Mavenir in 2017, while part of the Comverse business went to Amdocs in 2015.
Comverse Technology had multiple subsidiaries, many of which are still in business. Their activities at the time of their belonging to Comverse Technology were:
Comverse, also known as Comverse Network Systems or Comverse CNS, was a provider of software and systems enabling value-added services for voice, messaging, mobile Internet and mobile advertising; converged billing and active customer management. Comverse's solutions supported flexible deployment models, including in-network, hosted and managed services, and could run on circuit-switched, IP, IMS, and converged network environments. Comverse's customer base spanned more than 130 countries and covered over 500 communication service providers serving more than two billion subscribers.[1][non-primary source needed] It typically provided some 70 percent of Comverse Technology's overall revenue.[2] Comverse had 100 local offices in 40 countries, with its corporate headquarters located in Wakefield, Massachusetts, in the United States.
Verint Systems (which, from 1999 to 2002, was known as Comverse Infosys[3][4]) was a provider of solutions for analysis of intercepted communications, digital video-focused security and surveillance, and analytics and business intelligence for the enterprise.[5] Their products were aimed at enabling government and enterprises to make sense of the vast information they collected to meet performance and security goals. Verint solutions were used by more than 10,000 organizations in 150 countries.[6] Verint was headquartered in Melville, New York, with offices worldwide and 2500 employees around the globe. By 2011, Verint was 52 percent owned by Comverse Technology.[7]
Ulticom provided signaling solutions for wireless, wireline, and Internet communications.[2][5] Ulticom's products were used by telecommunication equipment and service providers worldwide to deploy mobility, location, payment, switching, and messaging services. Ulticom was headquartered in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, with additional offices in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Comverse acquired Ulticom in 1996 and sold it in 2010.[8][9]
Startel sold integrated voice, data and networking solutions for use in call centers worldwide.[2] It was originally an independent company that was acquired by Comverse Technology in 1992.[10] Startel was sold to financier Bill Robertshaw in the late 2000s and then became employee-owned in 2011.[11]
Starhome provided roaming services for mobile network operators.[2] The Starhome portfolio included international roaming services and core network solutions across various technologies, including intelligent networks and next-generation networks. It was fully owned by Comverse Technology[9] until being sold to Fortissimo Capital in 2012 for $54 million.[12]
ComSor was a venture capital operation, created as a subsidiary in partnership with Soros Fund Management, that invested in start-up companies directly and was active in the late 1990s and early 2000s.[13][14]
The company's origins date to 1982 (or 1983, sources differ), when three Israelis, aspiring investment banker Jacob "Kobi" Alexander of Shearson Loeb Rhoades, engineer Boaz Misholi, and Alexander brother-in-law and Columbia University computer science professor Yechiam Yemini, got together and founded an Israeli start-up company, Efrat Future Technologies Ltd.[15][16][17][18] In a meeting in New York, Misholi had the idea of building a business around centralized hardware systems to support voice and fax messaging and selling them to telecommunications companies and other large enterprises, who could then resell the voice and fax services to their customers.[15] The three quickly returned to Israel and started the company, with the goal of securing Israeli government grants to fund the research and development work.[15]
The early years of the company were difficult; in 1984, they founded Comverse in the United States, which became the parent company of Efrat.[15] The name "Comverse" was chosen as a fusion of the words "communication" and "versatility".[19]
In 1986 Comverse went public on the Nasdaq Stock Market with a $20 million valuation; the company used the money so gained as its final round of funding.[15][16] The three founders had trouble working with each other, and Yemini divorced Alexander's sister; in 1987, Alexander was left with sole control of the company after the other two pulled out.[17] The company was a penny stock on the edge of collapse.[20]
Under his lead, Alexander was credited with turning around Comverse's fortunes.[20] In 1989, the Ascom Group made a $6 million direct investment in the company.[21] In 1990, Comverse won a potentially $10 million contract, its largest yet, to deliver computers running voicemail and fax applications on West German cellular networks, beating out far larger corporations in the process.[22] Deutsche Telekom became one of the company's biggest early customers.[19] By 1991, the company had annual sales of $17 million and was selling a combined voice and fax mailbox system.[23] Many of its early successes came from avoiding the huge telecommunications companies in the U.S. and instead focusing on selling to small- and medium-sized companies in the wireless market in Europe.[19] The company also sought a variety of other markets, including developing countries such as Mexico and China for its Trilogue virtual telephone service.[24][25] Gradually its product emphasis shifted more from hardware to software.[15]
While headquartered in the U.S., nearly all its manufacturing was done in Israel, where it was able to substantially benefit from government subsidies and tax credits provided to research and development for hi-tech firms and industries by the Office of the Chief Scientist in the Ministry of Trade and Industry and by the Israel-U.S. Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation.[13][25][26] Many other Israeli companies were built by the same model, including another top software company, Mercury Interactive.[27][28] During the 1990s, Comverse received at least 69 research and development grants from the OCS program.[15]
In 1993, the company reported a 341 percent rise in profits[29] on revenues in the $64 million range and was named a "Company to Watch" by Fortune magazine.[25] However its stock plunged for a while in 1994 after a disappointing earnings report.[30]
By 1995, Comverse was best known for its AudioDisk product, which was sold to overseas clients and allowed legal authorities and intelligence agencies to record and store data collected from wiretaps.[31][32] Half the company's revenues at that point were from AudioDisk, and market analysts were recommending Comverse's stock.[31]
Comverse became a market leader in voice messaging software and boomed during the late 1990s with the surge in mobile phone use.[17] Much of its market focus was on wireless operators and overseas companies,[33] and it gained a formidable position in the worldwide mobile voicemail management market.[16] The growth coincided with SMS text messages becoming popular; the first big application for SMS was as a notification mechanism to tell a wireless subscriber that voicemail were stored in a voicemail box.[5] Comverse expanded this application into a full-blown short message service center (SMSC), which receives, buffers, processes, and dispatches all SMS messages throughout a mobile network.[34] Comverse branded and productised this as the Intelligent Short Message Service Center, or ISMSC.[5][35] Typical of telecomm software, it ran on Unix-based platforms, such as UnixWare and later Linux.[36] Comverse's ISMSC found success as a lower-price solution for lower-traffic networks, where it competed with Logica's Telepath solution.[5] Other companies in the SMSC space included CMG and Openwave.[34] ISMSC found considerable market penetration, exemplified by all six of Hong Kong's wireless carriers using it.[35]
Comverse also became a participant in forming international wireless standards, such as in 2001 for the Speech Application Language Tags (SALT) markup language for XML to add voice capabilities to web-based applications.[37][38] Additional industry standards groups in which Comverse has been active include the Open Mobile Alliance and TM Forum.[39][40]
In addition to growing organically, Comverse Technology began acquiring other companies in both Israel and the U.S.[15][32] It acquired Dale, Gesek, McWilliams, & Sheridan, later known as DGM&S Telecom, in 1996 and renamed it Ulticom in 1999.[8] Comverse Technology acquired one of its key rivals, Boston Technology, for $843 million in stock in 1997.[33] The acquisition gave Comverse entree into the large U.S. telecommunications market[19] and meant Comverse would be supplying voice messaging systems to 12 of the world's top 20 carriers, and left it the third-largest supplier after Lucent and Northern Telecom.[33] In 1999, as it saw record earnings, Comverse formed two wholly owned subsidiaries, Comverse Network Systems and Comverse Infosys, representing the telecommunications services platforms and products and the digital monitoring and recording products, respectively.[3] By 2000, its revenues were $1.2 billion and it had global operations.[15][20] It continued to aggressively acquire small companies to fill out its technologies, as exemplified by the purchase of Loronix, Gaya Software, and Exalink, all within a 30-day period in 2000.[41] The company's stock price rose from around $10 in late 1998 to over $120 in early 2001.[17] The company was able to raise money several times on Nasdaq, including once for its Ulticom subsidiary[9] and once (at a valuation of $600 million) shortly before the Dot-com bubble burst.[16]
Comverse was one of the most prominent success stories in Israel's hi-tech industry, with both Haaretz and The Jerusalem Post referring to it as a flagship of that industry.[16][28][42] As CEO, Alexander was sought out for meetings in Tel Aviv by world leaders such as Chinese President Jiang Zemin.[17] He became known, as Bloomberg News later stated, as "the wizard of Israel's technology boom"; his oft-stated goal was for Comverse to do for Israel what Nokia had done for Finland.[17] Comverse was one of the largest employers of software engineers in Israel and its stock was widely held among the Israeli investing public; as a consequence, the successes and failures of Comverse were always followed closely in the country's financial press.[13] (Amdocs and Mercury Interactive were two other prominent Israeli companies in the enterprise software sector that were also closely followed.[43])
The company was also quintessentially Israeli in how it was run, with Comverse CEO Ze'ev Bregman in particular favoring a loose, relaxed system in which he knew all the employees and lines of management reporting were frequently bypassed.[44] When Comverse Technology joined the S&P 500 index in 1999, it was the first Israeli-associated company ever to do so.[13][45] It set the same mark when it joined the NASDAQ-100 index.[13]
The early 2000s recession led to some struggles for Comverse Technology,[13] with the global economic downturn leading to publicly announced profit warnings[46] and a plunge in the stock price in July 2001.[35] Over 3,000 jobs were cut during the period as part of several restructuring efforts.[47][48][49][50][51] The company still made some acquisitions, such as buying the instant messaging specialist Odigo for $20 million in 2002, after having previously purchased a 12 percent stake in it in 2001.[52][53] The image of Comverse Technology as Israel's blue-chip hi-tech stock suffered, and led to a slide in several other large Israeli technology firms.[35] Comverse's management was criticized by analysts for having issued over-optimistic forecasts,[35] although many other Israeli firms in the industry did even worse or failed completely during this period.[54] In addition, the European market for mobile voicemail management was already saturated by 2002[16] and the prepaid wireless market was in decline.[35] In 2002, Comverse Infosys changed its name to Verint,[55] partly to separate its more thriving business from Comverse's struggles,[46] and staged a modestly successful IPO of a minority portion of its stock.[56] By 2002, Comverse Technology had more than 5,000 employees across nearly 40 countries;[13] due to the partial spinoffs and economic difficulties, revenues were down to $735 million.[15]
In December 2001, Fox News reported that wiretapping equipment provided by Comverse Infosys to the U.S. government for electronic eavesdropping may have been vulnerable, as these systems allegedly had a back door through which the wiretaps could be intercepted by unauthorized parties.[57] Fox News reporter Carl Cameron said there was no reason to believe the Israeli government was implicated, but that "a classified top-secret investigation is underway".[57] A March 2002 story by Le Monde recapped the Fox report and concluded: "Comverse is suspected of having introduced into its systems of the 'catch gates' in order to 'intercept, record and store' these wire-taps. This hardware would render the 'listener' himself 'listened to'."[58] Fox News did not pursue the allegations, and in the years since, there have been no legal or commercial actions of any type taken against Comverse by the FBI or any other branch of the US Government related to data access and security issues. While no real evidence has been presented against Comverse or Verint, the allegations have become a favorite topic of conspiracy theorists.[59]
By 2005, the company had $959 million in sales and employed over 5,000 people, of whom about half were located in Israel.[17] That country held most of the research and development workers, many of whom occupied the company's seven buildings on HaBarzel in the Ramat HaHayal district of Tel Aviv, while business and marketing operations were stationed in the company's Woodbury, New York headquarters.[17]
In 2006, Comverse Technology was involved in an options backdating scandal. In May of that year, company founder and CEO Jacob Alexander stepped down from his position.[60] Alexander, finance chief David Kreinberg, and former senior general counsel William Sorin (both of whom had also stepped down) were charged in July 2006 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York with multiple counts of conspiracy, fraud, money laundering and making false filings to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), all related to alleged options backdating or other actions related to stock options between 1998 and 2006.[60][61][62] The accusations against the three included the backdating of options to when Comverse stock had been trading at low prices, the use of fake names of option holders, and the creation of secret funds in which to hold the illicit gains.[61][63] The SEC also filed civil charges against the three, for filing false annual and quarterly financial reports and proxy statements from 1991 to 2005.[62]
By then, Alexander had fled the country and was classified a wanted fugitive in August 2006 by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation. On 27 September 2006, he was arrested in Namibia after hiding in Windhoek with his family, where he had bought a house at a country club. If extradited to the US and convicted, he faced 25 years in prison.[60][61]
He was released on bail and engaged in a long battle to avoid extradition to the US[64] (in Namibia neither money laundering nor options backdating is a crime).[65] Upon leaving the US he had transferred some $64 million to Israel, with most of that ending up in Namibia; another $50 million was blocked by the US government, which overall sought the forfeiture of $138 million of Alexander's assets.[66] In April 2010, Alexander won a victory in the Supreme Court of Namibia that allowed him to continue to live and work there until the extradition request was ruled upon.[65] In November 2010, Alexander agreed to pay the U.S. government $53.6 million to settle the SEC's case against him,[64] with those monies being targeted to settle assorted lawsuits against Comverse by shareholders.[63]
Of the other two executives, William Sorin pleaded guilty to criminal charges and was sentenced to a year in prison in 2007.[63] David Kreinberg cooperated with prosecutors, repaid $2.4 million to the SEC, and in 2011 was sentenced to the "time served" of the minimal period he had originally been in custody.[63] While over a hundred companies were investigated or charged with options backdating, Comverse was one of the most visible and was labeled by a pair of financial writers a "poster child for stock option fraud."[65]
Recovery from the scandal was difficult.[16][42] The three charged executives, who had stayed on as consultants, were fired without severance pay, and the company said it would pursue legal action against them.[62] The board of directors was expanded from five to ten, with all new ones being Americans rather than Israelis.[7] A new CEO, Andre Dahan, came on board in April 2007[2][67] but the ongoing management crisis prevented the company from engaging in new innovation or entering new business areas.[16] Despite the 2006-2007 economic climate being one of growth, layoffs occurred in mid-2007.[68][69] Research analysts began speculating that the company might break up.[69]
Because of the accounting issues from the option backdating, Comverse Technology was unable to file full or timely financial reports with the SEC.[16] Its stock was delisted from the Nasdaq Stock Market on 1 February 2007,[2] and removed from the S&P 500 and NASDAQ-100 at the same time. The stock then traded on the Pink Sheets.[16] In 2009, the SEC settled its case with Comverse Technology; the company would not be subject to penalty fines over the backdating matter, but would accept a permanent injunction against itself regarding any future violations of law regarding publicly traded companies.[65][70] A settlement in a similar case against Ulticom was also reached.[65] The failure to file timely financial reports put the company at risk of having its stock registration revoked; a process deciding this, involving the SEC and an Administrative Law Judge, was still active of 2011.[71]
The financial crisis of 2008 and on caused further difficulties for Comverse Technology, with new layoffs occurring in October 2008,[72] March 2009,[73] and August 2009.[70] The company reportedly lost considerable money in 2009,[74] and the moves were typical of other hi-tech companies caught in the bad economic environment.[72][73] Some of Comverse's products were still viewed highly; a Yankee Group survey ranked them first in the world in their type of billing services,[73] and they were the worldwide market-share leaders in providing multimedia message service centers to wireless carriers.[75] However, the rise in popularity of smartphones and of sending e-mail eroded the carrier market for some of Comverse's products and services.[74] By 2009, the company's upper management was now largely American rather than Israeli, Dahan was under internal criticism, and there were frequent clashes regarding company culture.[44]
In early 2010, Comverse Technology planned to release an annual report with full financial statements and return to being fully listed on Nasdaq, but anticipated more layoffs.[74] One piece of positive news in July 2010 was an $80 million investment by well-known entrepreneur George Soros.[76] However, the financial reports were not published and a public announcement was made in August 2010 that the company was short on cash and planning more layoffs.[42] A precipitous drop of the stock price caused the market valuation of the company to fall below $1 billion, and the continued failure to file financial reports put the company at risk of having its stock being delisted completely.[76] CEO Dahan said simply, "These are challenging times."[76] By August 2010, analysts were stating that Comverse Technology might have to break up by selling off its subsidiaries and spin off Comverse's own business units.[16] Running low on cash, Comverse Technology engaged Goldman Sachs to explore such possibilities, with several large, well-known technology companies potentially interested in Comverse and some private equity firms possibly interested in Verint.[9][77] The company had some 4,000 employees, and continued having about half of them employed in Israel[78] and most of the rest in the US and France.[73] The continuing financial reporting problems had cost the company some $500 million in accountants' fees and related costs since 2006 and was the largest drain on its cash position.[42][78] The fact that senior management awarded itself bonuses in a time of various rounds of layoffs left employees feeling outraged.[78] Comverse's restructuring also affected its 2006-acquired NetCentrex business unit in France, with layoffs or a shutdown possible.[79] In October 2010, Comverse Technology agreed to sell its two-thirds ownership of its Ulticom subsidiary to a U.S. private equity firm for $90 million;[9] the deal closed in December 2010. The company also sold part of its holdings in Verint, netting $80 million, and sold for $27 million land in the hi-tech area of Ra'anana, north of Tel Aviv, where it had been planning to build a new headquarters.[7]
In October 2010, Comverse Technology finally published its restated financial reports for fiscal years 2005 through 2008.[80] (The company's fiscal year N ran from February of year N to January of N+1.) They revealed that the company lost about $1 billion during that period.[7][80] In February 2011, the company announced that due to this effort, its report for fiscal 2009 would be delayed, and also that it was restructuring into four independent business units and focusing much of its emphasis on billing systems for mobile carriers.[81] Layoffs also resumed, with more possibly in the offing.[81][82]
In March 2011, revenues for fiscal 2009 were announced at $1.58 billion, down from $1.72 billion two years previously,[67] with an overall loss of $273.3 million. Dahan stepped down as CEO.[67] During his tenure, Comverse Technology stock fell 68 percent in price and 2,000–2,500 employees were laid off; he made more than $20 million during that time and gained payments of some $5 million upon his departure.[7][67][83] Overall, his stint as leader of the company was not regarded positively by some in the Israeli business press.[83]
The new CEO was Charles Burdick, who had been non-executive chairman of the company.[67] Burdick became the first American to head the company.[7]
In April 2011, the company agreed to a $2.8 million settlement with the U.S. government over violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act that had taken place between 2003 and 2005.[84] Payments of $536,000 had been made to the Hellenic Telecommunications Organization in order to obtain purchase orders and had been inaccurately reported as sales commissions in Comverse's accounting.[84]
During the first half of 2011, analysts such as Oppenheimer & Co., J.P. Morgan and Barclays said that with its accounting problems largely behind it, some restructuring done, and an improving cash balance and some revenue growth, Comverse Technology was well-positioned for ongoing operations or a possible sale.[85][86][87] Zacks Investment Research predicted the company would again show a profit for fiscal year 2011.[88] Comverse itself had gained tens of millions in new business, was hiring again in modest numbers, and was at about 4,000 employees, including some on an outsourcing basis.[89]
In June 2011, results for fiscal 2010 were announced, finally bringing the company current with its annual audited reporting.[90] Revenues rose to $1.63 billion while the company's net loss was halved to $132.3 million, and the cash position was now stated as being sufficient to meet foreseeable needs.[90] Another positive sign for its recovery came when it was re-listed on NASDAQ in September 2011.[91] In April 2012, results for fiscal 2011 were announced; revenues remained flat at $1.59 billion while the company's net loss decreased again, to $58.7 million.[92]
In August 2012, a series of transactions were announced that would end Comverse Technology as a functioning entity, by making Comverse Network Systems an independent company once again known simply as Comverse, allowing Verint Systems to buy back Comverse Technology's majority stake, and selling off the other subsidiaries.[12][93] Burdick said, "[The Verint] agreement, along with the planned spin-off of [Comverse Network Systems], will result in a tax efficient distribution to our shareholders and direct ownership in two independent, well-capitalized publicly-traded companies."[93] Philippe Tartavull was named as the CEO of the newly independent Comverse. Results for fiscal year 2012 for the restructured Comverse, Inc. demonstrated a return to profitability, with a net income of $5.1 million.[94]
These restructuring transactions were completed on 4 February 2013 and represented the effective liquidation of the Comverse Technology holding entity.[12][95]
Further actions followed the end of Comverse Technology. During June 2015 Comverse divested its BSS business to Amdocs.[96] In September 2015 after a merger this new Comverse entity changed its name to Xura,[97] then after a further series of acquisitions and mergers in February 2017 it became part of Mavenir.[98]
Over the years, Comverse Technology won a number of awards within its industry, including:
2002 – Technology Marketing Corporation's Product of the Year (for Verint's Ultra IntelliMiner)[99]
2004 – CMP Media's Product of the Year (for Verint's Ultra Intelligent Recording)[100]
2004 – CDMA Development Group's Innovative Solutions Award (for Comverse's Multimedia Messaging Service Center)[101]
2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 – Frost and Sullivan's Telecom BSS Vendor of the Year award (for Comverse's business support systems in the Asia Pacific region)[1][102]
2007 – International Engineering Consortium's Best VoIP Product or Service Award (for Comverse's Converged IPCentrex solution)[103]
2007 – Technology Marketing Corporation's IMS Leadership Award (for Comverse's Converged Messaging Solution)[104]
2007 – International Engineering Consortium's InfoVision Awards for Best New Product (for Comverse's Converged Billing Suite)[105]
2007 – Technology Marketing Corporation's Internet Telephony Excellence Award (for Comverse's MyCall Converged Communications product)[106]
2009, 2010 – Technology Marketing Corporation's Internet Telephony BSS/OSS Excellence Award (for Comverse's ONE Billing & Active Customer Management package)[107][108]
2010 – Virgo Publishing's Excellence Award for Best Cost Management Implementation (for Comverse's Business Support System product)[109]
Breznitz, Dan (2007). Innovation and the State: Political Choice and Strategies for Growth in Israel, Taiwan, and Ireland (Revised ed.). New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-12018-9.
Commander, Simon (2005). The Software Industry in Emerging Markets. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing. ISBN 1-84542-247-3.
Longueuil, Donald (2003). Wireless Messaging Demystified. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 0-07-138629-7.
Sarna, David E. Y.; Malik, Andrew (2010). History of Greed: Financial Fraud from Tulip Mania to Bernie Madoff. John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-60180-8.
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correct_foundationPlace_00083
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FactBench
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2
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https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/fire-your-stock/0130353329/0130353329_ch15lev1sec5.html
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en
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Fire Your Stock Analyst! Analyzing Stocks on Your Own [Book]
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Ratio Comparison Next, switch to Multex Investor's Ratio Comparison report to review your candidate's historical sales and earnings growth. Table 15-2. A portion of Multex Investor's Ratio Comparison report for … - Selection from Fire Your Stock Analyst! Analyzing Stocks on Your Own [Book]
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Get Fire Your Stock Analyst! Analyzing Stocks on Your Own now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
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correct_foundationPlace_00083
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FactBench
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3
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https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/comverse-vas-ipmessagingandsem/26274847
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en
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Comverse VAS IP Messaging
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Comverse VAS IP Messaging - Download as a PDF or view online for free
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1. Paving the Way to New VAS Opportunities: Comverse IP Messaging and Service Enablement Middleware
2. 2For more information please visit www.comverse.com Paving the Way to New VAS Opportunities Introducing Comverse IP Messaging and Service Enablement Middleware Solutions Comverse Extends VAS Leadership: Investing, Innovating, Opening New Horizons by Oz Ovady, Value-Added Services General Manager, Comverse For decades, innovation has driven Comverse leadership in VAS, and this tradition continues strongly as Comverse ushers in the future with pioneering voice and messaging solutions. ComverseVAS 3.0 IPMessaging and Service Enablement Middleware pave the way to opportunities for communication service providers (CSPs) to expand their markets and introduce compelling new consumer, enterprise and machine- to-machine (M2M) experiences. Comverse IP Messaging: Revving Up Transition to an All-IP Ecosystem Multiple product silos have created a complex infrastructure whose intricate integration requirements impede change. Comverse IP Messaging is an important developmental milestone designed to leverage IP capabilities to free CSPs from the constraints of the traditional architecture. Comverse IP Messaging leverages the common IP core to facilitate inter-communication across product silos, device types, applications and services. This simplifies integration of third-party applications - setting the stage for an enriching, yet simplified the user experience. Modernizing the core messaging infrastructure to the highest standards of current Internet technologies, Comverse IP Messaging positions CSPs to keep pace with industry developments and compete with the services being introduced by non-traditional over-the-top competitors. Optimizing the Messaging Platform for 4G/ LTE Comverse IP Messaging, standards-compliant, optimizes the messaging platform for 4G/ LTE for text and multimedia messaging, voice and video, visual voicemail and other new services. Key elements include: IP Engine:• With a pre-integrated collection of the newest communication experiences in a converged environment, including person-to-person messaging (immediate and deferred) with attached multimedia objects, online one-on-one and group messaging (IM/chat), file transfer, media sharing, integration with visual voicemail, advanced personalization, parental control and more
3. 3For more information please visit www.comverse.com Centralized Service Configuration:• For operator policy and user preferences, safeguarding network security Network-Based Storage:• With converged inbox access for all communication experiences and history archiving Robust Monetization Capabilities:• Including tight integration with Comverse ONE for payment and balance to generate revenues from content and additional network data, such as location, handset capabilities and address book information Comverse IP Messaging utilizes IP as a common infrastructure for messaging, yet at the same time it continues inter- working seamlessly with existing legacy silos and services. This improves the operator position and user experience by introducing a converged and harmonized environment that is a springboard for a myriad of opportunities for compelling services, yet supports legacy services and devices to ensure seamless robust functionality to and from all users. Comverse Service Enablement Middleware: Bridging CSPs and Third Parties The Comverse Service Enablement Middleware (SEM) solution, already deployed by several operators, securely externalizes CSP messaging and related assets (e.g. communication services, subscriber knowledge). The next- generation cloud-based version introduces new capabilities that can further enhance the ability of CSPs to enable
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correct_foundationPlace_00083
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FactBench
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3
| 89
|
https://securities.stanford.edu/filings-case.html%3Fid%3D103604
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en
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Securities Class Action Clearinghouse: Case Page
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3
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https://www.dell.com/en-us/dt/corporate/newsroom/announcements/2006/02/02142006-4012.htm
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en
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Comverse Integrates Insight with EMC CLARiiON for Advanced Multimedia Telecom Storage and Management Solutions
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Dell Technologies is the leader in digital transformation, providing digital technology solutions, products, and services to drive business success.
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Barcelona, Spain (3GSM World Congress 2006, Hall 2, Booth G141) - February 14, 2006 -
EMC Corporation, (NYSE: EMC) the world leader in information management and storage, announced it has signed an OEM agreement with Comverse, a unit of Comverse Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: CMVT), and the world's leading supplier of software and systems enabling network-based multimedia enhanced communication services, to integrate the EMC® CLARiiON® CX series of networked storage systems into Comverse InSight™ Open Services Environment. Modular and standards-based, Comverse InSight core components (such as voice ports, message and subscriber profile stores, and management services) are shared across services, reducing costs and speeding deployments.
Through this technology integration, Comverse will provide operators with an efficient, highly functional and cost-effective solution for managing, storing and protecting data from multimedia messaging and other value added services. The integrated Comverse solution enables telecom service providers to manage, manipulate and deliver personal and public multimedia content to their subscriber community with the highest levels of performance and reliability.
"Telecom service providers need an integrated, high-performance multimedia storage solution capable of supporting enhanced services in a converged environment," said BJ Jenkins, EMC's Vice President of Global Marketing. "The EMC CLARiiON CX series is an ideal fit to meet this growing need with carrier-grade NEBS and ETSI certified systems that facilitate cutting-edge enhanced services, including new next-generation multimedia, voice and data services from the industry leading Comverse InSight Open Services Environment."
"In order to meet the subscriber's appetite for multimedia services, carriers are increasingly investing in data and multimodal interfaces," said Menashe Rothschild, CTO at Comverse. "The industry leading EMC CLARiiON family of networked storage systems, combined with our multimedia management capabilities, enable us to support many new enhanced services possibilities, such as video applications. By complying with NEBS and ETSI requirements, the Comverse multimedia platform results in superior storage capabilities that enhances functionality and expands capacity while potentially reducing telecom service provider's operating expenses."
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3
| 27
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http://getfilings.com/o0000909518-02-000338.html
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en
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COMVERSE TECHNOLOGY INC/NY/
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Back to GetFilings.com
================================================================================
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
Annual Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
for the Year ended January 31, 2002
Commission File Number 0-15502
COMVERSE TECHNOLOGY, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
New York 13-3238402
(State or other jurisdiction of (I.R.S. Employer
incorporation or organization) Identification No.)
170 Crossways Park Drive
Woodbury, New York 11797
(Address of principal executive offices)
Registrant's telephone number, including area code: 516-677-7200
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Name of each exchange
Title of each class on which registered
------------------- -------------------
Not applicable Not applicable
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
Common Stock, $.10 par value per share
(Title of Class)
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports
required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the
registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such
filing requirements for the past 90 days.
Yes: [X] No: [ ]
================================================================================
Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to
Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained,
to the best of registrant's knowledge, in definitive proxy or information
statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any
amendment to this Form 10-K.
[X]
The aggregate market value of the voting stock held by non-affiliates of
the registrant on April 23, 2002 was approximately $2,260,000,000. The closing
price of the registrant's common stock on the NASDAQ National Market System on
April 23, 2002 was $12.11 per share.
There were 186,833,952 shares of the registrant's common stock
outstanding on April 23, 2002.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
The registrant hereby incorporates by reference in this report the
information required by Part III appearing in the registrant's proxy statement
or information statement distributed in connection with the 2002 Annual Meeting
of Shareholders of the registrant or in an amendment to this report on Form
10K/A.
-----------------------------------
Medalist is a registered trademark, and Comverse, Comverse Technology and
Trilogue are trademarks, of the Company. LORONIX is a registered trademark, and
Intelligent Recording, OpenStorage Portal, RELIANT, STAR-GATE, ULTRA, Universal
Database and Verint Systems are trademarks, of Verint Systems Inc., a subsidiary
of the Company. Signalware and Ulticom are registered trademarks of Ulticom,
Inc., a subsidiary of the Company.
- ii -
PART I
ITEM 1. BUSINESS.
The Company
Comverse Technology, Inc. ("CTI" and, together with its subsidiaries,
the "Company") designs, develops, manufactures, markets and supports computer
and telecommunications systems and software for multimedia communications and
information processing applications. The Company's products are used in a broad
range of applications by wireless and wireline telecommunications network
operators and service providers, call centers, and other public and commercial
organizations worldwide.
Through its subsidiary Comverse, Inc. ("Comverse"), the Company
provides enhanced services products that enable telecommunications service
providers ("TSPs") to offer a variety of revenue-generating services accessible
to large numbers of simultaneous users. These services include a broad range of
integrated multimodal messaging, information distribution and personal
communications services, such as call answering with one-touch call return,
voicemail, IP-based unified messaging (voice, fax and email in a single mailbox,
media conversion such as email to voice and visual mailbox presentation),
prepaid wireless calling services, wireless data and Internet-based services
such as short messaging services ("SMS"), wireless information and entertainment
services, multimedia messaging services ("MMS"), and wireless instant messaging,
interactive voice response ("IVR"), and voice portal services, which are part of
a voice-controlled portfolio of services such as voice dialing, voice-controlled
Web browsing and voice-controlled messaging, and other applications. Comverse's
principal market for its systems consists of organizations that use the systems
to provide services to the public, often on a subscription or pay-per-usage
basis, and includes both wireless and wireline telecommunications network
operators and other TSP organizations. Comverse markets its systems throughout
the world, with its own direct sales force and in cooperation with a number of
leading international vendors of telecommunications infrastructure equipment.
More than 390 wireless and wireline TSPs in more than 100 countries, including
the majority of the 20 largest telecom companies in the world, have selected
Comverse's products to provide enhanced telecommunications services to their
consumers. Major network operators and service providers using Comverse's
systems include, among others, AT&T Wireless (USA), BellSouth (USA), Deutsche
Telekom (Germany and other European countries), KDDI (Japan), MCI Worldcom
(USA), mmO2 (several European countries), NTT (Japan), Orange (several European
countries), Pacific Century CyberWorks (Hong Kong), SBC Communications (USA),
SFR (France), SingTel (Singapore), Sprint PCS (USA), Telecom Italia (Italy),
Telmex (Mexico), Telstra (Australia), Verizon (USA) and Vodafone (multiple
European countries).
Through its subsidiary Verint Systems Inc. ("Verint"), formerly known
as Comverse Infosys, Inc., the Company provides analytic solutions for
communications interception, digital video security and surveillance, and
enterprise business intelligence. Verint's software generates actionable
intelligence through the collection, retention and analysis of voice, fax,
video, email, Internet and data transmissions from multiple types of
communications networks. The digital security and surveillance market consists
primarily of communications interception by law enforcement agencies and digital
video security utilized by government agencies and public and private
organizations. The enterprise business intelligence market consists primarily of
solutions targeting enterprises that rely on contact centers for voice, email
and Internet interactions with their customers. Additionally, an emerging
segment of enterprise business intelligence utilizes digital video information
to allow enterprises and institutions to enhance their operations, processes and
performance. Verint sells its enterprise business intelligence solutions to
contact center service bureaus, financial institutions, casinos, retailers,
utilities, communications service providers, manufacturers and other
enterprises. Verint has established marketing relationships with a variety of
global value added resellers and a network of systems integrators including ADT,
Avaya, Nortel and Siemens. Verint also has technological alliances with leading
software and hardware companies including Genesys, Siebel and Visionics, which
enables Verint to offer complementary solutions to their products. Verint's
products are used by over 800 organizations in over 50 countries worldwide.
Customers for digital security and surveillance products include the U.S.
Capitol, the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Justice,
Washington Dulles International Airport, the Toronto Police Service, the Dutch
National Police Agency, and other domestic and foreign law enforcement and
intelligence agencies, as well as communications service and equipment
providers, such as Cingular, Ericsson and Nortel. Customers for enterprise
business intelligence products include Con Edison, FedEx, HSBC, JCPenney,
Sprint, Target and Tiffany & Co.
Through its subsidiary Ulticom, Inc. ("Ulticom"), the Company provides
service enabling signaling software for wireline, wireless and Internet
communications. Ulticom's Signalware call control products interconnect the
complex circuit switching, database and messaging systems and manage vital
number, routing and billing information that form the backbone of today's public
telecommunications networks. Ulticom's products are used by equipment
manufacturers, application developers and communications service providers to
deploy revenue generating infrastructure, enhanced and mandated services such as
global roaming, voice and text messaging, prepaid calling and location-based
services. Signalware products also are embedded in a range of packet
softswitching products to interoperate or converge voice and data networks and
facilitate services such as voice over the Internet and Internet offload.
Ulticom had an initial public offering of its common stock in April, 2000, and
its common stock is listed on the NASDAQ National Market System under the symbol
"ULCM". CTI holds approximately 72% of Ulticom's outstanding common stock.
The Company markets other telecommunications products and services,
including products that are integrated with its systems and products that work
in combination with other systems to provide advanced telecommunications
services, such as automatic call distribution and messaging systems for
telephone answering service bureaus, and intelligent IP gateways for wireless
roaming. The Company also engages in venture capital investment and capital
market activities for its own account.
Throughout this document references are made to technologies, features,
capabilities, capacities and specifications in conjunction with the Company's
products and technological resources. Such references do not necessarily apply
to all product lines, models and system configurations.
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The Company was incorporated in the State of New York in October 1984.
Its headquarters are located at 170 Crossways Park Drive, Woodbury, New York
11797, where its telephone number is (516) 677-7200.
THE COMPANY'S PRODUCTS
Enhanced Services Solutions (ESS)
Comverse provides enhanced services products that enable TSPs to offer
a variety of revenue-generating services accessible to large numbers of
simultaneous users. These services include a broad range of integrated
multimodal messaging, information distribution and personal communications
services, such as call answering with one-touch call return, voicemail, IP-based
unified messaging (voice, fax and email in a single mailbox, media conversion
such as email to voice and visual mailbox presentation), prepaid wireless
calling services, wireless data and Internet-based services such as SMS,
wireless information and entertainment services, MMS, and wireless instant
messaging, IVR and voice portal services, which are part of a voice-controlled
portfolio of services such as voice dialing, voice-controlled Web browsing and
voice-controlled messaging, and other applications. Comverse's principal market
for its systems consists of organizations that use the systems to provide
services to the public, often on a subscription or pay-per-usage basis, and
includes both wireless and wireline telecommunications network operators and
other TSP organizations. With call answering and voice messaging, TSPs benefit
primarily from traffic revenue generated by the increase in billable completed
calls. In addition, these services foster customer loyalty that results in an
overall reduction in churn. Wireless TSPs are almost universally adding
voicemail and SMS to their service offerings, and often as part of their basic
service package, not only because of these benefits, but also because wireless
voicemail messaging services directly increase billable airtime by stimulating
outbound calls, and wireless SMS increases billable transactions by stimulating
person-to-person messaging and information retrieval.
Comverse's carrier grade ESS systems and software have been designed
and packaged to meet the capacity, reliability, availability, scalability,
maintainability, network and OMAP (Operations, Maintenance, Administration, and
Provisioning) interfaces and physical requirements of large telecommunications
network operators. The systems are offered in a variety of sizes and
configurations and can be clustered for larger capacity installations. The
systems also offer redundancy of critical components, so that no single failure
will interrupt the service. Comverse's products are available in both
centralized and widely distributed configurations.
Comverse's systems also incorporate components that are compatible with
the Intelligent Network ("IN") and Advanced Intelligent Network ("AIN")
protocols for Service Control Points and Intelligent Peripherals, permitting
Comverse's network operator customers to develop and deploy services based on
the overall IN/AIN architecture. In addition, when the system is configured as a
Service Node ("SN"), it enables customers to offer IN/AIN-based services such as
voice activated dialing.
-3-
Comverse's products incorporate both Comverse-developed and
third-party-developed software, and Comverse-designed and third-party hardware,
in an open, standards-based system architecture. The systems support a wide
variety of digital telephony and IP interfaces and signaling systems, enabling
them to adapt to a variety of different network environments and IN/AIN
applications, and provide a "universal port" -- a single port that supports
multiple applications and services at any time during a single call.
Digital Security and Surveillance and Enterprise Business Intelligence
Verint is a leading provider of analytic solutions for communications
interception, digital video security and surveillance, and enterprise business
intelligence. Verint's software generates actionable intelligence through the
collection, retention and analysis of voice, fax, video, email, Internet and
data transmissions from multiple types of communications networks.
The digital security and surveillance market consists primarily of
communications interception by law enforcement agencies and digital video
security utilized by government agencies and public and private organizations
for use in airports, public buildings, correctional facilities and corporate
sites.
Verint's STAR-GATE product line enables communications carriers,
Internet service providers, and communications equipment manufacturers to
overcome the complexities posed by global digital communications and comply with
governmental requirements. STAR-GATE enables communications service providers to
intercept simultaneous communications over a variety of wireline, wireless and
IP networks for delivery to law enforcement and other government agencies.
STAR-GATE's flexibility supports multi-network, multi-vendor switch environments
for a common interface across communications networks and supports switches from
communications equipment manufacturers, such as Alcatel, Ericsson, Lucent,
Nokia, Nortel and Siemens. STAR-GATE also supports interfaces to packet data
networks, such as the Internet and general packet radio services.
Verint's RELIANT product line provides intelligent recording and
analysis solutions for communications interception activities to law enforcement
organizations and government agencies. The RELIANT software equips law
enforcement agencies with an end-to-end solution for live monitoring of
intercepted target communications and evidence collection management, regardless
of the type of communication or network used. Applications can scale from a
small center for a local police force, to a country-wide center for national law
enforcement agencies. RELIANT products are designed to comply with legal
regulations and can be integrated with communications networks in the country
where the system is utilized. RELIANT collects intercepted communications from
multiple channels and stores them for immediate access, further analysis and
later use as evidence.
Verint's LORONIX digital video security product line provides
intelligent recording and analysis of video for security and surveillance
applications to government agencies and public organizations. The LORONIX
software digitizes, compresses, stores and retrieves video imaging. In addition,
-4-
LORONIX products provide live video streaming and camera control over local and
wide area computer networks and the Internet. The LORONIX product line may be
configured to allow customers to perform complete monitoring for security and
management of local and remote sites from a central investigative unit. The use
of digital storage and compression technology makes the LORONIX product line a
more efficient alternative to analog tape storage. The technology interfaces
with access control, facial recognition, activity and intrusion detection and
other technologies for enhanced security and surveillance.
The enterprise business intelligence market consists primarily of
solutions targeting enterprises that rely on contact centers for voice, email
and Internet interactions with their customers.
Verint's ULTRA products record and analyze customer interactions to
provide enterprises with business intelligence about their customers and help
monitor and improve the performance of their contact centers. ULTRA products
capture customer interactions from multiple sources, including telephone, email,
Internet or voice-over-IP ("VoIP"). Utilizing ULTRA's OpenStorage Portal and
Universal Database, customers can leverage their existing storage infrastructure
to store and access recorded customer interactions using standard file formats.
ULTRA products integrate with leading customer relationship management ("CRM")
applications allowing the delivery of information directly to the user's desktop
within Siebel, PeopleSoft and other CRM solutions. ULTRA also interfaces with
popular desktop software tools, including Microsoft Outlook, Lotus Notes and web
browsers, to enable the user to easily access the data in a familiar computing
environment.
Verint's LORONIX video business intelligence products enable enterprise
customers to monitor and improve their operations through the analysis of live
and recorded digital video. Like the LORONIX digital video security product, the
LORONIX video business intelligence product digitizes, compresses, stores and
retrieves video imaging. While leveraging the technology of the LORONIX digital
security product, the LORONIX enterprise product line also contains unique
software focused on maximizing operational effectiveness through video analysis.
By interfacing with customer databases and software systems, LORONIX facilitates
the user's review of video imaging based on specific criteria such as employee
ID, product barcodes and point of sale transaction history.
Service Enabling Signaling Software
The Company's Ulticom subsidiary provides service enabling signaling
software for wireline, wireless and Internet communications. Ulticom's
Signalware call control products interconnect the complex circuit switching,
database and messaging systems and manage vital number, routing and billing
information that form the backbone of today's public telecommunications
networks. Signalware provides signaling system #7 ("SS7"), the globally accepted
signaling standard protocol, which has become the critical element needed to
connect and interoperate packet networks with the existing circuit network
-5-
infrastucture. Signalware provides the SS7 connectivity required to offer value
added services. Signalware call control products work within wireline, wireless
and Internet networks to interconnect and interoperate voice and data
communication systems. In addition, Signalware plays a key role in the
convergence of disparate networks by providing a means to bridge circuit and
packet technology. Signalware offers many of the features that are crucial to
the connectivity of communication networks and the rapid delivery of revenue
generating services.
Signalware supports a range of applications in wireline, wireless and
Internet networks. In circuit networks, Signalware has been deployed as part of
wireline services such as voice messaging, 800 number service and caller ID.
Signalware enables wireless services that include infrastructure applications
such as global roaming, as well as enhanced services like voice and text
messaging and prepaid calling. Signalware enables deployment of high capacity
wireless data services made possible by the evolution from second generation
("2G") to third generarion ("3G") infrastructures, including an intermediate
generation called "2.5G". Signalware also is used to deploy mandated, location
based wireless services, such as emergency-911. Signalware also is used to
enable solutions that ease congestion on existing networks by routing Internet
dial-up traffic to packet infrastructure, and deliver VoIP services such as
click-to-dial and advanced call forwarding.
Signalware works with multiple SS7 networks, supports a wide variety of
SS7 protocol elements and enables analog or digital wireline and wireless
transmissions. It provides the functionality needed for call set-up/termination
and call routing/billing. Signalware products also include features that enable
the transition from SS7 signaling to emerging packet signaling standards, such
as Sigtran. New features include a Signalware Sigtran Gateway for circuit-packet
network interoperability, and protocols to carry SS7 signals over IP networks.
Signalware packages run on a range of hardware platforms and operating systems,
including Sun Solaris, IBM AIX and Red Hat Linux. These packages can be used in
single or multiple computing configurations for fault resiliency and
reliability. Signalware also provides a means to separate the signaling function
from the application development environment, which provides greater flexibility
in service configurations. Signalware customers include equipment manufacturers,
such as Alcatel, Ericsson and Siemens, application developers such as Logica and
Sonus and service providers such as Level (3), MCI Worldcom and Telefonica.
Other Telecommunications Products and Services
The Company's other telecommunications products and services are
developed and marketed through subsidiaries in the United States and
internationally. These include automatic call distribution and messaging systems
for telephone answering service bureaus and other organizations, and intelligent
IP gateways for wireless roaming and VoIP applications.
-6-
MARKETS, SALES AND MARKETING
Comverse's ESS systems and software are marketed by Comverse throughout
the world, with its own direct sales force as well as local distributors, and in
cooperation with a number of leading international vendors of telecommunications
infrastructure equipment. Comverse is the market share leader in providing large
capacity voice messaging systems for wireless and wireline telecommunications
network operators around the world.
More than 390 wireless and wireline telecommunications network
operators in more than 100 countries, including the majority of the 20 largest
telephone companies in the world, have selected Comverse's platforms to provide
enhanced telecommunications services to their consumers. Major network operators
using Comverse's ESS systems include, among others, AT&T Wireless (USA),
BellSouth (USA), Deutsche Telekom (Germany and other European countries), KDDI
(Japan), MCI Worldcom (USA), mmO2 (several European countries), NTT (Japan),
Orange (several European countries), Pacific Century CyberWorks (Hong Kong), SBC
Communications (USA), SFR (France), SingTel (Singapore), Sprint PCS (USA),
Telecom Italia (Italy), Telmex (Mexico), Telstra (Australia), Verizon (USA) and
Vodafone (multiple European countries).
Comverse provides its customers, through its Medalist plan, with
programs of marketing consultation, seminars and materials designed to assist
them in marketing enhanced telecommunications services, and also undertakes to
play an ongoing supporting role in their business and market planning processes.
Verint's products are marketed primarily through a combination of its
direct sales force and agents, distributors, value added resellers and systems
integrators. Verint develops strategic marketing alliances with leading
companies in the industry to expand the coverage and support of its direct sales
force. Verint currently has such relationships with ADT, Avaya, Nortel and
Siemens. In addition, Verint established technological alliances with leading
software and hardware companies including Genesys, Siebel and Visionics, which
enables Verint to offer complementary solutions to their products.
Verint's products are used by over 800 organizations and are deployed
in over 50 countries, across many industries and markets. Many users of the
products are large corporations or government agencies that operate from
multiple locations and facilities across large geographic areas and sometimes
across several countries. These organizations typically implement Verint's
solutions in stages, with implementation in one or more sites and then gradually
expanding to a full enterprise, networked-based solution.
Customers for digital security and surveillance products include the
U.S. Capitol, the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Justice,
Washington Dulles International Airport, the Toronto Police Service, the Dutch
National Police Agency, and other domestic and foreign law enforcement and
intelligence agencies, as well as communications service and equipment
providers, such as Cingular, Ericsson and Nortel. Customers for enterprise
business intelligence products include Con Edison, FedEx, HSBC, JCPenney,
Sprint, Target and Tiffany & Co.
-7-
Ulticom's products are used by over 55 customers and are deployed by
more than 260 service providers in more than 100 countries. Ulticom markets its
products and services primarily through a direct sales organization and through
key relationships with customers. Customers include network equipment
manufacturers, such as Alcatel, Ericsson and Siemens, application developers
such as Logica and Sonus and service providers such as Level (3), MCI Worldcom
and Telefonica.
TECHNOLOGIES
The Company's research and development efforts focus particularly on
the design of very large, high throughput systems, digital signal processing
technologies for voice, image, video, and data communications, IP and messaging
protocols, multimodal user interfaces, development of various network and OMAP
interfaces, and application development. The Company's products use advanced
technologies in the areas of digital signal processing, VoIP, facsimile
protocols, networking interfaces, databases, data networking, multi-processor
computer architecture and real-time software design. The Company uses its
proprietary technology and expertise in the development of software products,
solutions and applications within the IN and AIN environment.
The Company's products are based upon flexible system architectures
specifically designed to handle high capacity multiple session multimodal user
experience, multimedia communication and processing applications. The Company's
products employ open system, modular architectures, which use distributed
processors, rather than one large central processor, as well as multiple storage
devices and data networking. The product design is intended to be readily
adaptable to the usage and capacity requirements of the individual end-user. The
product architectures also allow the Company to add enhancements and new
technologies to its systems without rendering existing products obsolete.
The Company has developed or integrated third-party interfaces for its
products to most circuit-switched and IP networks used around the world,
including digital interfaces, such as IP, SIP, SS7, T1, E1 and ISDN and VoIP,
designed to encompass both basic network connectivity and the IN/AIN
capabilities of Intelligent Peripherals and SNs. The Company has also developed
Internet Protocols, including cHTML, HTML, HTTP, IMAP4, LDAP, POP3, VPIM, VXML
and WAP. The Company has implemented facsimile communication and intercept
protocols for Group 3 facsimile. Certain of its products incorporate LAN and WAN
technologies used for the transfer of digitized voice, fax, video, and modem
information, as well as for the transfer of data among various network elements.
The Company utilizes state-of-the-art mass storage technologies in many
of its products. A variable number of disks may be configured in a disk array to
serve large numbers of users and to provide full or partial disk redundancy for
critical applications. Special algorithms utilized by the Company to handle
optical disks within a number of jukebox devices include automatic
channel-to-disk allocation, automatic retrieval of multimedia information from
any disk located in the jukeboxes and redundant archiving on two or more
cartridges simultaneously.
-8-
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Because of the continuing technological changes that characterize the
telecommunications and computer industries, the Company's success will depend,
to a considerable extent, upon its ability to continue to develop competitive
products through its research and development efforts. The Company currently
employs more than 2,200 scientists, engineers and technicians in its research
and development efforts, located predominantly in the United States and Israel
with additional offices in France, Germany and Malaysia, with broad experience
in the areas of digital signal processing, computer architecture, telephony, IP,
data networking, multi-processing, databases, real-time software design and
application software design, among others.
A portion of the Company's research and development operations benefit
from financial incentives provided by government instrumentalities to promote
research and development activities performed in Israel. The cost of such
efforts is and will continue to be affected by the continued availability of
funding under such programs. During the past fiscal year, the Company's research
and development activities included projects submitted for partial funding under
a program administered by the Office of the Chief Scientist of the Ministry of
Industry and Trade of the State of Israel ("OCS"), under which reimbursement of
a portion of the Company's research and development expenditures will be made
subject to final approval of project budgets. The percentage of the Company's
total research and development expenditures reimbursed under these programs has
declined in recent years, and will continue to decline. The Company pays
royalties on its sales of certain products developed in part with funding
supplied under such programs. During the year ended January 31, 2002, Comverse
entered into an arrangement with the OCS whereby Comverse agreed to pay a lump
sum royalty amount for all past amounts received from the OCS. In addition,
Comverse will receive lower amounts from the OCS than it has historically
received, but will not have to pay royalty amounts on future grants. Permission
from the government of Israel is required for the Company to manufacture outside
of Israel products resulting from research and development activities funded
under such programs, or to transfer outside of Israel related technology rights,
and in order to obtain such permission the Company may be required to increase
the royalties to the applicable funding agencies and/or repay certain amounts
received as reimbursement of research and development costs. See "Licenses and
Royalties" and "Operations in Israel" in Item 1 and "Management's Discussion and
Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in Item 7.
PATENTS AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
The Company holds a number of United States and foreign patents. While
the Company files patent applications periodically, no assurance can be given
that patents will be issued on the basis of such applications or that, if
patents are issued, the claims allowed will be sufficiently broad to protect the
Company's technology. In addition, no assurance can be given that any patents
issued to the Company will not be challenged, invalidated or circumvented or
that the rights granted under the patents will provide significant benefits to
the Company.
-9-
In order to safeguard its unpatented proprietary know-how, trade
secrets and technology, the Company relies primarily upon trade secret
protection and non-disclosure provisions in agreements with employees and others
having access to confidential information. There can be no assurance that these
measures will adequately protect the Company from disclosure or misappropriation
of its proprietary information.
The Company and its customers from time to time receive communications
from third parties, including some of the Company's competitors, alleging
infringement by the Company of such parties' patent rights. While such
communications are common in the computer and telecommunications industries and
the Company has in the past been able to obtain any necessary licenses on
commercially reasonable terms, there can be no assurance that the Company would
prevail in any litigation to enjoin the Company from selling certain of its
products on the basis of such alleged infringement, or that the Company would be
able to license any valid patents on reasonable terms.
In January 2000, the Company and Lucent Technologies GRL Corp.
("Lucent") entered into a non-exclusive cross-licensing arrangement covering
current and certain future patents issued to the Company and its affiliates and
a portfolio of current and certain future patents in the area of
telecommunications technology issued to Lucent and its affiliates.
LICENSES AND ROYALTIES
The Company licenses certain technology, know-how and related rights
for use in the manufacture and marketing of its products, and pays royalties to
third-parties under such licenses and under other agreements. The Company
believes that its rights under such licenses and other agreements are sufficient
for the manufacturing and marketing of its products and, in the case of
licenses, extend for periods at least equal to the estimated useful lives of the
related technology and know-how.
BACKLOG
At January 31, 2002, the backlog of the Company amounted to
approximately $220.7 million. Substantially all of the backlog is expected to be
delivered within the next 12 months.
SERVICE AND SUPPORT
The Company has a strong commitment to provide product service and
support to its customers and emphasizes such commitment in its marketing.
Because of the intensity of use of systems by telecommunications network
operators and other customers of the Company's products, and their low tolerance
for down-time, the Company is required to make a greater commitment to service
and support of systems used by these customers, and such commitment increases
operating costs.
-10-
The Company's general warranty policy is to replace or repair any
component that fails during a specified warranty period. Broader warranty and
service coverage is provided in many cases, and is sometimes made available to
customers on a contractual basis for an additional charge.
The Company provides technical assistance from several locations around
the world. Technical support is available for the Company's customers 24
hours-a-day, seven days-a-week.
COMPETITION
The Company faces strong competition in the markets for all of its
products. The market for ESS systems is highly competitive, and includes
numerous products offering a broad range of features and capacities. The primary
competitors are suppliers of turnkey ESS systems and software, and indirect
competitors that supply certain components to systems integrators. Many of
Comverse's competitors specialize in a subset of Comverse's portfolio of
services. Direct and/or indirect competitors include, among others, Boston
Communications, Cap Gemini, CMG, Ericsson, Glenayre, IBM, InterVoice-Brite,
Logica, Lucent, Motorola, Nokia, Openwave, SS8 Networks, Tecnomen, Telcordia,
and Unisys. Competitors of Comverse that manufacture other telecommunications
equipment may derive a competitive advantage in selling ESS systems to customers
that are purchasing or have previously purchased other compatible equipment from
such manufacturers.
Indirect competition is provided by messaging and other enhanced
communications products employed at end-user sites as an alternative to the use
of services available through telecommunications network operators. This
"enterprise based equipment" includes a broad range of products, such as
stand-alone voicemail systems, answering machines, telephone handsets with
voice-activated dialing and other enhanced services capabilities, products
offering "call processing" services that are supplied with voicemail features or
integrated with other voicemail systems, as well as personal computer modems and
add-on cards and software designed to furnish enhanced communications
capabilities.
Comverse believes that competition in the sale of ESS systems is based
on a number of factors, the most important of which are product features and
functionality, system capacity and reliability, marketing and distribution
capability and price. Other important competitive factors include service and
support and the capability to integrate systems with a variety of telecom
networks, IP networks and Operation and Support Systems (OSS). Comverse believes
that the range of capabilities provided by, and the ease of use of, its systems
compare favorably with other products currently marketed. Comverse anticipates
that a number of its direct and indirect competitors will introduce new or
improved ESS systems during the next several years.
Verint faces strong competition in the markets for its products, both
in the United States and internationally. Verint expects competition to persist
and intensify in the digital security and surveillance market, primarily due to
increased demand for homeland defense and security solutions following the
September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Verint's primary competitors are suppliers
-11-
of security and recording systems and software, and indirect competitors that
supply certain components to systems integrators. In the enterprise business
intelligence market, Verint faces competition from organizations emerging from
the traditional call logging or call recording market as well as software
companies that develop and sell products that perform specific functions for
this market. Additionally, many of Verint's competitors specialize in a subset
of Verint's portfolio of products and services. Primary competitors include,
among others, ECtel, e-talk, Eyretel, JSI Telecom, NICE Systems, Sensormatic,
SS8 Networks and Witness Systems. Verint believes it competes principally on the
basis of product performance and functionality, knowledge and experience in the
industry, product quality and reliability, customer service and support, and
price.
Verint believes that its success depends primarily on its ability to
provide technologically advanced and cost effective solutions and to continue to
provide its customers with prompt and responsive customer support. Competitors
that manufacture other security-related systems or other recording systems may
derive a competitive advantage in selling to customers that are purchasing or
have previously purchased other compatible equipment from such manufacturers.
Further, Verint expects that competition will increase as other established and
emerging companies enter its markets and as new products, services and
technologies are introduced.
Competitors of Ulticom include a number of companies ranging from SS7
software solution providers, such as SS8 Networks and Trillium Digital Systems,
an Intel company, to vendors of communication and network infrastructure
equipment, such as Compaq and Hewlett Packard. Ulticom believes it competes
principally on the basis of product performance and functionality, product
quality and reliability, customer service and support, and price.
Many of the Company's present and potential competitors are
considerably larger than the Company, are more established, have a larger
installed base of customers and have greater financial, technical, marketing and
other resources.
MANUFACTURING AND SOURCES OF SUPPLIES
The Company's manufacturing operations consist primarily of final
assembly and testing, involving the application of extensive testing and quality
control procedures to materials, components, subassemblies and systems. The
Company primarily uses third-parties to perform modules and subsystem assembly,
component testing and sheet metal fabrication. Although the Company generally
uses standard parts and components in its products, certain components and
subassemblies are presently available only from a limited number of sources. To
date, the Company has been able to obtain adequate supplies of all components
and subassemblies in a timely manner from existing sources or, when necessary,
from alternative sources or redesign the system to incorporate new modules, when
applicable. However, the inability to obtain sufficient quantities of components
or to locate alternative sources of supply if and as required in the future,
would adversely affect the Company's operations.
-12-
The Company maintains organization-wide quality assurance procedures,
coordinating the quality control activities of the Company's research and
development, manufacturing and service departments.
CAPITAL MARKET ACTIVITIES
The Company seeks to identify and implement suitable investments, and
engages in portfolio investment and capital market activities, including venture
capital investments directly and indirectly through private equity funds.
Through a joint venture formed by the Company in partnership with Quantum
Industrial Holdings Ltd., an investment company managed by Soros Fund Management
LLC, the Company invests in venture capital in high technology firms, and
engages in other investment activities. The Company has significantly reduced
its new venture capital investments in recent periods.
OPERATIONS IN ISRAEL
A substantial portion of the Company's research and development,
manufacturing and other operations are located in Israel and, accordingly, may
be affected by economic, political and military conditions in that country.
Since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, a number of armed
conflicts have taken place between Israel and its Arab neighbors, and the
continued state of hostility, varying in degree and intensity, has led to
security and economic problems for Israel. Since October 2000, there has been a
significant increase in violence, primarily in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and
more recently Israel has experienced terrorist incidents within its borders. As
a result, negotiations between Israel and representatives of the Palestinian
Authority have been sporadic and have failed to result in peace. The Company
could be adversely affected by hostilities involving Israel, the interruption or
curtailment of trade between Israel and its trading partners, or a significant
downturn in the economic or financial condition of Israel. In addition, some of
the Company's employees in Israel are subject to being called upon to perform
military service in Israel, and their absence may have an adverse effect upon
the Company's operations.
Israel is a member of the United Nations, the International Monetary
Fund, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the
International Finance Corporation, and is a signatory to the General Agreement
on Tariffs and Trade, which provides for reciprocal lowering of trade barriers
among its members. In addition, Israel has been granted preferences under the
Generalized System of Preferences from the United States, Australia, Canada, and
Japan. These preferences allow Israel to export the products covered by such
programs either duty-free or at reduced tariffs.
Israel and the European Union are parties to a Free Trade Agreement
pursuant to which, subject to rules of origin, Israel's industrial exports to
the European Union are exempt from customs duties and other non-tariff barriers
and import restrictions. Israel also has an agreement with the United States to
establish a Free Trade Area that has eliminated all tariff and certain
non-tariff barriers on most trade between the two countries. Israel has also
entered into an agreement with the European Free Trade Association ("EFTA"),
which currently includes Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, that
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established a free-trade zone between Israel and EFTA nations exempting
manufactured goods and some agricultural goods and processed foods from customs
duties, while reducing duties on other goods. The end of the Cold War has also
enabled Israel to establish commercial and trade relations with a number of
nations, including Russia, China, India, Turkey and the nations of Eastern
Europe, with whom Israel had not previously had such relations.
The Company's business is dependent to some extent on trading
relationships between Israel and other countries. Certain of the Company's
products incorporate components imported into Israel from the United States and
other countries and most of the Company's products are sold outside of Israel.
Accordingly, the Company's operations would be adversely affected if trade
between Israel and its current trading partners were interrupted or curtailed.
The sale of products manufactured in Israel has been adversely affected in
certain markets by restrictive laws, policies or practices directed toward
Israel or companies having operations in Israel. The continuation or
exacerbation of conflicts involving Israel and other nations may impede the
Company's ability to sell its products in certain markets.
The Company benefits from various policies of the Government of Israel,
including reduced taxation and special subsidy programs, designed to stimulate
economic activity, particularly high technology industry, in that country. As a
condition of its receipt of funds for various research and development projects
conducted under programs sponsored by the Government of Israel, the Company has
agreed that products resulting from these projects may not be manufactured, nor
may the technology developed in the projects be transferred, outside of Israel
without government consent.
The results of operations of the Company have been favorably affected
by participation in Israeli government programs related to research and
development, as well as utilization of certain tax incentives and other
incentives available under applicable Israeli laws and regulations, some of
which have been reduced, discontinued or otherwise modified in recent years. In
addition, the Company's ability to obtain benefits under various discretionary
funding programs has declined and may continue to decline. The results of
operations of the Company could be adversely affected if these programs were
further reduced or eliminated and not replaced with equivalent programs or if
its ability to participate in these programs were to be reduced significantly.
EMPLOYEES
At January 31, 2002, the Company employed approximately 5,650
individuals, of whom approximately 77% are scientists, engineers and technicians
engaged in research and development, marketing and support activities.
The Company is not a party to any collective bargaining or other
agreement with any labor organization; however, certain provisions of the
collective bargaining agreements between the Histadrut (General Federation of
Labor in Israel) and the Coordinating Bureau of Economic Organizations
(including the Industrialists' Association) are applicable to the Company's
Israeli employees by order of the Israeli Ministry of Labor. Israeli law
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generally requires the payment by employers of severance pay upon the death of
an employee, his or her retirement or upon termination of his or her employment,
and the Company provides for such payment obligations through monthly
contributions to an insurance fund. Israeli employees and employers are required
to pay pre-determined sums to the National Insurance Institute, which payment
covers medical and other benefits similar to the benefits provided by the United
States Social Security Administration.
The continuing success of the Company will depend, to a considerable
extent, on the contributions of its senior management and key employees, many of
whom would be difficult to replace, and on the Company's ability to attract and
retain qualified employees in all areas of its business. Competition for such
personnel is intense. In order to attract and retain talented personnel, and to
provide incentives for their performance, the Company has emphasized the award
of stock options as an important element of its compensation program, including
options to purchase shares in certain of the Company's subsidiaries, and
provides cash bonuses based on several parameters, including the profitability
of the recipients' respective business units.
ITEM 2. PROPERTIES.
As of January 31, 2002, the Company leased an aggregate of
approximately 2,455,000 square feet of office space and manufacturing and
related facilities for its operations worldwide, including approximately
1,486,000 square feet in Tel Aviv, Israel, approximately 367,000 square feet in
Wakefield, Massachusetts, approximately 77,000 square feet in Andover,
Massachusetts, approximately 60,000 square feet in Woodbury, New York,
approximately 85,000 square feet in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey, and an aggregate of
approximately 380,000 square feet at various other locations in the United
States, Europe, the Far East, Australia, Latin America and Africa. The aggregate
base monthly rent for the facilities under lease as of January 31, 2002 was
approximately $3,119,000, and all of such leases are subject to various
pass-throughs and escalation adjustments.
In addition, the Company owns office space and manufacturing and
related facilities of approximately 40,000 square feet in Durango, Colorado and
approximately 25,000 square feet in Bexbach, Germany.
In September, 1999, the Company acquired approximately 423,000 square
feet of unimproved land in Ra'anana, Israel, with a view to the potential future
consolidation and construction of facilities for its Israeli operations.
The Company believes that its facilities currently under lease are more
than adequate for its current operations, and may endeavor selectively to reduce
its existing facilities commitments as circumstances may warrant.
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ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.
On or about October 19, 2001, Kevin Beier v. Comverse Technology, Inc.,
et al., CV 016972, the first of four virtually identical purported securities
class action complaints was filed against CTI and certain of its executive
officers in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New
York. The four actions were consolidated into the Beier action on January 15,
2002 and an amended consolidated complaint was filed on March 4, 2002. The
consolidated complaint generally alleges violations of federal securities laws
on behalf of individuals who allege that they purchased CTI's common stock
during a purported class period between April 30, 2001 and July 10, 2001. The
consolidated complaint seeks an unspecified amount in damages on behalf of
persons who purchased CTI stock during the purported class period. The Company
believes all claims in the complaints to be without merit and will vigorously
defend against these claims.
From time to time, the Company is subject to claims in legal
proceedings arising in the normal course of its business. The Company does not
believe that it is currently party to any pending legal action that could
reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on its business or
operating results.
ITEM 4. SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS.
At a Special Meeting of Shareholders held on February 25, 2002, the
shareholders of CTI authorized CTI to make an offer to holders of certain CTI
stock options granted under its stock incentive compensation plans entitling
such holders to surrender such options for cancellation in exchange for the
grant of replacement options to purchase 0.85 shares of Common Stock for each
share that was issuable under such cancelled options, with the replacement
options to be granted no earlier than six months and one day following the
cancellation date of the cancelled options at a price equal to the fair market
value of the Common Stock on the new grant date. This proposal was approved with
a vote of 74,549,571 shares in favor, 58,162,258 shares against and 1,206,026
abstentions.
-16-
PART II
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS.
The Common Stock of CTI trades on the NASDAQ National Market System
under the symbol CMVT. The following table sets forth the range of closing
prices of the Common Stock as reported on NASDAQ for the past two fiscal years.
All prices have been adjusted to reflect the three-for-two stock split, effected
in the form of a stock dividend, distributed on April 15, 1999, and the
two-for-one stock split, effected in the form of a stock dividend, distributed
on April 3, 2000.
Year Fiscal Quarter Low High
2000 2/1/00 - 4/30/00 68.06 119.69
5/1/00 - 7/31/00 65.25 102.75
8/1/00 - 10/31/00 76.06 114.81
11/1/00 - 1/31/01 86.19 121.63
2001 2/1/01 - 4/30/01 45.82 113.13
5/1/01 - 7/31/01 24.78 74.11
8/1/01 - 10/31/01 15.90 29.87
11/1/01 - 1/31/02 19.14 26.93
There were 1,829 holders of record of Common Stock at April 23, 2002.
Such record holders include a number of holders who are nominees for an
undetermined number of beneficial owners. The Company believes that the number
of beneficial owners of the shares of Common Stock outstanding at such date was
approximately 30,000.
The Company has not declared or paid any cash dividends on its equity
securities and does not expect to pay any cash dividends in the foreseeable
future, but rather intends to retain its earnings to finance the development of
the Company's business. Any future determination as to the declaration and
payment of dividends will be made by the Board of Directors in its discretion,
and will depend upon the Company's earnings, financial condition, capital
requirements and other relevant factors. See "Management's Discussion and
Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations--Liquidity and Capital
Resources."
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ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA.
The following tables present selected consolidated financial data for
the Company for the year ended December 31, 1997, the one month period ended
January 31, 1998, and the years ended January 31, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002.
Such information has been derived from the Company's audited consolidated
financial statements and should be read in conjunction with the Company's
consolidated financial statements and the notes to the consolidated financial
statements included elsewhere in this report. All financial information
presented herein has been retroactively adjusted for the January 1998 merger
with Boston Technology, Inc. ("Boston") and the July 2000 acquisition of Loronix
Information Systems, Inc. ("Loronix") to account for those transactions as
pooling of interests. All per share data has been restated to reflect a
three-for-two stock split effected as a 50% stock dividend to shareholders of
record on March 31, 1999, distributed on April 15, 1999, and a two-for-one stock
split effected as a 100% stock dividend to shareholders of record on March 27,
2000, distributed on April 3, 2000.
Year Transition
Ended Period Ended Year Ended
December 31, January 31, January 31,
------------ ----------- -------------------------------------------------
1997(1)(3) 1998 1999 (3) 2000 (3) 2001 2002
(In thousands, except per share data)
Statement of Operations Data:
Sales $ 498,343 $ 14,401 $ 708,805 $ 909,667 $ 1,225,058 $ 1,270,218
Cost of sales 221,650 21,666(2) 304,665 371,589 482,658 525,480
Research and development, net 98,152 13,481 134,201 169,816 232,198 293,296
Selling, general and administrative 142,055 51,892(2) 157,106 193,996 259,607 323,036
Merger and acquisition expenses - 41,877 - 2,016 15,971 -
Workforce reduction and
restructuring charges - - - - - 63,562
Interest and other income
(expense), net 4,957 175 8,315 16,595 33,339 (5,789)
Income (loss) before
income tax provision 41,443 (114,340) 121,148 188,845 267,963 59,055
Income tax provision 9,430 867 11,783 15,698 18,827 4,436
---------- ---------- ---------- --------- ------------ -----------
Net income (loss) $ 32,013 $ (115,207) $ 109,365 $ 173,147 $ 249,136 $ 54,619
========== =========== ========== ========= ============ ===========
Earnings (loss) per share - diluted $ 0.23 $ (0.89) $ 0.75 $ 1.08 $ 1.39 $ 0.29
========== ========== ========== ========= ============ ===========
Weighted average number of
common and common equivalent
shares outstanding - diluted 139,702 130,060 145,439 178,986 189,964 186,434
December 31, January 31,
------------ -------------------------------------------------------------------
1997 (4)(5) 1998 1999(4) 2000(4) 2001 2002
(In thousands)
Balance Sheet Data:
Working capital $ 402,901 $ 280,793 $ 712,165 $ 858,304 $ 1,860,379 $ 2,030,250
Total assets 636,342 527,652 1,042,959 1,372,847 2,625,264 2,704,163
Long-term debt, including
current portion 142,790 124,257 416,327 308,082 906,723 648,611
Stockholders' equity 357,514 231,390 390,855 724,839 1,236,165 1,616,408
(1) Includes results for Boston for the 11 months ended December 31, 1997.
(2) Includes approximately $7.8 million in cost of sales and $36.1 million
in selling, general and administrative expenses relating to charges as
a result of the merger with Boston.
(3) Includes the results of Loronix for its fiscal year ended December 31.
(4) Includes amounts for Loronix as of its fiscal year ended December 31.
(5) Includes amounts for Boston as of December 31, 1997.
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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS
OF OPERATIONS.
SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally
accepted accounting principles requires management to make estimates and
assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and
disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial
statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the
reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Revenue is generally recognized at the time of shipment for sales of
systems which do not require significant customization to be performed by the
Company and collection of the resulting receivable is deemed probable by the
Company. The Company's systems are generally a bundled hardware and software
solution that are shipped together. The Company generally has no obligations to
customers after the date products are shipped, except for product warranties.
The Company generally warranties its products for one year after sale. A
provision for estimated warranty costs is recorded at the time of sale.
Customers may also purchase separate maintenance contracts, which
generally consist of bug-fixing and telephone access to Company technical
personnel, but in certain circumstances may also include the right to receive
unspecified product updates, upgrades and enhancements. Revenue from these
services is recognized ratably over the contract period.
Revenues from certain development contracts are recognized under the
percentage-of-completion method on the basis of physical completion to date or
using actual costs incurred to total expected costs under the contract.
Revisions in estimates of costs and profits are reflected in the accounting
period in which the facts that require the revision become known. At the time a
loss on a contract is known, the entire amount of the estimated loss is accrued.
Amounts received from customers in excess of revenues earned under the
percentage-of-completion method are recorded as advance payments from customers.
Accounts receivable are generally diversified due to the number of commercial
and government entities comprising the Company's customer base and their
dispersion across many geographical regions. At the end of each accounting
period, the Company records a reserve for bad debts included in accounts
receivable based upon its current and historical collection history.
Cost of sales include material costs, subcontractor costs, salary and
related benefits for the operations and service departments, depreciation and
amortization of equipment used in the operations and service departments,
amortization of capitalized software costs, royalties and license fee costs,
travel costs and an overhead allocation. Research and development costs include
salary and related benefits as well as travel, depreciation and amortization of
research and development equipment, an overhead allocation, as well as other
costs associated with research and development activities. Selling, general and
administrative costs include salary and related benefits, travel, depreciation
and amortization, marketing and promotional materials, recruiting expenses,
professional fees, facility costs, as well as other costs associated with sales,
marketing, finance and administrative departments.
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Software development costs are capitalized upon the establishment of
technological feasibility and are amortized over the estimated useful life of
the software, which to date has been four years or less. Amortization begins in
the period in which the related product is available for general release to
customers. The Company reviews for the impairment of long-lived assets and
certain identifiable intangibles whenever events or changes in circumstances
indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. An
impairment loss would be recognized when estimated future undiscounted cash
flows expected to result from the use of the asset and proceeds from its
eventual disposition are less than its carrying amount. Impairment is measured
at fair value.
In July 2000, CTI acquired all of the outstanding stock of Loronix in a
transaction accounted for as a pooling of interests. The Company's financial
statements for the year ended January 31, 2000 include the operations of Loronix
for the year ended December 31, 1999.
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Year Ended January 31, 2002 Compared to Year Ended January 31, 2001
Sales. Sales for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2002 ("fiscal 2001")
increased by approximately $45.2 million, or 4%, compared to fiscal year ended
January 31, 2001 ("fiscal 2000"). This increase is primarily attributable to an
increase in sales of ESS products of approximately $48.7 million. Such increase
was principally due to increased sales to American customers. In addition, sales
of security and business intelligence recording products and service enabling
signaling software products increased (decreased) by approximately ($8.0)
million and $9.3 million, respectively.
Cost of Sales. Cost of sales for fiscal 2001 increased by approximately
$42.8 million, or 9%, as compared to fiscal 2000. The increase in cost of sales
is primarily attributable to increased materials and production costs of
approximately $21.8 million due to the increase in sales and increased
personnel-related costs of approximately $23.2 million due to hiring of
additional personnel and increased compensation and benefits for existing
personnel. Gross margins decreased from approximately 60.6% in fiscal 2000 to
approximately 58.6% in fiscal 2001.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses. Selling, general and
administrative expenses for fiscal 2001 increased by approximately $63.4
million, or 24%, compared to fiscal 2000, and as a percentage of sales increased
from approximately 21.2% in fiscal 2000 to approximately 25.4% in fiscal 2001.
The increase was primarily due to hiring of additional personnel and increased
compensation and benefits for existing personnel to support the increased level
of sales during the first half of fiscal 2001.
Research and Development. Net research and development expenses for
fiscal 2001 increased by approximately $61.1 million, or 26%, compared to fiscal
2000 due to overall growth of research and development operations and the
initiation of significant new research and development projects. The increase
was primarily due to the hiring of additional personnel and increased
compensation and benefits for existing personnel of approximately $32.9 million,
-20-
lower reimbursements for research and development projects submitted for funding
to the OCS of approximately $11.5 million, an increase in depreciation and
amortization costs of approximately $6.3 million and an increase in the overhead
allocation of approximately $3.6 million.
Acquisition Expenses and Workforce Reduction and Restructuring Charges.
During the 2001 fiscal year, the Company took steps to better align its cost
structure with the current business environment, to improve the efficiency of
its operations and to better position the Company to realize emerging
opportunities. These steps included a reduction in workforce announced in April
2001 and a restructuring plan announced in December 2001. In connection with the
implementation of these actions the Company incurred charges of approximately
$63.6 million to cover the costs of severance, elimination of excess facilities
and related leasehold improvements, write-off of certain inventory, property and
equipment and capitalized software and other restructuring related charges, such
as professional fees. The Company expects to pay approximately $11.9 million for
severance and related charges during the year ended January 31, 2003 and
approximately $24.3 million for lease related obligations at various dates
through January 2011.
In July 2000, the Company acquired all of the outstanding stock of
Loronix, a company that develops software-based digital video recording and
management systems, and all of the outstanding stock of Syborg
Informationsysteme GmbH, a company that develops software-based digital voice
and internet recording and workforce management systems. In August 2000, the
Company acquired all of the outstanding stock of Gaya Software Industries Ltd.,
a company specializing in software-based intelligent IP gateways and VoIP
technology, and all of the outstanding stock of Exalink Ltd., a company
specializing in protocol gateways and applications software for the delivery of
Internet-based services to all types of wireless devices. These business
combinations were accounted for as pooling of interests.
In connection with the above acquisitions, the Company charged to
operations approximately $16.0 million in fiscal 2000 for merger related
charges. Such charges relate to the following:
Asset write-downs and impairments
---------------------------------
In connection with the acquisitions in fiscal 2000, certain assets
became impaired due to the existence of duplicative technology, property and
equipment and inventory of the merged companies. Accordingly, these assets were
written down to their net realizable value at the time of the mergers and a
charge of approximately $7.4 million was charged to operations.
Professional fees and other direct merger expenses
--------------------------------------------------
In connection with the acquisitions in fiscal 2000, the Company
recorded a charge of approximately $8.6 million for professional fees to
lawyers, investment bankers and accountants, as well as other direct merger
costs in connection with the mergers, such as printing costs and filing fees.
Interest and Other Income (Expense), Net. Interest and other income
(expense), net, for fiscal 2001 decreased by approximately $39.1 million as
compared to fiscal 2000. The principal reasons for the decrease are increased
-21-
net realized losses and write-downs of the Company's investments and decreased
equity in the earnings of affiliates of approximately $22.1 million, increased
interest expense of approximately $0.3 million and a change in foreign currency
gains/losses of approximately $20.1 million. These decreases were partially
offset by increased interest and dividend income of approximately $7.6 million.
The increase in interest and dividend income is primarily a result of the
inclusion of the proceeds for a full year in fiscal 2001 of the Company's $600
million 1.50% convertible debentures issued in November and December 2000,
partially offset by the decrease in interest rates during fiscal 2001.
Income Tax Provision. Provision for income taxes decreased from fiscal
2000 to fiscal 2001 by approximately $14.4 million, or 76%, due to decreased
pre-tax income. The Company's overall effective tax rate increased from
approximately 7.0% during fiscal 2000 to approximately 7.5% in fiscal 2001. The
Company's overall rate of tax is reduced significantly by the tax benefits
associated with qualified activities of certain of its Israeli subsidiaries,
which are entitled to favorable income tax rates under a program of the Israeli
Government for "Approved Enterprise" investments in that country.
Net Income. Net income decreased by approximately $194.5 million, or
78%, in fiscal 2001 compared to fiscal 2000, while as a percentage of sales
decreased from approximately 20.3% in fiscal 2000 to approximately 4.3% in
fiscal 2001. The decrease resulted primarily from the factors described above.
Year Ended January 31, 2001 Compared to Year Ended January 31, 2000
Sales. Sales for fiscal 2000 increased by approximately $315.4 million,
or 35%, compared to the year ended January 31, 2000 ("fiscal 1999"). This
increase is primarily attributable to an increase in sales of ESS products of
approximately $277.2 million. Such increase was principally due to increased
sales to European and American customers. In addition, sales of security and
business intelligence recording products and service enabling signaling software
products increased by approximately $23.8 million and $18.7 million,
respectively.
Cost of Sales. Cost of sales for fiscal 2000 increased by approximately
$111.1 million, or 30%, as compared to fiscal 1999. The increase in cost of
sales is primarily attributable to (i) increased materials and production costs
of approximately $62.3 million due to the increase in sales, (ii) increased
personnel-related costs of approximately $30.3 million due to hiring of
additional personnel and increased compensation and benefits for existing
personnel, (iii) increased travel-related costs of approximately $7.1 million
and (iv) an increase in depreciation and amortization costs of approximately
$4.3 million. Gross margins increased from approximately 59.2% in fiscal 1999 to
approximately 60.6% in fiscal 2000.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses. Selling, general and
administrative expenses for fiscal 2000 increased by approximately $65.6
million, or 34%, compared to fiscal 1999, and as a percentage of sales was
approximately 21% in both fiscal 1999 and fiscal 2000. The increase was
primarily due to hiring of additional personnel and increased compensation and
benefits for existing personnel to support the increased level of sales during
fiscal 2000.
-22-
Research and Development. Net research and development expenses for
fiscal 2000 increased by approximately $62.4 million, or 37%, compared to fiscal
1999 due to overall growth of research and development operations and the
initiation of significant new research and development projects. The increase
was primarily due to hiring of additional personnel and increased compensation
and benefits for existing personnel to support the higher volume of research and
development activities.
Acquisition Expenses. In February 1999, the Company acquired all of the
outstanding stock of Amarex Technology, Inc., a company that develops
software-based applications for the telephone network operator and call center
markets. In August 1999, the Company acquired all of the outstanding stock of
InTouch Systems, Inc., a company that develops and markets a suite of
intelligent voice-controlled software applications. In July 2000, the Company
acquired all of the outstanding stock of Loronix, a company that develops
software-based digital video recording and management systems, and all of the
outstanding stock of Syborg Informationsysteme GmbH, a company that develops
software-based digital voice and internet recording and workforce management
systems. In August 2000, the Company acquired all of the outstanding stock of
Gaya Software Industries Ltd., a company specializing in software-based
intelligent IP gateways and voice-over-IP technology, and all of the outstanding
stock of Exalink Ltd., a company specializing in protocol gateways and
applications software for the delivery of Internet-based services to all types
of wireless devices. These business combinations were accounted for as pooling
of interests.
In connection with the above acquisitions, the Company has charged to
operations approximately $2.0 million and $16.0 million in fiscal 1999 and
fiscal 2000, respectively, for merger related charges. Such charges relate to
the following:
Asset write-downs and impairments
---------------------------------
In connection with the acquisitions in fiscal 2000, certain assets
became impaired due to the existence of duplicative technology, property and
equipment and inventory of the merged companies. Accordingly, these assets were
written down to their net realizable value at the time of the mergers and a
charge of approximately $7.4 million was charged to operations.
Professional fees and other direct merger expenses
--------------------------------------------------
In connection with the acquisitions in fiscal 1999 and fiscal 2000, the
Company recorded a charge of approximately $2.0 million and $8.6 million,
respectively, for professional fees to lawyers, investment bankers and
accountants, as well as other direct merger costs in connection with the
mergers, such as printing costs and filing fees.
Interest and Other Income, Net. Interest and other income, net, for
fiscal 2000 increased by approximately $16.7 million as compared to fiscal 1999.
The principal reasons for the increase are increased interest and dividend
income of approximately $26.7 million, a change in foreign currency gains/losses
of approximately $8.8 million and a decrease in interest expense of
approximately $1.4 million. These increases were partially offset by an increase
in net realized losses and write-downs on the Company's investments and the
equity in the earnings of affiliates of approximately $20.7 million. In November
-23-
and December 2000 the Company issued $600 million convertible senior debentures
with the interest income earned on the proceeds of such debentures adding to the
increase in interest and dividend income in fiscal 2000. The decrease in
interest expense is primarily a result of the inclusion in fiscal 1999 of the
Company's 5-3/4% convertible subordinated debentures redeemed in October 1999.
Income Tax Provision. Provision for income taxes increased from fiscal
1999 to fiscal 2000 by approximately $3.1 million, or 20%, due to increased
pre-tax income. The Company's overall effective tax rate decreased from
approximately 8% during fiscal 1999 to approximately 7% in fiscal 2000. The
Company's overall rate of tax is reduced significantly by the tax benefits
associated with qualified activities of certain of its Israeli subsidiaries,
which are entitled to favorable income tax rates under a program of the Israeli
Government for "Approved Enterprise" investments in that country.
Net Income. Net income increased by approximately $76.0 million, or
44%, in fiscal 2000 compared to fiscal 1999, while as a percentage of sales
increased from approximately 19% in fiscal 1999 to approximately 20% in fiscal
2000. The increase resulted primarily from the factors described above.
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
The Company's working capital at January 31, 2002 and 2001 was
approximately $2,030.3 million and $1,860.4 million, respectively.
Operations for fiscal 2001, fiscal 2000 and fiscal 1999, after adding
back non-cash items, provided cash of approximately $130.0 million, $309.7
million and $208.1 million, respectively. During such years, other changes in
working capital provided (used) cash of approximately $12.2 million, ($65.2)
million and ($30.8) million, respectively, resulting in cash being provided by
operating activities of approximately $142.2 million, $244.5 million and $177.4
million, respectively.
Investment activities for fiscal 2001, fiscal 2000 and fiscal 1999 used
cash of approximately $122.4 million, $207.3 million and $475.7 million,
respectively. These amounts include (i) additions to property, plant and
equipment in fiscal 2001, fiscal 2000 and fiscal 1999 of approximately $54.6
million, $97.3 million and $85.6 million, respectively; (ii) maturities and
sales (purchases) of bank time deposits and investments, net, of approximately
($44.8) million, ($94.5) million and ($377.6) million, respectively; and (iii)
capitalization of software development costs of approximately $23.0 million,
$15.5 million and $12.5 million, respectively. The property additions in each of
fiscal 2001, 2000 and 1999 include the increase of the Company's fixtures and
equipment and in fiscal 1999 the purchase of land by the Company of
approximately $25.8 million for potential future construction purposes. In
addition, in each of fiscal 2001, 2000 and 1999 the Company increased the amount
of its bank time deposits and investments to better utilize the net proceeds of
the 2000 and 1998 issuances of convertible debentures.
Financing activities for fiscal 2001, fiscal 2000 and fiscal 1999
provided cash of approximately $67.0 million, $894.1 million and $53.6 million,
respectively. These amounts include (i) the net proceeds from the issuance of
convertible debentures in fiscal 2000 of approximately $588.4 million; (ii)
-24-
proceeds from the issuance of common stock in connection with the exercise of
stock options, warrants and employee stock purchase plan of approximately $28.8
million, $111.4 million and $50.6 million, respectively; (iii) net proceeds
(repayments) of bank loans and other debt of approximately $38.2 million, ($0.9)
million and $3.1 million, respectively; and (iv) net proceeds from the issuance
of common stock of a subsidiary in connection with public offerings in fiscal
2000 of approximately $195.2 million.
In November 2000, the Company issued $500 million aggregate principal
amount of its 1.50% convertible senior debentures due December 2005. In December
2000, the Company issued an additional $100 million aggregate principal amount
of its 1.50% convertible senior debentures due December 2005 as a result of the
initial purchaser exercising in full their over-allotment option.
As of January 31, 2002, the Company had outstanding convertible
debentures of $600 million. In January 2002, Verint took a long-term bank loan
in the amount of $42 million. This loan, which matures in February 2003, bears
interest at LIBOR plus 0.55% and may be prepaid without penalty. The loan is
guaranteed by CTI.
The Company has obtained bank guaranties primarily for performance of
certain obligations under contracts with customers. These guaranties, which
aggregated approximately $23.4 million at January 31, 2002, are to be released
by the Company's performance of specified contract milestones, which are
scheduled to be completed primarily during 2002.
The Company leases office, manufacturing, and warehouse space under
non-cancelable operating leases. As of January 31, 2002, the minimum annual rent
obligations of the Company were approximately as follows:
Twelve Months Ended
January 31, Amount
------------------- ------
(In thousands)
2003 $ 34,007
2004 30,234
2005 20,253
2006 18,981
2007 and thereafter 33,666
-----------
$ 137,141
===========
-25-
On February 1, 2002, Verint acquired the digital video recording
business of Lanex, LLC. The Lanex business provides digital video recording
solutions for security and surveillance applications primarily to North American
banks. The purchase price consisted of $9.5 million in cash and a $2.2 million
convertible note. The note is non-interest bearing and matures on February 1,
2004. The holder of the note may elect to convert the note, in whole or in part,
into shares of Verint's common stock at a conversion price of $16.06 per share
at any time on or after the completion of an initial public offering by Verint.
The note is guaranteed by CTI. Pro forma results of operations have not been
presented because the effects of this acquisition are not material.
The Company believes that its existing working capital, together with
funds generated from operations, will be sufficient to provide for its planned
operations for the foreseeable future.
The Company regularly examines opportunities for strategic acquisitions
of other companies or lines of business and anticipates that it may from time to
time issue additional debt and/or equity securities either as direct
consideration for such acquisitions or to raise additional funds to be used (in
whole or in part) in payment for acquired securities or assets. The issuance of
such securities could be expected to have a dilutive impact on the Company's
shareholders, and there can be no assurance as to whether or when any acquired
business would contribute positive operating results commensurate with the
associated investment.
The Company's liquidity and capital resources have not been, and are
not anticipated to be, materially affected by restrictions pertaining to the
ability of its foreign subsidiaries to pay dividends or by withholding taxes
associated with any such dividend payments.
CERTAIN TRENDS AND UNCERTAINTIES
The Company derives the majority of its revenue from the
telecommunications industry, which is facing an unprecedented recession. This
has resulted in a significant reduction of capital expenditures made by TSPs.
The Company's operating results and financial condition have been, and will
continue to be, adversely affected by the severe decline in technology purchases
and capital expenditures by TSPs worldwide and by unfavorable global economic
conditions. Consequently, the Company's operating results have deteriorated
significantly in recent periods and may continue to deteriorate in future
periods if such conditions remain in effect. For these reasons and the risk
factors outlined below, it has been and continues to be very difficult for the
Company to accurately forecast future revenues and operating results.
The Company's business is particularly dependent on the strength of the
telecommunications industry. The telecommunications industry, in general, and
the Company, in particular, have been negatively affected by, among other
factors, the high costs and large debt positions incurred by some TSPs to expand
capacity and enable the provision of future services (and the corresponding
risks associated with the development, marketing and adoption of these services
as discussed below), including the cost of acquisitions of licenses to provide
future broadband services and reductions in TSPs' actual and projected revenues
and deterioration in their actual and projected operating results. Accordingly,
TSPs have significantly reduced their actual and planned expenditures to expand
or replace equipment and delayed and reduced the deployment of services. A
-26-
number of TSPs, including certain customers of the Company, have indicated the
existence of conditions of excess capacity in certain markets.
In addition, TSPs have delayed the planned introduction of new
services, such as broadband mobile telephone services, that would be supported
by certain of the Company's products. Certain of the Company's customers also
have implemented changes in procurement practices and procedures, including
limitations on purchases in anticipation of estimated future capacity
requirements, and in the management and use of their networks, that have had an
adverse affect on the Company's sales and order backlog, which also has made it
very difficult for the Company to project future sales. The continuation and/or
exacerbation of these trends will have an adverse effect on the Company's future
results. In addition to loss of revenue, weakness in the telecommunications
industry has affected and will continue to affect the Company's business by
increasing the risks of credit or business failures of suppliers, customers or
distributors, by customer requirements for vendor financing, by delays and
defaults in customer or distributor payments, and by price reductions instituted
by competitors to retain or acquire market share.
The Company's current plan of operations is predicated in part on a
recovery in capital expenditures by its customers. In the absence of such
improvement, the Company would experience further deterioration in its operating
results, and may determine to modify its plan for future operations accordingly,
which may include, among other things, additional reductions in its workforce.
The Company intends to continue to make significant investments in its
business, and to examine opportunities for growth through acquisitions and
strategic investments. These activities may involve significant expenditures and
obligations that cannot readily be curtailed or reduced if anticipated demand
for the associated products does not materialize or is delayed. The impact of
these decisions on future financial results cannot be predicated with assurance,
and the Company's commitment to growth may increase its vulnerability to
downturns in its markets, technology changes and shifts in competitive
conditions. The Company also may not be able to identify future suitable merger
or acquisition candidates, and even if the Company does identify suitable
candidates, it may not be able to make these transactions on commercially
acceptable terms, or at all. If the Company does make acquisitions, it may not
be able to successfully incorporate the personnel, operations and customers of
these companies into the Company's business. In addition, the Company may fail
to achieve the anticipated synergies from the combined businesses, including
marketing, product integration, distribution, product development and other
synergies. The integration process may further strain the Company's existing
financial and managerial controls and reporting systems and procedures. This may
result in the diversion of management and financial resources from the Company's
core business objectives. In addition, an acquisition or merger may require the
Company to utilize cash reserves, incur debt or issue equity securities, which
may result in a dilution of existing stockholders, and the Company may be
negatively impacted by the assumption of liabilities of the merged or acquired
company. Due to rapidly changing market conditions, the Company may find the
value of its acquired technologies and related intangible assets, such as
goodwill as recorded in the Company's financial statements, to be impaired,
resulting in charges to operations. The Company may also fail to retain the
acquired or merged companies' key employees and customers.
-27-
The Company has made, and in the future, may continue to make strategic
investments in other companies. These investments have been made in, and future
investments will likely be made in, immature businesses with unproven track
records and technologies. Such investments have a high degree of risk, with the
possibility that the Company may lose the total amount of its investments. The
Company may not be able to identify suitable investment candidates, and, even if
it does, the Company may not be able to make those investments on acceptable
terms, or at all. In addition, even if the Company makes investments, it may not
gain strategic benefits from those investments.
The telecommunications industry is subject to rapid technological
change. The introduction of new technologies in the telecommunications market
and new alternatives for the delivery of services are having, and can be
expected to continue to have, a profound effect on competitive conditions in the
market and the success of market participants, including the Company. The
Company's continued success will depend on its ability to correctly anticipate
technological trends in its industries, to react quickly and effectively to such
trends and to enhance its existing products and to introduce new products on a
timely and cost-effective basis. As a result, the life cycle of the Company's
products is difficult to estimate. In addition, changing industry and market
conditions may dictate strategic decisions to restructure some business units
and discontinue others. Discontinuing a business unit or product line may result
in the Company recording accrued liabilities for special charges, such as costs
associated with a reduction in work force. These strategic decisions could
result in changes to determinations regarding a product's useful life and the
recoverability of the carrying basis of certain assets.
The Company's products involve sophisticated hardware and software
technology that performs critical functions to highly demanding standards. There
can be no assurance that the Company's current or future products will not
develop operational problems, which could have a material adverse effect on the
Company. The Company relies on a limited number of suppliers and manufacturers
for specific components and may not be able to find alternate manufacturers that
meet its requirements and existing or alternative sources may not be available
on favorable terms and conditions. Thus, if there is a shortage of supply for
these components, the Company may experience an interruption in its product
supply. In addition, loss of third party software licensing would materially and
adversely affect the Company's business, financial condition and results of
operations.
The telecommunications industry continues to undergo significant change
as a result of deregulation and privatization worldwide, reducing restrictions
on competition in the industry. Unforeseen changes in the regulatory environment
also may have an impact on the Company's revenues and/or costs in any given part
of the world. The worldwide ESS system industry is already highly competitive
and the Company expects competition to intensify. The Company believes that
existing competitors will continue to present substantial competition, and that
other companies, many with considerably greater financial, marketing and sales
resources than the Company, may enter the ESS system markets. Moreover, as the
Company enters into new markets as a result of its own research and development
efforts or acquisitions, it is likely to encounter new competitors.
The market for the Company's digital security and surveillance and
enterprise business intelligence products has also been affected by weakness in
general economic conditions, delays or reductions in customers' purchases of
capital equipment and uncertainties relating to government expenditure programs.
-28-
Budgetary constraints, uncertainties resulting from the introduction of new
technologies and shifts in the pattern of government expenditures resulting from
increased uncertainties in the market for monitoring systems, resulting in
certain instances in the attenuation of government procurement programs beyond
their originally expected performance periods and an increased incidence of
delay, cancellation or reduction of planned projects. Competitive conditions in
this sector have also been affected by the increasing use by certain potential
government customers of their own internal development resources rather than
outside vendors to provide certain technical solutions. In addition, a number of
established government contractors, particularly developers and integrators of
technology products, have taken steps to redirect their marketing strategies and
product plans in reaction to cut-backs in their traditional areas of focus,
resulting in an increase in the number of competitors and the range of products
offered in response to particular requests for proposals. The lack of
predictability in the timing and scope of government procurements have similarly
made planning decisions more difficult and have increased the associated risks.
The Company has historically derived a significant portion of its sales
and operating profit from contracts for large system installations with major
customers. The Company continues to emphasize large capacity systems in its
product development and marketing strategies. Contracts for large installations
typically involve a lengthy and complex bidding and selection process, and the
ability of the Company to obtain particular contracts is inherently difficult to
predict. The timing and scope of these opportunities and the pricing and margins
associated with any eventual contract award are difficult to forecast, and may
vary substantially from transaction to transaction. The Company's future
operating results may accordingly exhibit a higher degree of volatility than the
operating results of other companies in its industries that have adopted
different strategies, and also may be more volatile than the Company has
experienced in prior periods. The degree of dependence by the Company on large
system orders, and the investment required to enable the Company to perform such
orders, without assurance of continuing order flow from the same customers and
predictability of gross margins on any future orders, increase the risk
associated with its business. The Company's gross margins also may be adversely
affected by increases in material or labor costs, obsolescence charges, price
competition and changes in channels of distribution or in the mix of products
sold.
Political, economic and military conditions in Israel directly affect
the Company's operations. Since the establishment of the State of Israel in
1948, a number of armed conflicts have taken place between Israel and its Arab
neighbors, and the continued state of hostility, varying in degree and
intensity, has led to security and economic problems for Israel. Since October
2000, there has been a significant increase in violence, primarily in the West
Bank and Gaza Strip, and more recently Israel has experienced terrorist
incidents within its borders. As a result, negotiations between Israel and
representatives of the Palestinian Authority have been sporadic and have failed
to result in peace. The Company could be adversely affected by hostilities
involving Israel, the interruption or curtailment of trade between Israel and
its trading partners, or a significant downturn in the economic or financial
condition of Israel. In addition, the sale of products manufactured in Israel
may be adversely affected in certain countries by restrictive laws, policies or
practices directed toward Israel or companies having operations in Israel. The
continuation or exacerbation of violent conflicts involving Israel and other
nations may impede the Company's ability to sell its products in certain
countries. In addition, some of the Company's employees in Israel are subject to
being called upon to perform military service in Israel, and their absence may
have an adverse effect upon the Company's operations. Generally, unless exempt,
-29-
male adult citizens and permanent residents of Israel under the age of 54 are
obligated to perform up to 36 days of military reserve duty annually.
Additionally, all such residents are subject to being called to active duty at
any time under emergency circumstances. These conditions could disrupt the
Company's operations in Israel and its business, financial condition and results
of operations could be adversely affected.
The Company's costs of operations have at times been affected by
changes in the cost of its operations in Israel, resulting from changes in the
value of the Israeli shekel relative to the United States dollar, and from
difficulties in attracting and retaining qualified scientific, engineering and
technical personnel in Israel, where the availability of such personnel has at
times been severely limited. Changes in these cost factors have from time to
time been significant and difficult to predict, and could in the future have a
material adverse effect on the Company's results of operations.
The Company's historical operating results reflect substantial benefits
it has received from programs sponsored by the Israeli government for the
support of research and development, as well as tax moratoriums and favorable
tax rates associated with investments in approved projects ("Approved
Enterprises") in Israel. Some of these programs and tax benefits have ceased and
others may not be continued in the future and the availability of such benefits
to the Company may be affected by a number of factors, including budgetary
constraints resulting from adverse economic conditions, government policies and
the Company's ability to satisfy eligibility criteria.
The Israeli government has reduced the benefits available under some of
these programs in recent years, and Israeli government authorities have
indicated that the government may further reduce or eliminate some of these
benefits in the future. The Company has regularly participated in a conditional
grant program administered by the OCS under which it has received significant
benefits through reimbursement of up to 50% of qualified research and
development expenditures. Verint currently pays royalties, of between 3% and 5%
(or 6% under certain circumstances) of associated product revenues (including
service and other related revenues) to the Government of Israel for repayment of
benefits received under this program. Such royalty payments by Verint are
currently required to be made until the government has been reimbursed the
amounts received b
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Beware of the GPS week number roll-over problem on 22 August 1999. The year 2000 problem, with the year roll over from 99 to 00 has received much attention. But is that also the case with the global positioning system (GPS) week number roll-over problem?
In telecommunications, the GPS is used at some places to synchronize the timing or the frequency of systems. So just in the same way that we look at the year 2000 problem, each user should check if their GPS-based system will be working correctly on 22 August 1999, the first day that the GPS week number will roll over from 1023 to 0. The reason is the limited number of bits (10) used in the GPS navigation message. If the software in the GPS receiver is not corrected, then the receiver will internally interpret the new week 0 as 6 January 1980. It might then stop tracking any satellite and the systems might perform worse or even loose synchronization. Working Party 7A, Study Group 7 (Science services), Radiocommunication Sector.
tele.ring and Alcatel sign contract for nationwide GSM network in Austria. tele.ring majority owned by Mannesmann has awarded to Alcatel a major contract for the turnkey delivery of key elements for its new GSM 1800 network in Austria, valued at FRF 1.9 billion. Deliveries will start immediately in order to meet the planned service launch within less than 12 months.
The contract includes the complete EVOLIUM radio solutions (GSM base station subsystems and microwave transmission), the comprehensive GPRS (general packet radio service) system for high-speed data transmission over GSM, the intelligent network platform and project management. Alcatel.
Analysys launches newentrants.com. A fully interactive Web service tracking telecommunication entrants in the Western European fixed telephony market has been launched by telecommunications consultancy Analysys.
The new site (www.newentrants.com), which is updated quarterly, features profiles of over 300 new entrants across 16 countries and contains contact details for more than 500 companies. The former monopoly operators are also profiled, enabling users to track the performance of all the key players in the business.
In addition, the site includes operator benchmarks providing the ability to compare and contrast key financial and operational statistics for the major new network operators and the incumbent operators, and a share indices service, updated daily, which enables users to compare the individual share performance of the major listed network operators. Analysys.
Alcatel to sell European transmission assets of DSC Communications Corporation to Tellabs, Inc. Alcatel and Tellabs, Inc., an American supplier of telecommunications equipment, have signed an agreement under which Alcatel is selling to Tellabs the European transmission assets of the former DSC Communications Corporation for some USD 110 million.
In the framework of the deal, both parties also entered into a patent cross-licensing agreement according to which the parties will license to one another their respective patents. In particular, Tellabs will benefit over the next four years of the patent licences of Alcatel's extensive range of SDH, SONET and WDM technologies.
Alcatel acquired DSC Communications Corporation in 1998 and has integrated its American activities within Alcatel USA. Alcatel.
CNN news via mobile phone. CNN Interactive and Nokia have developed an extensive news and information service used via mobile phone. The CNN Mobile service will become available in Europe, the Near East, Africa and Asia and its news content varies by region. CNN news comes in the form of phone text messages. By the end of February, nine mobile phone operators had signed an agreement on this form of news transmission. The service was to be offered first in Finland, and later by other operators by the end of June 1999.
CNN Mobile is the first worldwide added value service that is based on the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP). WAP is an open standard that enables the offering of so-called value-added services via digital wireless mobile phone networks. In addition to news services, value-added services include weather reports, stock prices, electronic mail, flight schedules and banking services. Finnfacts.
BT to build nationwide Internet telephony and multimedia network in Spain. BT has announced it is to create a purpose-built nationwide Internet telephony and multimedia network in Spain.
The network will use the latest Internet Protocol (IP) technology from Nortel Networks and will form part of a multi-million pound investment by BT in Spain.
The company has already invested more than GBP 400 million in its various fixed, mobile and Internet interests, and plans to spend at least an additional GBP 600 million over the next ten years.
The IP network will provide national coverage from 12 main nodes this year, with plans to expand the network by 27 main nodes within three years. BT.
Ascom to renew New Zealand's entire payphone network. Between July and December 1999, Telecom New Zealand will be replacing its existing network of public telephones with 6000 chip card payphones supplied by Ascom, including an off-line management system. This network will be the second, after Hungary, to benefit from a comprehensive security system protecting the operator against fraudulent card use. The contract is valued at FRF 45 million. Ascom.
Turner Broadcasting signs long-term lease with AsiaSat. Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company Limited has announced the signing of a long-term lease with Turner Broad casting System Inc. (TBS), for a full 36 MHz C-band transponder on AsiaSat-3S. The capacity will be used to broadcast to Asia a number of digital television channels including CNN International, TNT and Cartoon Network. TBS, a subsidiary of Time Warner Inc., is a producer of news and entertainment around the world and a leading provider of programming for the cable industry. AsiaSat.
NTT to aid telecommunication reconstruction in Honduras. NTT will help Honduras rebuild its telecommunications infrastructure following the devastating hurricane Mitch (November 1998) the killer storm which left nearly 15 000 people either dead or missing. Some 1.4 million Honduran residents are still suffering.
Aid from NTT is focused on the provision of essential telecommunications equipment. Transmission cables donated by the corporation include 10 km of optical fibre cable, 9 km of aerial cable, 265 km of jumper wire, 7 km of lead-in wire and 3 km of inside wire. The total value of NTT's aid is about JPY 9 million.
NTT is providing the aid through the Basic Human Needs Telecom Committee, a non-governmental organization based in Japan that offers humanitarian aid focusing on telecommunications.
Cables and other equipment from NTT were to arrive in Honduras in May 1999. NTT.
Ascom to install 7000 payphones in El Salvador and Guatemala. Already present in Mexico, Colombia and Argentina, Ascom has confirmed its presence in Latin America in the public telephone sector through new contracts in these two countries.
Ascom will be installing 7000 Proxim card payphones in El Salvador and Guatemala together with their supervision system, both orders having been placed by the national telecommunication operator.
In Guatemala, 500 payphones had been installed by January 1999 and the remaining units will be supplied at a rate of 1000 per month. In El Salvador, 4000 payphones will be installed during 1999 for CTE Antel, a company in which France Télécom recently took a controlling interest. Ascom.
Americans said to pay more for their calls than many Europeans. Recent studies by United Kingdom-based Eurodata Foundation reveal that, overall, most households in the United States are in reality paying more for their telephone service usage than Europeans substantially so, in many cases.
Eurodata's report Competition and tariffs in the USA challenges the perception that all calls in America are markedly cheaper than those made by Europeans. The report explains in detail, with supporting basket analysis, the structure of tariffs for PSTN services, private lines, ISDN, ATM and frame relay services. It is an essential guide for anyone who wishes to understand and analyse the cost of service in this most complex of markets.
Traditionally, United States local loop operators include an element to cover costs of local calls within the "flat rate" element of their monthly bill. The effect is that United States residential users do not see the true cost of the local calls they make. In short, Americans perceive their local calls to be free.
This perception influences their views of the charges they pay for non-local calls, creating an assumption that all calls in the United States are exceptionally good value. Eurodata Foundation.
BT and Sega to provide subscription-free television Internet access across Europe. BT has announced that it has been chosen by Sega, the global electronics company, to provide a pan-European subscription-free Internet access service for users of Sega Dreamcast.
The new Dreamcast games console, to be launched in September 1999, will provide users subscription-free Internet access through their televisions on a pay-as-you-go basis via BT's network of European partners. This is the first time that subscription-free Internet access has been made available across Europe in this way.
The dial IP service will be available from BT in the United Kingdom and its European partners in France, Germany, Italy and Spain. BT and Sega expect to roll-out the service to other European countries later in the year.
The new Dreamcast console will include a 33.6 k modem and a browser, and will also enable customers to access E-mail, chat and on-line gaming services. Future plans include the offer of on-line shopping facilities. Dreamcast is expected to retail at around GBP 199. BT.
New services for Greece. Greece's State network operator OTE is now adding intelligent services to its network to make itself more competitive before the full opening of its national telecommunications market in the year 2001. It is against this background that Siemens has obtained an order worth some DEM 23 million to equip OTE's telephone network with the Siemens platform for intelligent networks, INXpress.
This means that OTE will be able to launch Siemens services on its network at the same time as developing new services which can also be tested and operated in heterogeneous network architectures with components from various manufacturers of telecommunication devices.
Once the intelligent network has been fully set up, OTE customers will be able to make use of services such as universal access number, premium rate, televoting, universal personal telecommunications, virtual private network and prepaid card. Siemens.
GTS announces majority stake in Omnicom. Global TeleSystems Group, Inc. has announced that it has acquired a total of 1 877 608 common shares of Omnicom, representing 98.6 per cent of Omnicom's common share capital. This concludes the offer for those common shares and convertible bonds of Omnicom not previously held by GTS. GTS. q INTELSAT provides first satellite link to Internet II backbone. The International Telecommunications Satellite Organization has announced that it will be providing capacity to one of the alternate carriers in Israel, Israsat, a subsidiary of Gilat Communications, to connect to the Internet II backbone. The link, which is the first satellite link to the Internet II network, will connect the Inter-Universities Computation Center (IUCC) in Israel with academic institutions in the United States. Service was scheduled to start in June 1999.
The Internet II is an initiative by a number of universities worldwide, in conjunction with government and industry partners, to accelerate the next stage of Internet development in academia. This private network will operate at speeds several times faster than today's Internet.
The duplex service will be carried over the Intelsat-801 satellite at 328.5° E and will initially operate at 45 Mbit/s using two 36 MHz transponders. This is expected to be upgraded to a duplex 155 Mbit/s service. INTELSAT.
NTT Communications Corporation, a new company. Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation has established NTT Communications Corporation, following approval of its reorganization plan by the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications.
An agreement to transfer business from NTT to NTT Communications was also signed by the two companies.
The new company was to commence operations on 1 July 1999. NTT.
Alcatel and Compaq announce marketing initiative for ADSL in Europe. Alcatel and Compaq Computer Corporation are embarking on a series of joint marketing ventures to encourage the commercial roll-out of ADSL (asymmetric digital subscriber line) equipment and services among operators and consumers in Europe. Initial target countries are the United Kingdom, Belgium, Italy and Sweden. Alcatel/Compaq.
Columbia signs Justice Technology to "Columbia-515". Columbia Communications Corporation has announced a new lease of 36 MHz West-West capacity on the Columbia-515 satellite to Justice Technology.
The lease will support voice and data, using the Internet protocol between the United States and several sites in Latin America. Columbia.
Comverse unveils Internet call waiting service. Comverse Network Systems, a division of Comverse Technology, Inc., has unveiled its Internet call waiting service, which will give residential voice messaging and unified messaging (voice, fax and E-mail in a single mailbox) subscribers a virtual telephone line while they are online.
This new service is activated automatically, as soon as the subscriber connects to the Internet. When a call comes in to the designated phone, a message pops up on the computer screen with the name and number of the caller. The subscriber can then decide whether to accept the call, route the caller to voice mail, redirect the call to another number, play a message for the caller, or simply ignore the call. Comverse.
EMS Technologies to supply wireless products to Nortel Networks for multimedia satellite link. EMS Technologies Canada, Ltd. has received a contract from Nortel Networks to supply advanced communications hardware and software for the Astra satellite network of Société européenne des satellites (SES), and its advanced return channel system (ARCS). ARCS will be the world's first broadband system for providing direct two-way Internet access via satellite.
The multi-frequency, time-division multiple-access (MF-TDMA) architecture of the ARCS programme is a major advancement in satellite communications technology. Traditionally, satellites have received uplink signals from a limited number of earth stations. Under this new architecture, small terminals in hundreds of thousands of homes and offices will be able to communicate directly with a central hub via the Ka/Ku band satellite. The satellite access units will efficiently share satellite bandwidth through software developed by EMS, especially for the multimedia traffic environment. EMS.
ICO Global Communications sponsor of TELECOM 99 + Interactive 99. ICO Global Communications will sponsor the opening ceremony of TELECOM 99 + Interactive 99 to be organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva from 10 to 17 October.
This ceremony will be held on 9 October, from 14h00 to 16h30 and will launch the event on the theme "Join the world" and start off the programme of speakers.
About 200 000 visitors and 3500 official participants are expected from 150 countries.
The TELECOM exhibition and Forum are held every four years. They are regarded as the world's most important event in the field of telecommunications.
Ericsson, NEC and Hughes Network Systems are ICO's partners in sponsoring the opening ceremony. ICO.
WorldTel awarded BOT concession in Zimbabwe. WorldTel has been awarded a build-operate-transfer concession in Zimbabwe, following a joint venture agreement between the Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (PTC) and WorldTel with the express authorization of the Government. WorldTel has established a local private company, WorldTel Zimbabwe Limited (WTZ) to build and operate the fixed line network.
WorldTel is planning to install 150 000 lines in Mashonaland and Victoria provinces including Harare. Both the project and its business plan were developed with the assistance of the International Telecommunication Union that had earlier drawn up the national master development plan. The estimated investment is over USD 115 million. The project, which will expand existing capacity by 75 per cent, aims to meet the present enormous pent-up demand in the country and seeks to reduce the waiting list for additional lines to zero over the next few years.
WTZ positions itself as a friendly complementary service provider to PTC and not as its competitor. The company intends to use existing national and international network system capacity, wherever possible.
In return for the in-kind contribution that PTC makes and for the operating opportunity given to WTZ, the former will obtain equity interest and share part of the revenue to be collected from subscribers.
WorldTel has undertaken to give priority to Zimbabwean institutional investors to place funds in WTZ in the form of debt and equity. The balance of the required investment will be raised from WorldTel's own shareholders and other international institutional investors and banks. WorldTel.
Analysts foresee radical restructuring in telecommunications as bandwidth economics are redefined. International telecommunications analyst group, Ovum, has warned of a radical redefinition of the global telecommunications landscape as the industry moves from a business model where bandwidth is scarce and expensive, to one where bandwidth is potentially plentiful and, therefore, extremely cheap. Ovum predicts that this change will invert existing pricing models, create new market structures with new types of players and transform the operational and organizational make-up of today's operators.
Increased supplies are driving dramatic reductions in price. But as prices fall, what happens to the commercial viability of the networks? Will increased supply stimulate enough extra demand to fill the networks at commercially sustainable prices?
Ovum points out in its report The bandwidth explosion that many new networks are built on the premise of "if you build it, they will come" i.e. increases in supply of capacity will always be filled up by growth in demand. But Ovum believes that the key issue is not simply whether or not demand will continue to grow rapidly it evidently will. Rather, the success of many new and existing bandwidth providers will be determined by how quickly this will happen and whether or not some operators will be left with a capacity "glut", i.e. large amounts of capacity that they cannot sell. Ovum.
GTE/Bell Atlantic merger. GTE Corporation shareholders have approved the company's merger with Bell Atlantic. The vote was announced at the GTE annual shareholder meeting in Atlanta (Georgia).
According to the company, 96.7 per cent of the votes submitted were in favour of the transaction.
The United States Department of Justice cleared the merger after an exhaustive review, finding no competitive issues in the company's vast combined wireline businesses. GTE.
LMI to begin communication services. Lockheed Martin Intersputnik (LMI), a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Global Telecommunications and the International Organization of Space Communications (INTERSPUTNIK), confirmed it will launch its initial satellite, LMI-1 and initiate communication services by the end of September 1999.
In a statement issued following a board meeting, the joint venture said its LMI-1 spacecraft is completing production at Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems in Sunnyvale (California), and has successfully completed thermal vacuum testing.
The satellite will be ready for shipment to the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch site before the end of July 1999 and is manifested for launch by International Launch Services aboard a Proton launch vehicle in late August/early September 1999.
LMI-1 will provide communication services to Eastern Europe, South and South-East Asia, parts of Africa and the Middle East, and the Commonwealth of Independent States. The spacecraft is the first of four planned advanced- technology satellites that are to provide comprehensive coverage and connectivity to business and residential customers throughout the world. Lockheed Martin Global Telecommunications/INTERSPUTNIK.
Columbia signs COMSAT Mobile for service to cruise ships. Columbia Communications has signed an agreement with COMSAT Mobile Communications to provide space segment in support of communication services (voice and data) for two cruise ships: QE2 and Century.
The expansive C-band coverage of Columbia's TDRS-6 satellite, combined with its competitive pricing, makes the Columbia satellite system the ideal choice for C-band maritime services. A single TDRS-6 transponder delivers simultaneous full coverage to the Caribbean and Mediterranean regions, providing the most efficient space segment service for cruise ships and maritime service providers operating in these areas. Columbia.
A benchmark industry study of OSS investment points to pent-up demand for integrated solutions. TeleManagement Forum, a communications industry consortium of service providers and solution suppliers, has announced availability of a benchmark study of the global market for operational support systems. The study shows a 1998 world market of USD 16.5 billion for these business critical systems, documents current purchasing habits among service providers, and identifies a large, fast growing market that is not yet well understood, but that is going to create new winners and losers across the industry. Entitled The communications industry market for OSS, the study was commissioned by TeleManagement Forum and conducted by Ovum, Ltd.
While time-critical pressures to improve efficiency drive service providers to look for turnkey solutions, issues of interoperability are preventing the industry from realizing the goal of fully automated and integrated systems. For a sufficient number of products to emerge, the industry must rally around a few key agreements that will enable common reusable off-the-shelf solutions and software components to be built. Ascom SA.
Structural changes
in Kenya
Kenya Posts and Telecommunications Corporation has ceased to be the signatory of Kenya. The Communications Commission of Kenya is the current designated signatory to the ITU on all telecommunications regulatory matters.
in Monaco
A Directorate for Licensing and Telecommunications Control was established by Decree No. 13.633 of 25 September 1998. This Directorate is placed under the authority of the Government Counsellor for Public Works and Social Affairs.
Personnel changes
in Bangladesh
Mr Md. Ashraful Alim has been appointed Director (International), Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board.
in Brazil
Mr João Pimenta da Veiga Filho has been appointed Minister of Communications.
in Burkina Faso
Mr Justin T. Thiombiano has been appointed State Secretary for Telecommunications, Ministry of Communication and Culture.
in Finland
Mr Olli-Pekka Heinonen has been appointed Minister of Transport and Communications.
in Ghana
Mr John D. Mahama has been appointed Minister of Communications.
in Kenya
Mr William Ole Ntimama has been appointed Minister of Transport and Communications. Messrs Karanja Kabage and Samuel Kiprono Chepkong'a have been appointed Chairman and Director-General, Communications Commission of Kenya, respectively.
in Lebanon
Mr Issam Naaman has been appointed Minister of Post and Telecommunications.
in Monaco
Mr Michel Levêque has been appointed State Minister and Director of the External Relations Service. Messrs Raoul Viora and Christian Palmaro have been appointed Director and Chief of the Telecommunication Division, Directorate for Licensing and Telecommunications Control, respectively.
in the Netherlands
Ms T. Netelenbos has been appointed Minister of Transport, Public Works and Water Management. Ms Monique de Vries has been appointed Secretary of State, Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management. Mr J. W. Weck has been appointed Director-General, Telecommunications and Posts Department.
in Poland
Mr Maciej Srebro has been appointed Minister of Posts and Telecommunications. Messrs Miroslaw Marcinkiewicz and Wladyslaw Wilkans have been appointed Director-General and Director, Department of European Integration, Negotiations and International Relations, Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, respectively.
in Saudi Arabia
Mr Fareed Y. Khashoggi has been appointed Director-General, International Affairs, Ministry of Post, Telegraph and Telephone. ITU Notification No. 1378.
|
||||||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
2
| 10
|
https://www.newsday.com/business/comverse-agrees-to-2-8m-settlement-t74771
|
en
|
Comverse agrees to $2.8M settlement
|
https://cdn.newsday.com/ace/c:MGU3MTU5NDAtOGIxMy00:ZTc5YmFh/landscape/1280
|
https://cdn.newsday.com/ace/c:MGU3MTU5NDAtOGIxMy00:ZTc5YmFh/landscape/1280
|
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] |
[] |
[] |
[
"Business",
"business melville article"
] | null |
[
"JOSEPH MALLIA"
] |
2011-04-07T19:56:00.201000+00:00
|
en
|
/img/newsday/favicon.ico
|
Newsday
|
https://www.newsday.com/business/comverse-agrees-to-2-8m-settlement-t74771
|
Comverse Technology Inc., a Manhattan software company with deep Long Island roots, has avoided prosecution under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by agreeing to pay a $2.8 million penalty to two federal agencies.
It must pay $1.2 million to the Justice Department and $1.6 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The case against Comverse centered on $536,000 in improper payments to officials of a Greek telecom company, OTE, from 2003 to 2006. In exchange OTE agreed to buy services from Comverse, officials said.
Comverse is the majority owner of Verint Systems Inc., a Melville security software company. A company spokesman was not immediately available for comment Thursday.
Long based in Woodbury, Comverse under former chief executive Jacob "Kobi" Alexander grew into a billion-dollar corporation specializing in software for voice communications. The Comverse headquarters was moved to Manhattan in 2005.
Along with paying the $2.8 million penalty, Comverse had to accept responsibility for falsely recording in an Israeli subsidiary's ledgers that the $536,000 in payments were legitimate.
"The agreement recognizes the company's thorough self-investigation and the results of its investigation, voluntary disclosure of the underlying conduct, and full cooperation with the department," a Justice Department news release said.
The company "has also undertaken extensive remedial efforts and overhauled its overall compliance culture . . . " the department said.
The repercussions of Alexander's alleged accounting misdeeds, which included backdating options, continued to be felt last month when Comverse replaced its chief executive.
|
|||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
2
| 47
|
https://www.verizon.com/about/news/press-releases/area-businesses-join-forces-fight-breast-cancer
|
en
|
Area Businesses Join Forces to Fight Breast Cancer
|
[
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[] |
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[
""
] | null |
[] |
2021-10-07T00:10:38-04:00
|
Area Businesses Join Forces to Fight Breast Cancer
Corporate Partners Introduce Buddy CheckTM 9 Program
June 2, 1999
Media
con
|
en
|
https://www.verizon.com/about/sites/default/files/favicon.ico
|
https://www.verizon.com/about/news/press-releases/area-businesses-join-forces-fight-breast-cancer
|
Corporate Partners Introduce Buddy CheckTM 9 Program
June 2, 1999
Media
contact:
Michel Daley,
Bell Atlantic
202-392-1021
Kay Brewer,
Comverse Network Systems
781-224-8372
WASHINGTON -- Bell Atlantic and other corporate sponsors today held
a rally to stop breast cancer in its tracks. The event, held at Bell Atlantic's
offices in Arlington, Va., was designed to increase breast cancer awareness
among employees and promote early detection, which offers the best
chance to treat the disease successfully.
Bell Atlantic and its partners -- Comverse Network Systems, the Cancer
Research Foundation of America, the Lombardi Cancer Center at the
Georgetown University Medical Center, Channel 9 Eyewitness News and
WHUR 96.3 FM -- are sponsoring Buddy CheckTM 9, a program to inform
women about the importance of early detection and how to perform breast
self-exams.
At the rally, Marie C. Johns, president and CEO of Bell Atlantic -
Washington and Andrea Roane, news anchor, Channel 9 Eyewitness News
highlighted the importance of breast self-exams and challenged to
audience to get involved. Attendees also received Buddy CheckTM 9 T-
shirts and Buddy CheckTM 9 brochures with important information about
breast health awareness. Most women have to be taught how to perform
the exams correctly. Therefore, nurses from the Lombardi Cancer Center
were on hand to demonstrate the correct procedure.
In addition, Bell Atlantic is using its technology to further promote breast
cancer awareness. Starting in July, Bell Atlantic® Home Voice Mail
subscribers in the Washington metropolitan area can sign up to receive a
free monthly voice mail message reminding them to conduct a breast self-
exam.
"It is very important to educate the public about the most common
form of cancer affecting women in this country," said Johns.
"And our Home Voice Mail service provides a convenient way to
encourage everyone to join the fight against breast cancer."
All women-and one percent of men-are at risk of breast cancer. The
disease cannot be prevented because the cause is unknown. However,
when breast cancer is detected and treated in its early stages, the five-year
survival rate is 97 percent.
"There is no more rewarding use of Comverse's technology than to
deliver these life-saving reminder messages each month to Bell Atlantic
Home Voice Mail customers," said Francis E. Girard, chief
executive officer of Comverse Network Systems. "For over 10
years, Comverse and Bell Atlantic have worked together to bring voice
messaging services to consumers and businesses. We are honored to
extend that partnership to include the Buddy CheckTM 9 program."
Breast self-exams are not meant to replace mammograms or clinical exams
performed by physicians. However, they are an important third step of the
breast cancer early detection triad recommended by major U.S. cancer
organizations.
"The good news is that early stages of breast cancer are highly
treatable," Johns said. "Thanks to breast cancer early-
detection programs, there are over two million breast cancer survivors in
the U.S. today. With the help of Buddy Check 9, I'm hopeful that figure
will climb even higher."
Bell Atlantic is at the forefront of the new communications and
information industry. With 43 million telephone access lines and nine
million wireless customers worldwide, Bell Atlantic companies are
premier providers of advanced wireline voice and data services, market
leaders in wireless services and the world's largest publishers of directory
information. Bell Atlantic companies are also among the world's largest
investors in high-growth global communications markets, with operations
and investments in 23 countries.
Comverse Network System, a division of Comverse Technology, Inc.
(NASDAQ: CMVT) and the world's leading supplier of enhanced services
platforms to communication network operators is headquartered in
Wakefield, MA. Comverse's Access NPTM and TRILOGUETM INfinityTM
enhanced services platforms enable communications network operators to
offer a range of revenue-generating multimedia messaging and
information services to business and residential users. These services
include call answering, voice/fax mail, short text message service, fax-on-
demand, audiotex, interactive voice response, virtual phone/fax, and next-
generation Advanced Intelligent Network-based personal communications
services such as pre-paid services, personal number, call screening/caller
introduction, mobile attendant and voice dialing. Comverse Network
Systems is the worldwide enhanced services platform market leader
serving over 290 network operator customers in more than 75 countries.
For additional information, visit Comverse Network Systems' website at:
http://comversens.com.
|
|||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
2
| 51
|
https://www.digitalbridge.com/about
|
en
|
DigitalBridge
|
[
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"https://www.digitalbridge.com/about/leadership/liam-stewart/_res/id=Picture/liam.jpg",
"https://www.digitalbridge.com/about/leadership/thomas-mayrhofer/_res/id=Picture/Thomas-Mayrhofer-DigitalBridge.jpg",
"https://www.digitalbridge.com/about/leadership/justin-chang/_res/id=Picture/jchang.jpg",
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DigitalBridge invests in companies that provide infrastructure solutions focused on AI and next-generation digital infrastructure, delivering a converged network experience for an increasingly connected world.
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en
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https://www.digitalbridge.com/about
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Marc C. Ganzi is Chief Executive Officer at DigitalBridge and has been an investor and operator in the digital infrastructure sector for more than 25 years. Mr. Ganzi has led DigitalBridge’s transformation to become a premier platform for digital infrastructure and real estate investment.
Mr. Ganzi originally founded Digital Bridge Holdings in 2013 and, as its CEO, built the firm into a leading global manager of digital infrastructure assets with more than $20 billion in AUM, until its merger in July 2019 into the current public company, DigitalBridge Group, Inc.
Previously, Mr. Ganzi founded Global Tower Partners (“GTP”), which grew to become one of the largest privately-owned tower companies in the U.S. under his leadership before being acquired by American Tower Corporation in 2013 for $4.8 billion. At GTP, Mr. Ganzi executed a series of strategic acquisitions, build-to-suit agreements with wireless carriers and financings in the credit markets.
Prior to the formation of GTP, Mr. Ganzi worked as a consulting partner for DB Capital Partners from 2000 to 2002 where he oversaw the institution’s investments in the Latin American tower sector. Before joining DB Capital, Mr. Ganzi co-founded and served as President of Apex Site Management, one of the largest third-party managers of wireless and wireline communication sites in the United States. In 2000, Apex merged with SpectraSite Communications to create one of the largest telecommunications site portfolios in the United States at the time.
In 1990, Mr. Ganzi served as an assistant Commercial Attaché in Madrid for the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Foreign Commercial Service Department. He also served as a Presidential Intern in the White House for the George H.W. Bush administration with the Office of Special Activities and Initiatives for the Honorable Stephen M. Studdert in 1989.
Mr. Ganzi received a Bachelor of Science from the Wharton School of Business in 1993. He was a Board Member of the Wireless Infrastructure Association from 2008 to 2017 and served as Chairman from 2009 to 2011. He is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization and the Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee of the Federal Communications Commission.
Liam Stewart is Chief Operating Officer at DigitalBridge. Prior to DigitalBridge, Mr. Stewart was the Chief Financial Officer of Macquarie Infrastructure Corporation. He has approximately 15 years of experience in acquiring, operating and financing infrastructure assets in the U.S., Australia, and Asia.
Prior to joining Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets in 2014, Mr. Stewart was a Senior Vice President and Management Partner at Global Tower Partners (GTP), where he had responsibility for all capital markets initiatives and led over a dozen domestic and international financings for GTP. He was also responsible for all treasury, capital markets and strategic planning, budgeting, forecasting, investor relations and reporting initiatives at GTP. Prior to joining GTP in 2009, Mr. Stewart was employed by the Macquarie Group where he had day to day responsibility for a listed Macquarie affiliate’s North American media and telecommunications investments.
Mr. Stewart has an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws from the University of New South Wales. He is also admitted to practice as a solicitor in the state of New South Wales.
Thomas Mayrhofer is the Chief Financial Officer at DigitalBridge. Mr. Mayrhofer brings more than two decades of robust financial and operational experience across the asset management industry.
Prior to joining DigitalBridge, Mr. Mayrhofer served as CFO and, subsequently, Chief Operating Officer at alternative asset manager EJF Capital, where he was responsible for the firm’s financial, operational, technology, and legal functions.
Prior to EJF Capital, Mr. Mayrhofer spent nearly 18 years at The Carlyle Group in a variety of financial roles across all of the firm's products—including private equity, energy, real estate and credit. He concluded his tenure at Carlyle as a Partner and CFO of the firm’s Private Equity business, where he led a team of more than 90 finance professionals and had oversight of approximately $100 billion of assets under management.
Mr. Mayrhofer graduated from The College of William & Mary with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting.
Justin Chang is Senior Managing Director, Head of Asia at DigitalBridge Investment Management. Mr. Chang is responsible for the identification, evaluation, consummation and management of new investments in the Asia Pacific region.
Prior to joining DigitalBridge, Mr. Chang served as Global Head of Private Equity for Colony Capital, Inc. He also served as the Chief Executive Officer of Colony American Homes from its founding in 2012 to its merger with Starwood Waypoint Residential Trust in January 2016.
Prior to joining the DigitalBridge business in 2010, Mr. Chang was a Partner with TPG Capital, an international private equity investment firm that he joined in 1993. At TPG, Mr. Chang was involved in private equity investments across a broad range of industries including consumer products, financial services, healthcare, real estate, technology, media and telecommunications in multiple geographies in North America and Asia.
Mr. Chang received his Bachelor of Arts cum laude in Economics and Political Science from Yale University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He currently serves on the Yale President’s Council on International Activities, the Yale Development Council and the Board of Advisors of the Yale Jackson Institute for Global Affairs.
Dean T. Criares is a Managing Director, Head of Credit at DigitalBridge Investment Management. Mr. Criares has over 30 years of experience investing in credit products with specialties in leveraged finance, structured products and capital markets.
Prior to DigitalBridge, Mr. Criares was a co-managing partner of Sound Harbor Partners, a private investment manager focused on non-investment grade corporate credit. In 2017, Sound Harbor was acquired by Allianz Global Investors where, until joining DigitalBridge, Mr. Criares continued to advise the funds previously managed by Sound Harbor Partners.
Prior to Sound Harbor, Mr. Criares was a Senior Managing Director and partner of The Blackstone Group where he was the founding member of the firm’s senior debt platform. Mr. Criares joined Blackstone in 2002 and built the firm’s senior debt business to scale with offices in New York and London.
Prior to joining Blackstone, Mr. Criares spent 17 years at CIBC World Markets with focus on sourcing, underwriting and monitoring non-investment grade credit investments. From 1997 to 2001, Mr. Criares served as original member of Trimaran Advisors, a CIBC affiliated asset manager, where he was responsible for growing and managing the unit’s $3.0 billion senior debt portfolio.
Mr. Criares received a Bachelor of Arts from Drew University and an MBA from Columbia Business School.
Matt Evans is a Managing Director, Head of Europe at DigitalBridge Investment Management. Mr. Evans is based in London and focuses on European investments and opportunities. He is an accomplished and a highly experienced global infrastructure investor, bringing more than two decades of relevant industry and transaction expertise to DigitalBridge.
Prior to joining DigitalBridge, Mr. Evans served as Global Head of Digital Infrastructure, Co-Head of Origination and Co-Head of Europe at AMP Capital. During his tenure, he was responsible for a number the firm’s investments in the digital infrastructure and rail sectors. Before joining AMP Capital in 2013, Mr. Evans spent 14 years at Macquarie Capital Advisors in various roles of increasing responsibility, most recently as Managing Director of the Telecoms, Media, Entertainment and Technology Group in EMEA.
Mr. Evans has a Bachelor of Science degree and a Bachelor of Arts with Honours from the University of Waikato in New Zealand.
Jeff Ginsberg is Chief Administrative Officer, Chairperson of ESG Committee at DigitalBridge Investment Management. Mr. Ginsberg has more than 32 years of entrepreneurial and executive experience in the telecom infrastructure and services, real estate, and private equity sectors.
Prior to joining DigitalBridge, Mr. Ginsberg was a Managing Director and Operating Partner of Mistral Equity Partners, a consumer-focused private equity fund.
Before joining Mistral in 2008, Mr. Ginsberg was Executive Chairman of InfoHighway Communications, a telecommunications services provider, and CEO/co-founder of its predecessor entity Eureka Broadband.
Prior to co-founding Eureka, Mr. Ginsberg was co-founder and Executive Chairman of Apex Site Management, which grew from its inception in 1995 to become the largest third-party manager of wireless and wireline sites in the U.S. at the time of its sale to SpectraSite in January 2000. Mr. Ginsberg was also the co-founder of Horizon Cellular Group, which grew from a start-up in 1991 (in partnership with McCaw Cellular) to become one of the largest cellular system operators in the country prior to the sale of the business.
Mr. Ginsberg received a Bachelor of Science, cum laude, in Finance and Accounting from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Leslie Wolff Golden is a Managing Director, Global Head of Capital Formation and Investor Relations at DigitalBridge. Ms. Golden is also responsible for marketing and communications across the DigitalBridge Investment Management platform and serves on the firm’s ESG committee.
Prior to joining DigitalBridge, Ms. Golden was a Managing Director in the Investor Solutions Group of Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets where she was primarily responsible for raising capital from and managing relationships with institutional investors and consultants.
Earlier in her career, Ms. Golden was a Managing Director at Ridgewood Energy where she was the Head of Investor Relations. Ms. Golden also was involved with principal investing and portfolio management. Ms. Golden started her career in investment banking with Lehman Brothers and subsequently worked at Bankers Trust and Bank of America (NationsBanc Montgomery).
Ms. Golden is a founding member of the Wharton Women in Private Equity/Venture Capital and sits on the Advisory Board of Wharton Private Equity/Venture Capital.
Ms. Golden received a Bachelor of Science and MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Geoffrey Goldschein is Chief Legal Officer and Company Secretary at DigitalBridge. Mr. Goldschein is responsible for the management of legal affairs and generally provides legal and other support to the operations of DigitalBridge. He has 20 years of experience advising on fund formations, U.S. securities laws, portfolio company acquisitions and divestitures, and other material portfolio company matters.
Prior to DigitalBridge, he spent ten years at Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA), where he worked as legal counsel for many listed and unlisted infrastructure funds.
Prior to MIRA, Mr. Goldschein worked in the corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions and leveraged buyout groups of several large international law firms, primarily representing private equity funds and their portfolio companies in a wide variety of domestic and international transactions.
Mr. Goldschein received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, cum laude, from Tufts University. He earned a Juris Doctor from the Georgetown University Law Center, where he was a senior editor of the Georgetown Journal of International Law and served as an intern in the Satellite Division of the Federal Communications Commission.
Kevin Smithen is Chief Commercial and Strategy Officer at DigitalBridge, where he leads capital formation and co-investment across all products and strategies. Additionally, Mr. Smithen has sourced proprietary, off-market fiber and data center deals for DigitalBridge since 2018. Mr. Smithen has over 27 years of experience in the global communications industry.
Prior to DigitalBridge, Mr. Smithen worked in the equity research division of Macquarie Securities (USA) Inc., most recently as Managing Director, Telecom Services and Infrastructure and as Sector Head for Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT). He has been recognized by StarMine, Bloomberg, and Institutional Investor as a leading analyst and thought leader.
Previously, he worked as a senior analyst and Portfolio Manager for the Lazard Global Opportunities Fund and the Lazard TMT Advantage Fund. He was also the first investment analyst at Coatue Capital, a leading TMT sector hedge fund. Mr. Smithen began his career as an investment banker at Smith Barney, Inc. (Citigroup) in their Media and Telecommunications Group.
Mr. Smithen earned a Bachelor of Arts in History, Middle East, and European Policy, magna cum laude, with Distinction from Duke University.
Alan Bezoza is a Managing Director, Liquid Strategies at DigitalBridge Investment Management with a focus on public equity securities within the Technology, Media and Telecom sectors. Mr. Bezoza has spent over 20 years researching and investing in the TMT sector with a particular focus on the global Communications and Media Ecosystem, which includes media, cable, telecoms, mobile towers, data centers, communications technology, data networking and their respective supply chains.
Prior to joining DigitalBridge in 2020, Mr. Bezoza was a Partner and Sector Head at Dorsal Capital, a market-neutral hedge fund, where he focused on the Media, Telecom and Communications Technology sectors. Prior to Dorsal, he spent over seven years at Janus Capital, where he was a Senior Analyst and Co-Sector Lead of the Communications investment team that included the Telecom, Media and Internet sectors. Mr. Bezoza previously worked in equity research as a Senior Vice President at both Oppenheimer and Friedman Billings Ramsey. He has published numerous industry white papers, appearing in print and financial news outlets (CNBC, Bloomberg, WSJ, etc.), and has keynoted industry conferences. In 2005, he was recognized by The Wall Street Journal as a “Best on the Street” analyst for his stock picks in the Broadcasting and Entertainment sector. Mr. Bezoza started his career at Lazard Asset Management, where he worked on the Emerging Markets and International Small Cap portfolios.
Mr. Bezoza received a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Lehigh University.
Wilson Chung is a Managing Director at DigitalBridge Investment Management. Mr. Chung is based in Singapore and focuses on identifying and evaluating Asia Pacific investment opportunities. He has over 15 years of infrastructure, private equity, and corporate finance experience in Asia.
Prior to joining DigitalBridge, Mr. Chung was most recently a Senior Vice President in the infrastructure principal investments team at Macquarie Capital. He led Macquarie’s balance sheet investments in digital infrastructure in Asia, with a focus on building platforms and developing greenfield datacenters and other digital infrastructure assets. Prior to that role, Mr. Chung worked in Macquarie Capital’s private capital markets team where he focused on principal investments and advisory mandates across the consumer and technology sectors in Asia.
Prior to Macquarie Capital, Mr. Chung was a co-founder and CFO of Litegrid Holdings Ltd, a Hong Kong telecommunications infrastructure developer and prior to that, he covered consumer, industrial and telecom investments for Unitas Capital, an Asian regional private equity fund. Mr. Chung started his career as an investment banking analyst at Citigroup.
Mr. Chung received a Bachelor of Laws, with honors, and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Melbourne.
Jonathan Friesel is a Managing Director at DigitalBridge Investment Management. Mr. Friesel has over 28 years of experience investing in and advising companies in the communications, media, technology and tech enabled services industries. Mr. Friesel is a leader in the Firm’s communications and services areas and is responsible for the identification, evaluation, and management of new investments in these sectors and for non-infrastructure private equity investments.
Prior to DigitalBridge, Mr. Friesel was a Founder and Managing Partner of Twin Point Capital, where he had senior managerial responsibility for the firm’s investment activities and operations. Prior to Twin Point, Mr. Friesel was a Partner of Oak Hill Capital, where he was a member of the Investment Committee and held senior leadership responsibilities for the firm’s Media & Communications and Services investment groups. He also served on the firm’s operations, compliance and ESG committees. Mr. Friesel also worked at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., in its Telecommunications and Media group.
Mr. Friesel received his Bachelor of Sciences from Cornell University and is an Emeritus Member of the Advisory Council of the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell.
Sadiq Malik is a Managing Director at DigitalBridge Investment Management. Mr. Malik is a seasoned investment professional with over 20 years of in-depth investing experience in private, distressed and public companies across a variety of industries including the digital infrastructure verticals of towers, data centers, fiber and ground lease buyouts. At DigitalBridge, Mr. Malik is responsible for identifying, evaluating, consummating, and managing investments across all our verticals globally with a specific focus on the Americas and the MEA regions.
Prior to joining DigitalBridge, Mr. Malik was a co-founding partner of Oskie Capital, a public and private equity firm, which invested in companies undergoing positive business transformations and corporate change. Previously, he also worked on President Obama’s Auto Task Force at the U.S. Department of the Treasury during the financial crisis in 2009.
Earlier in his career Mr. Malik was an investment professional at Och-Ziff Capital, The Blackstone Group and Morgan Stanley.
Mr. Malik received a Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, in Economics from Dartmouth College and an MBA, with distinction, from Harvard Business School.
Warren Roll is a Managing Director at DigitalBridge Investment Management. Mr. Roll has more than 23 years of experience in global private equity, mergers and acquisitions, asset management and operations across a broad range of industry sectors. Mr. Roll helps lead the fiber and small cell strategy at DigitalBridge and is responsible for the identification, evaluation, consummation, and management of new investments with a specific focus on fiber, indoor and outdoor small cell networks, tower infrastructure and related assets and business.
Prior to joining DigitalBridge in 2014, Mr. Roll was a Senior Director at Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) where he led TMT and healthcare sector initiatives in the private equity group. Mr. Roll helped build the private equity direct investing program including being actively involved in the management of Telesat, one of the largest global satellite operators. Mr. Roll also played a leading role in PSP’s first, and one of the largest ever, public-to-private transactions. Prior to PSP Investments, Mr. Roll worked at BMO Financial Group and Desjardins Securities in mergers and acquisitions, as a member of the team advising companies in North America on transactions across various industries with a focus on telecommunications, media and technology.
Mr. Roll received a Bachelor of Arts with honors in 1998 and an MBA with honors in 2001 from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario.
Tejinder Singh is Principal at DigitalBridge Investment Management. Based in Singapore, Mr. Singh is part of the Asia-pacific investment team and involved in the identification, evaluation, and management of digital infrastructure investments and opportunities in that region. He has over 14 years of infrastructure experience.
Prior to joining DigitalBridge, Mr. Singh was a Senior Vice President with Macquarie Asset Management (MAM). During 10 years with MAM, Mr. Singh was involved in building MAM’s business in India and South-East Asia. In India, he led the acquisition of solar platform from Hindustan Power and the divestment of MAM’s investment in GMR Airports. Mr. Singh was responsible for MAM’s entry in Indonesia as he originated and executed their investments in Tower Bersama, one of the largest telecom tower companies in Indonesia. Mr. Singh started his career as an associate at SBI Capital Markets.
Mr. Singh received a Bachelor of Technology from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi and a Post Graduate Diploma in Management from Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode.
Nikki Smart is a Partner and part of the InfraBridge leadership team. Ms Smart joined InfraBridge (formerly managed by AMP Capital) in June 2018 in its Infrastructure Equity Asset Management team based in London. Ms. Smart is responsible for leading the human capital agenda across the platform, which includes C-suite recruitment and leadership assessments, senior executive compensation, talent management, executive coaching and board development, organisational design and business transformation.
Before joining InfraBridge Capital, Ms. Smart was an independent HR Consultant providing strategic HR interventions for a variety of Private Equity backed companies. Ms. Smart worked at National Grid for 14 years and was part of the Global HR Leadership team. Ms. Smart held several senior leadership roles, including Head of HR for National Grid’s UK Business, covering an employee base of 10,000 managers and staff. Her most recent role within National Grid was Global Head of Talent, Leadership and Change, where she was responsible for Board, CEO and Executive Committee leadership and talent development.
Ms. Smart started her career in the Oil and Gas industry as a Graduate Trainee at BG Group. She holds a first-class honours Sports Science and Business Studies degree and a Counselling and Psychotherapy Diploma.
Christian Velasco is a Principal in the InfraBridge investment management team based in our New York office and focused on evaluating, executing, and managing new and existing investments across the mobility, energy transition and digital infrastructure sectors.
Mr. Velasco was a member of the infrastructure equity value-add team of InfraBridge (formerly managed by AMP Capital) since early 2018, where he led the acquisition and financing of major transactions globally.
Prior to joining InfraBridge, Mr. Velasco held several roles as a finance executive and advisor in Latin America where he had a pivotal role in acquiring, financing, and developing large scale infrastructure assets in the region.
Mr. Velasco started his career as a Central Banker at the Peruvian Central Bank and received his Bachelor of Science in Economics and Finance from Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas and a Masters in Infrastructure Investment & Finance from University College London.
Alexandre Villela is Managing Director and Head of Venture Capital at DigitalBridge Investment Management with a focus on privately held, high-growth companies in digital infrastructure technology sectors. Mr. Villela has spent over 25 years working and investing in the Technology, Media and Telecom sector, with a particular focus on communications, infrastructure software, and networking domains.
Prior to joining DigitalBridge in 2021, Mr. Villela was a Managing Director at Qualcomm Ventures where he was responsible for investments in 5G, networking and digital infrastructure. At Qualcomm, Mr. Villela oversaw the Qualcomm Ventures 5G Fund, a $200M global allocation to accelerate adoption worldwide. Prior to Qualcomm, he spent seven years at Intel Capital as a Senior Investment Director, focused on Latin America and digital infrastructure deals in the U.S. Mr. Villela has extensive experience in corporate governance and transaction management, having participated on more than 20 boards as a director or observer.
Before working in venture capital, Mr. Villela was a General Manager at Gradiente Eletronica in Brazil, leading procurement and product development, and an Operations Manager at Samsung Electronics in South Korea, Mexico and Brazil. Mr. Villela received a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering at UNICAMP (Brazil) and attained his MBA at INSEAD (France).
Tom Yanagi is Managing Director, Global Head of Debt Capital Markets at DigitalBridge Investment Management. Mr. Yanagi is an experienced investment professional with over 20 years of principal investing and asset management experience. Mr. Yanagi leads the Capital Markets activities for DigitalBridge and has raised over $20 billion of financings supporting DigitalBridge’s acquisition activities and portfolio company capital needs.
Prior to joining DigitalBridge, Mr. Yanagi was the Head of the Communications Infrastructure Team in New York for Macquarie Infrastructure Partners (“MIP”). During his 13 years with MIP, Mr. Yanagi led a number of investments in sectors including telecommunications, energy and transportation. Most notably, he was responsible for MIP’s investment in Global Tower Partners (GTP) and was involved with the oversight and management of that investment through to the sale to American Tower in October of 2013. In addition to leading transactions, Mr. Yanagi maintained an asset management role and served on the Board of Directors for a number of MIP portfolio companies, including GTP. Prior to MIP, Mr. Yanagi worked in private equity at Nomura Securities and Madison Investment Partners.
Mr. Yanagi received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Rutgers College and an MBA from Columbia Business School.
Christian Belady is a Senior Advisor to DigitalBridge and serves on the Board of Directors of Vantage Data Centers and Scala Data Centers. Mr. Belady is a distinguished industry veteran with over four decades of experience in data center and infrastructure management and development on a global scale.
In his role, Mr. Belady will provide strategic counsel to DigitalBridge in support of the continuing development of the firm’s global data center portfolio, which is positioned to meet demand driven by investment in cloud and AI.
Prior to joining DigitalBridge, Mr. Belady served as Vice President of Data Center Research and Development for Microsoft’s Cloud Infrastructure Organization. In that role, from which he recently retired, Mr. Belady led a team developing new technologies to transform the sector and address the challenges of scaling the cloud and AI. In previous roles at Microsoft, Mr. Belady led global server and data center development, including research, engineering, construction, and operations for Microsoft’s data center portfolio. He also developed and led the energy team during this period.
Mr. Belady is considered the “Father of PUE” and has been a key founder or contributor to a number of industry organizations and standards, including ASHRAE (The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers), The Green Grid, and iMasons Climate Accord (ICA), where he helped to develop new industry metrics and guidelines to foster sustainability and efficiency. His contributions have been recognized with two prestigious industry awards: election to the National Academy of Engineering and the Data Center Icon Award from the North Virginia Technology Council.
Mr. Belady received a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University; he holds a Master of Science in Fluid Dynamics and Heat Transfer from Rensselaer Polytechnic University and a Master of Arts in International Business from the University of Dallas.
Arthur P. (Tim) Brazy, Jr. is a Senior Advisor to DigitalBridge and the Chief Executive Officer of Landmark Dividend, which he co-founded in 2010. Mr. Brazy has more than 30 years of experience in the real estate, financial services and investment industries.
From 2005 to 2009, Mr. Brazy served as CEO of Church Mortgage Acceptance Co., LLC, a private company he co-founded focused on direct lending to churches. From 2001 to 2006, he served as CEO of Lakefront Ventures LLC, a private investment firm specializing in commercial and mortgage finance, private equity, real estate and structured finance advisory services.
During the 1990s, Mr. Brazy founded and led a series of private investment partnerships that raised and provided more than $5 billion of financing to small businesses and commercial real estate owners nationwide. Prior to that time, he was an officer with Eastdil Secured, a diversified real estate investment bank, where he was responsible for advisory assignments and major property debt and equity capital placements.
Mr. Brazy received a B.S. degree in Economics from the California Institute of Technology, pursued further graduate studies as a fellow at Oxford University, and received an M.B.A. from the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University.
Murray H. Case is an Operating Partner at DigitalBridge and Chairman of Scala Data Centers. Mr. Case has focused on Latin American digital infrastructure since 2017. Mr. Case was raised in Brazil and is a dual citizen of the U.S. and Mexico.
In addition to his responsibilities with DigitalBridge, he is currently the lead director of a Brazilian metro fiber operator and a Colombian financial software firm. He is also a director of a Mexican broadband provider. Prior, he was Chief Executive of Grupo redIT, an operator of communications networks, data centers and managed information services in Mexico and the Western U.S., until it was sold to Kio Networks in 2014. Under his leadership, Grupo redIT opened multiple new metro fiber markets, built one of the largest data center complexes in Mexico and was a leading provider of mission-critical IT services.
Prior to co-founding Grupo redIT in the late 1990’s, Mr. Case directed the banking representative office of Salomon Brothers in Mexico City, which he established in 1994. Mr. Case worked in the specialty chemical and cellular communications industries early in his career.
Mr. Case currently serves on the Board of Directors of Scala Data Centers.
Mr. Case received a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Internet entrepreneur and computer scientist, Jeremy Chelot is a Senior Advisor to DigitalBridge and the CEO of Netomnia, a Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) infrastructure provider.
Born in 1983 in Paris, Mr. Chelot’s interest in computers and the internet developed at the age of seven when he became fascinated by how computers and the internet affected how we learn, play, and live. After graduating from two universities with an MSc in Computer Science and an MSc in Telecommunications, Mr. Chelot worked with the UK’s largest internet service providers (Vodafone, O2, BT, 3 and EE). In 2014, having gained more than 10 years of experience in computing and networking, Mr. Chelot left 3 to become the CEO of Community Fibre.
Mr. Chelot left Community Fibre in 2019 to start Netomnia and YouFibre, an internet service provider in the United Kingdom., of which he is still currently the CEO. In just two and a half years, Netomnia and YouFibre have each become one of the fastest-growing infrastructure and internet service provider companies, respectively, in the UK.
Alexander Gellman is a Senior Advisor to DigitalBridge and the Executive Chairman and Co-Founder of Vertical Bridge, the largest private owner and operator of wireless communications infrastructure in the U.S. Mr. Gellman is also one of the Co-founders of Digital Bridge.
Prior to co-founding Vertical Bridge, Mr. Gellman was President and COO of Global Tower Partners, the largest privately held tower company in the U.S. Mr. Gellman was instrumental in the sale of Global Tower Partners to American Tower Corporation in 2013 for over $4.8 billion. Previously, Mr. Gellman has been involved in many successful ventures, including Sonitrol Corporation, a leading provider of verified electronic security in North America where he served as President and COO until its sale to Stanley Works.
Mr. Gellman also co-founded Apex Site Management, the largest third-party manager of wireless and wireline communications sites in the U.S. Apex merged with SpectraSite Communications to create the largest telecommunications site portfolio in the U.S. Following the merger, Mr. Gellman served as President and CEO of SpectraSite-Transco Communications, Ltd., a joint venture between SpectraSite and British Gas to develop tower sites in the U.K.
Mr. Gellman previously served as Vice President - Development and a co-founder of Horizon Cellular Group, a start-up backed by McCaw Cellular to acquire, develop and operate rural cellular franchises in the eastern U.S.
In addition to his role as a Senior Advisor to DigitalBridge, Mr. Gellman serves on the Board of Directors of Highline.
Mr. Gellman received a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Tufts University and an MBA in Finance and Accounting from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
John B. Georges is an Operating Partner at DigitalBridge primarily focused on mobile private networks and new wireless technology platforms such as CBRS. Mr. Georges is considered an early pioneer in both outdoor small cells, and in-building Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS). He has authored or co-authored more than 20 original sector publications and holds 10 patents.
Prior to joining DigitalBridge, he was the CEO and co-founder of NextG Networks (founded in 2001), the first outdoor small cell company utilizing the Public-Rights-of-Way to deploy outdoor DAS and small cells. Before co-founding NextG, Mr. Georges co-founded LGC Wireless, the leading provider of in-building wireless distributed antenna systems at the time and the first company to establish worldwide channel relationships in over 20 countries. Mr. Georges also is part of the founding team of QMC Telecom for their LATAM indoor DAS and outdoor small cell businesses.
Mr. Georges received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley in 1994.
Bruno Jacobfeuerborn has been CEO of DFMG Deutsche Funkturm GmbH since January 2017 including the international activities of GD Towers. In addition, he is Chairman of the Supervisory Board of 1NCE GmbH since January 2018 and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of CTDI Europe since January 2011.
Mr. Jacobfeuerborn joined Deutsche Telekom AG in 1989. Two years later he became head of department for radio network planning in Hanover and, at the same time, regional head of T-Mobile in Leipzig. In this role, Mr. Jacobfeuerborn also managed the planning and development of the mobile communications network in the German regional states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. From 1995 to 1999, Mr. Jacobfeuerborn was responsible for the Technology division of the T-Mobile Northern District in Hanover and took on additional responsibility for Sales and Marketing as head of the T-Mobile Northern District in Hanover from 1999 to 2002.
From 2002 to 2007, Bruno Jacobfeuerborn was a member of the management team in his capacity as Managing Director of Technology, IT, Procurement and, until 2004, Customer Service at T-Mobile Netherlands in The Hague. At the same time, he headed the International Service Management unit at T-Mobile International. Subsequently, he was a member of the management team and Managing Director of Technology, IT and Procurement at Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa in Warsaw until June 30, 2009. Since July 1, 2009 Bruno Jacobfeuerborn has been responsible for Technology (both mobile and fixed network) in Germany and became Director of Technology at Telekom Deutschland GmbH in April 2010. In addition, Bruno Jacobfeuerborn was Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Deutsche Telekom from February 2012 until December 2017. From 2014 to 2020, he was Member of the Supervisory Board of T-Mobile US and from January 2018 until December 2022 he was CEO of Comfort Charge GmbH.
Josh Joshi is an Operating Partner at DigitalBridge and Executive Director of AtlasEdge. Mr. Joshi has over 20 years of experience building value in the digital infrastructure sector and has held, senior positions at several multinational companies.
Prior to joining DigitalBridge, Mr. Joshi served for over a decade as CFO of Interxion, a leading provider of carrier- and cloud-neutral data center solutions across EMEA, which was acquired by Digital Realty in 2019. Mr. Joshi also previously served as CFO of TeleCity plc, a pan European carrier-neutral data center business, and co-founded and served as CFO of Storm Telecommunications Limited, a private-equity-backed U.S. and pan European voice, data and network service provider. Earlier in his career, Mr. Joshi spent 8 years in professional practice as an accountant, predominantly with Arthur Andersen.
Mr. Joshi holds a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Imperial College, London and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
Raul Martynek is a Senior Advisor to DigitalBridge and the Chief Executive Officer of DataBank. Mr. Martynek has over 20 years of experience in the telecom services and Digital Infrastructure sector.
Prior to joining DataBank, he served as an Operating Partner for Digital Bridge, assisting the firm in evaluating digital infrastructure investments, including the acquisition of DataBank and Vantage.
Previously Mr. Martynek was the CEO for Net Access, LLC, a New Jersey-based data center and managed services operator, which was acquired in November 2015 by Denver-based data center operator Cologix. Prior to Net Access, he was the CEO of Voxel dot Net, Inc., a global managed hosting, and cloud company, which was acquired by Internap Network Services Corp. in early 2012.
Mr. Martynek also served as the Chief Restructuring Officer of Smart Telecom, a Dublin, Ireland-based fiber carrier which was acquired by Digiweb in 2009, in connection with his role as a Senior Advisor to Plainfield Asset Management, a multi-billion-dollar hedge fund.
Prior to Plainfield, Mr. Martynek spent 13 years with telecom and Internet provider InfoHighway Communications Corp, first as a COO of Eureka Broadband and then as President and CEO of InfoHighway. InfoHighway was acquired by Broadview Networks in 2007.
Mr. Martynek earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Binghamton University in 1988 and received a Masters’ degree in International Affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs in 1992.
Graham Payne is a Senior Advisor to DigitalBridge and serves as the Executive Chairman of The FreshWave Group (“FreshWave”).
In 2014, Mr. Payne co-founded Opencell, the UK’s first carrier-approved indoor mobile signal service provider and the first to be able to deliver in-building coverage from all four mobile network operators using small cells. In November 2018, DigitalBridge acquired Opencell and merged it with Stratto, a specialist in-building DAS provider. Mr. Payne led the merged business, strattoOpencell, as Chief Executive Officer. He guided the acquisitions of tower company Spyder Facilities Ltd, as well as leading small cell outdoor and radio service provider iWireless Solutions, before transitioning to the role of FreshWave’s Executive Chairman in the beginning of 2020.
Mr. Payne has long been at the heart of the mobile industry, having been involved in the inception of GSM in the 1990’s. He worked as the Planning and Deployment Director for T-Mobile in the UK and Rollout Manager for the T-Mobile International.
In 2007, Mr. Payne took a leading role in negotiating the largest network consolidation agreement in the world at that time. Following this successful negotiation, he was asked to establish and become Managing Director of MBNL, the joint venture between EE and Three. The consolidation was successfully consummated in October 2010 and continues to deliver significant benefits to its shareholders today. After leaving MBNL in 2014, Mr. Payne provided executive consultancy on network sharing and radio network projects, including executive level support to Vodafone on the Beacon project with Telefonica and CTIL, which helped transform delivery and enable large scale 4G rollout for both.
Mr. Payne serves on the Board of Directors of FreshWave and is a valued adviser to numerous global mobile connectivity groups.
Marcos Peigo is a Senior Advisor to DigitalBridge, and the CEO of Scala Data Centers, a Latin American data center platform. Mr. Peigo has over 20 years of experience as a technology and communications infrastructure executive based in Brazil.
Mr. Peigo has significant executive management experience in Latin America, including, most recently, as Vice President of Value Creation at IBM Latin America, where he was responsible for Industry Solutions and Business Development, Architecture and Innovation teams across the region; CEO of Solvo S/A, an IT infrastructure services company focused on complex solutions; Chief Operating Officer of UOLDIVEO, including the management of their data center and managed services business based in Sao Paulo, Brazil; and a partner and Board member of Automatos International Ltd, a company providing automation and management for IT assets. Previously, Mr. Peigo was also the founder of Lemniscata Ventures, a Brazilian privately held advisory and investment firm focused on companies that have intensive use of technology as its core.
Mr. Peigo studied Electrical Engineering and Economics at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo and is Certified in ISO20000, ITIL (v1-2-3) and COBIT.
Dave Pistacchio is an Operating Partner at DigitalBridge and Chairman of Beanfield Metroconnect, working with the investment team to evaluate, manage and operate new digital infrastructure investments, with a specific focus on fiber assets. With over 35 years in leadership positions in the telecommunication and media industries focusing on technology and operations, Mr. Pistacchio has built a reputation as a experienced executive who can lead organizations to operational excellence.
Prior to joining DigitalBridge, Mr. Pistacchio served as President at Cablevision Lightpath Inc., a New York based $375 million telecom company, where he led the company through 12 years of significant growth; growing revenue, earnings, and free cash flow, while achieving industry recognition for innovation and operational excellence.
Prior to that, at Cablevision Systems Corporation, a $17 billion publicly traded media company, Mr. Pistacchio built and ran a large multi-faceted Information Technology organization that supported rapid growth in its Cable Television, Telecom, Media, Sports, Arena, Retail and Theater businesses. While there, he was responsible for delivering many industry “firsts” by effectively applying technology to business challenges.
In addition to his advisory role with DigitalBridge, Mr. Pistacchio serves on the Board of Directors of Zayo Group Holdings, Aptum Technologies, Beanfield Metroconnect (where he serves as Executive Chairman) and Storyleaders LLC.
Brokaw Price is an Operating Partner at DigitalBridge, primarily focused on evaluating new greenfield hyperscale developments and generating strategic leasing relationships with global hyperscale customers across DigitalBridge’s entire portfolio. Mr. Price has over 20 years of professional experience in developing and managing all aspects of global infrastructure strategy for market leading internet properties and content providers. He is an industry leader with success in cultivating, guiding, and closing complex network co-location, peering and network cost reduction focused negotiations.
Prior to joining DigitalBridge, Mr. Price served as Vice President at EdgeConneX. He leveraged his expertise in the hyperscaler and edge data center industry to help grow the EdgeConneX core business through identifying, developing, and executing on strategies and initiatives to support the ongoing expansion of the cloud.
Prior to EdgeConneX, Mr. Price was a Principal at Amazon, where he managed the New or Core Region International Business Development team and focused on identifying immediate and long-term strategic business expansion opportunities and initiatives for key cloud computing markets/regions for AWS. He managed and closed multiple complex co-location, metropolitan and transit network agreements in foreign and domestic markets as lead development negotiator, responsible for closing $1.6 billion contract value and approaching $3 billion total contract value under his management. Prior to Amazon, Mr. Price was responsible for contract execution and site selection for Yahoo!’s Global exchange points and Network co-location facilities. In addition, Mr. Price has held various roles in the telecommunications sector throughout his career.
Mr. Brokaw received a Bachelor of Arts in Communications Studies from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Ian Rae is a Senior Advisor to DigitalBridge and the CEO and President of Aptum. Prior to taking on global leadership at Aptum in 2023, Ian was the founder and CEO of CloudOps, a cloud consulting, managed services, and software company focused on cloud native platforms, open source and DevOps since 2005. He joined the Aptum executive team through the acquisition of CloudOps in January 2023.
Prior to CloudOps, Mr. Rae was the VP engineering at Coradiant, a startup in web application performance management acquired by BMC. He is also the founder of cloud.ca, the original Canadian cloud infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) focused on data residency, privacy and security requirements. Recently acquired, cloud.ca is now Hypertec Cloud. Earlier in his career, Mr. Rae was the CIO at Canderel Management.
Mr. Rae is a member of the board of directors for Genome Canada and Air Transat, and a member of the Digital Industries Table for the Government of Canada. He is also a member of the Canadian Council of Innovators.
Mr. Rae holds a B.Sc. Hon. in Biology from McGill University in evolutionary genetics.
Rob Roy is a Senior Advisor of Digital Bridge, Founder & CEO of Switch. In the year 2000, with a background in business leadership, engineering, commercial development and technology, Rob Roy converged his areas of expertise to create Switch, offering advanced technology ecosystems and the combined services and solutions inherent to those environments. In Rob Roy’s mission to redesign and redefine every aspect of the data center, he has developed more than 700 patent and patent-pending claims. These designs are manifested in industry-renowned Switch SUPERNAP data centers.
As a founder, design engineer and inventor in the technology industry, he has not only designed the largest and most advanced technology ecosystems in the world, but his stamp of innovation and attention to detail can be witnessed across many data center verticals including advanced resiliency, high-density and sustainable architecture and design. Rob Roy’s standard of excellence, leadership and vision is reflected and utilized throughout the modern data center industry.
Daniel E. Seiner is a Senior Advisor to DigitalBridge and the Chief Executive Officer of Andean Telecom Partners (“ATP”), and previously held the same role at Torres Unidas, which was acquired by ATP in December 2017. Mr. Seiner has extensive experience in the telecommunications and media sectors. He is fluent in English, Spanish, Portuguese and Hebrew.
Prior to Torres Unidas, Mr. Seiner served as Chief Executive Officer of Torrecom Partners LLC and served as Managing Director at Ladenburg Thalmann & Company. He also served as Managing Director at BroadSpan Capital.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Seiner led the Latin American Telecommunications investment banking practice group at J.P. Morgan Chase, where he was responsible for origination and execution of advisory and capital raising. While at J.P. Morgan, Mr. Seiner executed over 20 advisory transactions in excess value of US$25 billion and over US$3 billion in capital raising.
He received his MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business, and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Suresh Sidhu is a Senior Advisor to DigitalBridge and the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of EdgePoint Infrastructure, a wireless towers platform focused on the high growth markets of Southeast Asia. Mr. Sidhu has more than 25 years of experience spanning senior leadership, operations, and strategy across Asia in the telecommunications sector.
Prior to founding EdgePoint, Mr. Sidhu was Chief Executive Officer of edotco Group, an integrated telecommunications infrastructure services company providing end-to-end solutions in the tower services sector across Asia. During his 6-year tenor, Mr. Sidhu grew edotco’s tower count and key financial metrics four-fold and expanded its operations from 3 to 8 countries.
Prior to joining edotco, Mr. Sidhu held multiple senior positions across the Asian telecommunications sector including Chief Corporate & Operations Officer at Celcom, Group Chief Officer Enterprise & Global at Dialog Axiata and Senior Vice President, Business Development of Axiata. In these roles, he had been deeply involved in both enterprise transformation and change efforts, as well as end-to-end operational management of cellular networks, including Malaysia’s largest network. Mr Sidhu also has previous experience in telecoms M&A and spent several years with the Boston Consulting Group in Southeast Asia and Toronto.
Mr. Sidhu received an MBA from INSEAD, and a Bachelor of Arts in Natural Science from the University of Cambridge.
Steve Smith is a Senior Advisor to DigitalBridge and the Chief Executive Officer at Zayo, the leading independent provider of communications infrastructure. Steve has over 30 years of expertise as a global leader in the technology sector and a deep background in managing market leading technology businesses.
Most recently, Steve was a Managing Director at GI Partners, a leading private investment firm. From 2007 – 2018, he served as Chief Executive Officer and President of Equinix, the largest data center company globally. Under his leadership, Equinix grew from $2 billion to $34 billion in market value, while revenue increased from $400 million to $4.4 billion. Equinix also successfully integrated 21 acquisitions over 10 years representing over $25 billion in organic and inorganic investments during his tenure. Prior to Equinix, Steve served as Senior Vice President of HP Services, where he was responsible for management of the organization’s Consulting and Integration, Managed Services, and Technology Deployment and Support business groups. Previously, Steve served as Senior Vice President of Global Professional and Managed Services at Lucent Technologies. He has also held various management and sales positions during his 16 years with Electronic Data Systems Corporation, including Chief Sales Officer, President of EDS Asia-Pacific, and President of EDS Western Region.
Steve currently serves on the Board of Directors of Zayo and NextDC, a publicly traded data center company in Australia, and formerly served on the Boards of NetApp, F5 Networks, and Flexential.
Steve had a successful eight-year career in the U.S. Army where, among other roles, he was aide-de-camp to the office of the Commander in Chief of the U.S. Armed Forces in the Pacific. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and holds a B.S. in Engineering.
Jose Sola is a Senior Advisor to DigitalBridge and the Chief Executive Officer of Mexico Telecom Partners.
Prior to Mexico Telecom Partners, Mr. Sola was Senior Vice President of Corporate Development – Latin American for Global Tower Partners (GTP) and successfully led GTP’s expansion into Mexico and Costa Rica, where he was involved in growing and consolidating the operations in those markets.
Mr. Sola began his career in telecommunications in 1994 when he joined Telefonica, the leading provider of telecommunication services in Europe and Latin America. While at Telefonica, Mr. Sola held various management and executive positions in M&A and Corporate Development in Madrid and Miami and he was involved in the international expansion of Telefonica across Latin America. Prior to joining Telefonica, he worked in the international division of ENDESA, one of the largest Spanish utility companies, performing financial due diligence of acquisitions in Portugal.
Mr. Sola holds a Bachelor of Business Science degree in Economics and Finance from the Universidad de Granada – Spain.
Jacky Wu is Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer at DigitalBridge.
Prior to joining DigitalBridge, Mr. Wu was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Driven Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ: DRVN), North America’s largest automotive aftermarket platform where he filed the S-1 and led the public company readiness campaign. Prior to Driven Brands, Mr. Wu was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Xura, Inc (formerly Comverse, Inc. (NASDAQ: MESG)). Prior to Xura, Mr. Wu spent five years at American Tower Corporation (NYSE: AMT) where he was Vice President of Finance and Mergers and Acquisitions. Mr. Wu has over 15 years of experience in the telecommunications industry, beginning his career at Verizon Communications. There he served in numerous accounting, finance and business development roles of increasing scope and responsibility, most recently as Director and Chief Financial Officer of Verizon Digital Services Inc. Mr. Wu was also a recipient of the 2012 Top 100 Under 50 Diverse Executive Leader Award.
Mr. Wu graduated Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa and with Departmental Honors with both a MBA as well as a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Tulane University.
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correct_foundationPlace_00083
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FactBench
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3
| 32
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https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna14365688
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en
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FBI wants help finding ex-CEO of Comverse
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[
"https://media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com/image/upload/t_fit-760w,f_auto,q_auto:best/msnbc/Components/Photos/060815/060815_kobi_vmed_4p.jpg"
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"NBC Universal"
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2006-08-15T22:58:27+00:00
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The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation Tuesday declared Jacob “Kobi” Alexander, former chief executive of Comverse Technology Inc., a fugitive and asked the public to help find him.
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en
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https://nodeassets.nbcnews.com/cdnassets/projects/ramen/favicon/nbcnews/all-other-sizes-PNG.ico/favicon.ico
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NBC News
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https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna14365688
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The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation Tuesday declared Jacob “Kobi” Alexander, former chief executive of Comverse Technology Inc., a fugitive and asked the public to help find him.
Alexander is wanted on criminal fraud charges related to an investigation into alleged stock option manipulation at software supplier Comverse, one of nearly 100 companies in a widening government probe.
Comverse’s former finance chief David Kreinberg and its general counsel William Sorin, charged with criminal fraud in the investigation, surrendered to FBI agents on August 9. Both were released on $1 million bond.
The New York office of the FBI said in a statement Tuesday that on July 31 an Interpol Red Notice was issued for Alexander, who has dual American and Israeli citizenship. It said that agents were actively seeking his arrest. Interpol is an international agency through which intelligence authorities from around the world can collaborate.
Alexander is wanted on charges of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, mail fraud and wire fraud for his alleged role in the stock options scheme, the FBI said.
His lawyers could not be reached for comment.
The U.S. government is looking into the stock option grant practices of nearly 100 companies for any abuses such as intentional manipulation of grant dates.
The Comverse case was the second leading to charges. Last month, authorities brought their first options manipulation case against three former officers of high tech group Brocade Communications Systems Inc..
The Justice Department has said that it seized more than $45 million from two investment accounts in Alexander’s name and it claimed that the ex-chief executive was involved in recent months in “a money laundering scheme involving the secret transfer of more than $57 million to accounts in Israel.”
The government has accused the Comverse defendants of reaping millions of dollars in profits from 1998 to 2002 by altering the grant dates of stock option awards to boost gains available to themselves and favored employees.
The Justice Department has said Alexander and Kreinberg used fake names “to generate hundreds of thousands of backdated options, which they then parked in a secret slush fund designed to evade the requirements of Comverse’s stock option plans.”
All three former Comverse officers quit in May after the company said it was investigating past stock option grants.
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correct_foundationPlace_00083
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FactBench
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2
| 91
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https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/company-overview-30301997/30301997
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en
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Company Overview
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2014-01-22T08:26:21+00:00
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Company Overview - Download as a PDF or view online for free
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en
|
https://public.slidesharecdn.com/_next/static/media/favicon.7bc3d920.ico
|
SlideShare
|
https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/company-overview-30301997/30301997
|
1. Company Overview
2. Optimize Your Success in the Hyper-Connected World through Service Innovation and Smart Monetization In today’s hyper-connected world, communications have grown far beyond connecting people to one another – and now bridge people, applications, the Web, social media and a growing variety of devices. Communication service providers (CSPs) are naturally well positioned to play a significant role as the hub of this increasingly connected ecosystem. We at Comverse provide CSPs with the vehicles to grow from wholesale connectivity suppliers, to smart data providers and beyond – true connected service enablers and providers. Meeting Your Needs Comverse addresses your need to stake a claim in the emerging value chain, enhance the user experience, generate new revenue streams, cut costs and differentiate yourself from the competition. Enhanced Customer Experience Become a Digital Lifestyle Player – and Increase Revenues Today's Web-savvy customers expect a rich and engaging experience across all dimensions of communications. Comverse helps you become a leading digital lifestyle player. Energize your customer experience by modernizing traditional services and launching rich new services leveraging the cloud and social networks – with converged customer management and control across any service and touchpoint. Inspire enthusiasm and brand loyalty with a differentiating, consistent superior customer experience. Personalize choice and control by enabling your subscribers to monitor and manage usage and balance information in real time through any convenient touchpoint (including social), set plan characteristics, alerts, offers, etc. 2 Company Overview IP/4G Evolution Harness the Immense Growth in Data, Reduce Costs, Enrich Services, Increase Revenues IP/4G networks deliver unprecedented mobile data bandwidth and an exceptional user experience – all at a lower cost per megabit. Drawing from expertise and leadership in service innovation and smart monetization, Comverse 4G solutions help you evolve your services to secure generous ROI for 4G investments. Leverage existing networks as you evolve to 4G/all-IP to harness the exponential growth of data usage, preserve and enhance existing services – while offering rich new services and creating innovative 4G business models. Supporting both 3G and 4G networks, Comverse Digital and Value Added Services offers a solid bridging strategy for moving
3. from legacy to all-IP networks; abstracts differences between smart and feature phones and simplifies support of multiscreen users; Comverse ONE BSS + Policy powers service-aware charging and smart data monetization. Smart Monetization & New Business Models Better Capitalize Network Assets and Services; Stake a Role in Emerging Value Chains Smart Monetization Harness the immense growth in data. Smartly increase data profitability and accelerate monetization across the entire broad ecosystem through tight BSS/PCRF integration, a marketing-friendly policy creation environment, embedded analytics capabilities & more. New Business Models Stake a significant role in emerging value chains as a true connected service enabler. Transcend traditional telecom boundaries by embracing exciting opportunities in the digital domain. Evolving fields of opportunity for business growth today are as numerous as the industries becoming increasingly connected. Increase business, marketing and charging agility to beat competition and profitably exploit new networks, markets, lines of business, business models and high-value M2M/OTT/content/app partnerships. Marketing Agility More Personalized Interactions Cement Your Relationship with Your Subscribers With marketing increasingly key to business success in the big data era, information is one of your greatest assets. Leverage your unique real-time understanding of your customers and their activities it to deliver an exceptional customer experience and to generate new revenues with more personalized interactions: real-time notifications and targeted marketing crosschannel (including the social media) for upselling, churn prevention, etc. Optimization and Efficiency Optimize the capabilities, performance, cost efficiency and success of your system In today’s competitive environment, it is mission-critical to fully capitalize on your investment in your BSS and communication solutions – plus reduce costs. Optimize the capabilities, performance, cost efficiency and success of your system and offerings through system modernization and consolidation, communication convergence, BSS convergence, virtualization/ cloud/ SaaS, and managed and professional services. Company Overview 3
4. A Portfolio of Value Comverse’s comprehensive product portfolio innovatively addresses your needs for Converged Communications – including digital and value-added voice and messaging services for consumers and enterprises – as well as for Converged BSS and active customer management, smart data monetization through policy control – all enabled by our managed and professional services. Comverse provides its solutions in a variety of delivery models, including in-network, managed, hosted or cloud based. Comverse Product Portfolio Comverse Converged Communications: Digital and Value Added Services In an increasingly digital world, connected devices are a central means through which we live our digital lives. By evolving traditional communication services to the digital domain, you can become a significant player and influencer in the digital life of your subscribers. Comverse Digital and Value Added Services combine renowned expertise in telecom and IP-communications with the vision and commitment for rich services and exciting opportunities in the digital era. • Comverse mVAS: Fully virtualized and modular single foundation converging SMSC, MMSC and Next-Generation Voicemail (NGVM) systems for significant CAPEX & OPEX savings, simplified operation and a path to IP messaging and RCS services. • Comverse dVAS: Evolves traditional communication services to native IP versions of messaging and voice 4 Company Overview services with seamless fallback to circuitswitched services when an end-to-end IP connection is not available. • Comverse RCS+: A rich portfolio of new IP communication services, extending operator services to any device, any OS platform, any network. A complete range of RCS 5.1 services (standalone messaging, one-to-one chat, group chat, file transfer, content sharing, social presence information, geo-location services, IP voice call and IP video call) – with full visual voicemail connectivity, social networks, and archiving services. • Comverse IP Communications: A full CSP Voice-to-IP solution for consumers and enterprises, fully SIP compliant, enabling CSPs to provide carrier grade telephony services on the data channel and extend telephony services over fixed/ mobile networks. 'Comverse Converged BSS & Active Customer Management and Policy Turn your business support systems (BSS) into a strategic asset for marketing, competitive
5. differentiation, growth increased profitability. enablement and A single unified system providing true convergence for any network, service or payment type, the solution can be deployed through deployment modes aligned with your specific needs, and enhanced with selfservice, sales & marketing automation and mediation functionalities and more. Accelerate monetization and market innovation with our unique PCRF-compliant business policy engine, fully integrated with Comverse BSS/OSS and enforcement. Comverse BSS includes: • Comverse ONE®: Spanning policy to billing with a telco-specific approach to CRM, Comverse’s market-leading singlesystem telco-grade BSS solution fuels business transformations and entry into new lines of business, delivering a consistently superior customer experience. • Comverse Kenan: Comverse Kenan FX postpaid billing solution delivers flexible, proven and powerful customer care, fulfillment, and billing applications to communication providers and e-businesses worldwide; complete customer lifecycle management for consumer and enterprise customers, supporting rapid expansion into new service lines and business models such as WiFi offload, vouchers and machine-tomachine (M2M). • Comverse PCRF and Analytics: Comverse Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) allows service providers to manage and monetize their networks smartly, utilizing a wide range of networkrelated and subscriber-related information. Its advanced policy creation environment facilitates swift and intuitive definition of business and monetization scenarios and use cases: segmented data plans, traffic & quota management, roaming & bill shock prevention, personalized alerts and promotions, congestion control and more. • Comverse Share: A cloud-based offering that enables a service provider to connect its BSS ecosystem with social presence, bringing a more relevant, personalized interaction channel to its subscriber base. Comverse Global Services Safeguard and boost your success with an extensive range of services that enable you to achieve and maintain speed, performance and optimal use of capital and resources. Comverse Post-Go Live Services include: • Maintenance Services: Software & hardware support services that ensure maximum system utilization and uptime • Managed Services: Comverse helps customers improve their efficiency, cost and bottom line with a wide range of Post Go-Live Managed Services, in a selection of business and engagement models • Professional Services: Beyond maintenance and management, business consultancy for growth. Draws from global market expertise to help service providers upgrade the user experience, accelerate innovation, expand to new business models, reduce costs/ create operational efficiencies These services put the most professional and knowledgeable experts at your service, enabling you cut your costs and accelerate time-to-market. Company Overview 5
6. Leading and Shaping the Telecommunications Market convergence with in-network and virtualized cloud/ SaaS delivery expertise, Comverse has been cited as a leader year after year by independent industry analysts for excellence in both “vision and execution.” Established 1984 Headquarters: Wakefield, MA, USA Comverse’s leadership in innovation is maintained with a strong commitment to product evolution to meet and exceed the needs of our global customer base. To ensure that products hold their value and technological edge far into the future, Comverse invests heavily in research and development. The Comverse Commitment Comverse is committed to being the global partner-of-choice for business enablement, providing outstanding productized solutions and services that unleash the value of the network for communication service providers. More Versatile Communications Comverse has been introducing new concepts and technologies that transform the marketplace for more than 30 years. True to its name, which combines “communication” and “versatility,” Comverse continues to shape people’s lifestyles and the way they communicate. Comverse Innovation Comverse Innovation is a dynamic center of creativity that blends inspiration with nextgeneration technology. Trailblazing concepts and solutions shape the future experience and improve business results for our customers – keeping them on the cutting edge. Delivery Comverse’s highly efficient industrialized approach to streamlined deployment is a differentiator that delivers significant value to customers. With globally proven best-practice delivery methodology minimizing the need for resource-heavy system integration and customization, systems are up and running swiftly with rich functionality. Complementing leadership in all aspects of 6 Company Overview Research and Development Leadership in Organizations Industry Standards Comverse champions an open ecosystem that removes barriers to service usage and adoption to optimize the user experience, drive ARPU and create profitable new opportunities for all parties. Comverse’s extensive experience and leadership in defining industry-wide standards for technologies and services is underscored by its prominence in key standards bodies (OMA, ETSI, 3GPP, TMF, OMTP, RCS and others). Partners & Alliances Comverse enhances the value it brings to customers by joining forces with leading technology vendors and business partners to enhance its end-to-end solutions with innovative technologies, best-in-class components and next-generation services. Industry Recognition and Awards For excellence in products, technologies and professional services, Comverse hjs received scores of awards from analyst and research groups, industry publications, events and worldwide organizations in the telecommunications market.
7. Maximizing Performance and Growth around the World If you use a mobile phone, chances are you use Comverse services. More than 450 communication and content service providers in over 125 countries serving more than two billion subscribers use Comverse solutions to generate new revenues, strengthen customer loyalty and improve operational efficiency. Ranked #1 globally in multimedia value-added services, Comverse MMSC solutions have been deployed by more than 70 operators worldwide, including numerous tier-1 carriers. Comverse Mobile Internet solutions have been deployed by more than 60 operators worldwide, and today handle more than a third of US mobile Internet traffic. Ranked #1 in global VAS messaging market share with a strong second-place SMSC global market share position, Comverse systems annually handle trillions of messages for hundreds of service providers around the globe – including in the world’s most messaging-intensive markets. These goals have been achieved with a superior solution portfolio, high-quality professional services and an extensive network of local support, including more than 90 local offices in countries around the globe. Ranked #1 in global converged charging market share, Comverse Billing and Active Customer Management solutions serve 500 million subscribers worldwide, and support 18 of the world’s 25 largest telecom providers. Comverse BSS supported one operator’s growth from 40 thousand to over 50 million subscribers over the course of eight years. Ranked #1 globally in voice value-added services, Comverse Voice platforms deliver advanced services more than 400 operators worldwide with more than a billion subscribers. Comverse leads the Visual Voicemail market with more than 60% of the commercial launches worldwide – significantly outpacing all competitors. Company Overview 7
|
||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
3
| 65
|
https://www.plansponsor.com/team-launches-asset-strategy-fund/
|
en
|
TEAM Launches Asset Strategy Fund
|
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[] |
[] |
[
""
] | null |
[
"Jigar Patel",
"Fred Schneyer"
] |
2009-12-21T12:13:56+00:00
|
<p><span>December 21, 2009 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – Harrisburg, Pennsylvania-based <span>TEAM Financial Asset Management, LLC has launched the TEAM Asset Strategy Fund (TEAMX), the company announced.</span></span></p>
|
en
|
https://www.plansponsor.com/team-launches-asset-strategy-fund/
|
A news release said the new offering is managed by James Dailey and Charles Brennaman and will follow the same strategy that the adviser has used for its private client’s accounts since 2003. The portfolio has the flexibility to invest across the globe, focusing on specific asset classes it believes are best suited to perform well in a given economic environment, according to the announcement.
“TEAM Asset Strategy Fund will help investors take advantage of global economic trends through a variety of investment vehicles across a wide array of asset classes,” said Dailey, in the news release. “Depending on where we see opportunity, we will invest in everything from traditional equities to commodities and hedging products to help our clients accumulate assets. This approach has been successful in navigating intermediate and short-term market volatility.”
According to the news release, the company uses complex systems analysis, which it said is a technique typically used by quantum physicists and mathematicians to identify structure in seemingly random chaotic events, such as the unseen but known structures found in beehives or snowflakes. In finance, its laws are applied to help identify the inflection points where trends will change and prices will be affected.
|
||||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
3
| 73
|
https://www.banking.senate.gov/download/turner-september-6-2006
|
en
|
United States Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
|
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[
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[] | null |
The Official website of The United States Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
|
en
|
https://www.banking.senate.gov/themes/banking/images/favicon.ico
|
https://www.banking.senate.gov/download/turner-september-6-2006
|
Download File
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|
|||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
3
| 24
|
https://nypost.com/2016/08/22/a-decade-on-the-lam-ex-comverse-ceo-to-return-to-us/
|
en
|
A decade on the lam, ex-Comverse CEO to return to US
|
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[] |
[] |
[
"Business",
"brooklyn federal court",
"sec",
"stocks"
] | null |
[
"Kevin Dugan"
] |
2016-08-22T00:00:00
|
Jacob “Kobi” Alexander, the tech mogul who fled the US in 2006 after being fingered in a stock options scandal — his bank accounts allegedly stuffed with...
|
en
|
New York Post
|
https://nypost.com/2016/08/22/a-decade-on-the-lam-ex-comverse-ceo-to-return-to-us/
|
Jacob “Kobi” Alexander, the tech mogul who fled the US in 2006 after being fingered in a stock options scandal — his bank accounts allegedly stuffed with $138 million in fraudulent income — has decided to come back to face the music.
The 64-year-old former chief executive of New York-based Comverse Technology had been living a life of luxury in Namibia, in southwest Africa — in a ritzy neighborhood near a private airstrip.
The fugitive is expected to appear in Brooklyn federal court as early as Wednesday.
His lawyer, Ben Brafman, told The Post he is hoping Alexander can escape without a prison sentence.
“Judge can do zero to max of 10 years,” Brafman, the superstar lawyer who’s represented such high-profile clients as Michael Jackson and Martin Shkreli, told The Post. “[We’ll] be asking for [the] lowest possible sentence.”
When indicted in 2006, the disgraced tech executive faced 25 years in prison.
The US does not have an extradition treaty with Namibia.
While leading Comverse, a voicemail-software maker, Alexander mastermided a 15-year scheme to backdate stock options to put them in the money, the government alleged in its 35-count indictment.
The indictment also charged Alexander with operating a slush fund.
The Securities and Exchange Commission filed similar civil charges against Alexander — who fled with his wife and three kids before the indictment was unsealed.
By the time the Justice Department issued an arrest warrant, Alexander had gone missing in action in Israel — and even his former lawyer didn’t know where he was, according to a Wall Street Journal article at the time.
In 2010, Alexander paid $54 million to settle the SEC charges.
Meanwhile, Comverse’s general counsel, William F. Sorin, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a year and a day behind bars.
David Kreinberg, the company’s chief financial officer, pleaded guilty and cooperated with the feds in their investigation. He was sentenced to time served after a brief period in custody.
Comverse, which is now defunct, faced its own problems while Alexander was away in Namibia. In 2010, the company lost a class-action lawsuit and was forced to pay $225 million for the backdating scandal.
Alexander’s Namibia home is in a gated community on the grounds of the Windhoek Country Club, according to CNBC, which first reported his return.
While in Namibia, Alexander curried favor with the local authorities by pledging millions of dollars in aid to local schoolchildren.
“Notwithstanding his departure from Namibia, Mr. Alexander and his family will continue their charitable work in Namibia,” Brafman said in a statement to CNBC.
“Specifically, since 2007, the Alexander family has financed and operated soup kitchens in Namibia that have served more than 750,000 nutritious meals to children in Katutura and Kuisebmond,” Brafman continued. “These soup kitchens will continue to operate, employing seven people and feeding 700 children each day.”
|
|||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
2
| 87
|
https://strokeonward.org/the-hardest-part-of-my-recovery/
|
en
|
The hardest part of my recovery
|
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[] |
[] |
[
""
] | null |
[
"Debra Meyerson",
"Steve Zuckerman"
] | null |
en
|
https://strokeonward.org/the-hardest-part-of-my-recovery/
|
Editor’s Note: The following article was originally published by American Stroke Association on September 28, 2020 on their website.
Let me start with the obvious — having a stroke sucks! In one instant I went from a healthy, fit, athletic 53-year-old in the prime of my career, to a patient in the ICU fighting for my life. I was lucky; I lived. For two months I moved between acute care and rehab hospitals as they tried to stabilize my medical condition and get me started on therapy and the road to physical recovery. I finally got home and started what I thought would be a few months, or maybe a year, of incredibly hard work to get me back to life as I knew it, including as a professor at the Stanford School of Education.
How wrong I was. As it turned out, I spent three years doing therapy almost full time. Speech, physical and occupational therapy. As much as I could get. Fighting insurance to pay for more. Working on my own in between. Sometimes it was painful. It was certainly hard work. And it was brutally frustrating. Especially because I had (and have) significant aphasia, which makes communicating an incredibly maddening challenge. (Aphasia is most common in adults who’ve had a stroke.)
But the hardest part of my recovery was yet to begin. Three years after my stroke, my aphasia made it impossible to fulfill the requirements of my job as a professor. I was forced to give up the tenured position I had worked my entire career to achieve. This realization felt like a second trauma. No matter how hard I worked, apparently, I was not going to get my old life back. I think I was slower than most to realize that. Or, maybe more accurately, I was slower to accept it. And thus began the hardest part of my recovery, what we now call the emotional part of the journey. For the past seven years I’ve struggled to accept all that I lost. I’ve also struggled to rebuild my identity – my sense of self – and a life of meaning and purpose.
After the punch in the gut of losing my job, I was angry, sad, even depressed at times. I was also in denial. “I’ll show them,” I thought. I CAN still be the old me. Maybe I can’t be a professor, but I can still write a book! So I started. Steve helped. But he had a job, so we found someone who could help more. Every day I forced myself to face the frustration of my communication disability and all the help I now needed. I hated that – I couldn’t stand being so dependent!
But the writing process (which took five years) ultimately helped me start to build a new life after stroke. It helped me see the importance of the emotional journey. And it was such hard work. Every day, writing about my new reality challenged my notion of who I am – or was. It made me think about identity, something I had studied, taught and written about as an academic and in my earlier book, Tempered Radicals.
Making progress toward understanding myself and my life helped me push through the frustration. But even with that, I almost quit writing several times. What kept me going was the belief the book might help others. Early in the process, we interviewed 25 other survivors, and about 25 family care partners and professional caregivers. We learned almost everyone struggled with this emotional journey. Yet almost no one had found, let alone been offered, resources to help with it. I was finding a way to bring purpose back into my life, and that kept me going. It also led to another key message of the book: People yearn for meaning and to have purpose in their lives.
Steve and I have stumbled so much these past 10 years. And we’ve learned so much: How hard, but important, it is to be vulnerable. How denial is both a powerful asset and a dangerous barrier. How much the emotional process of stroke recovery mirrors the process of grieving the loss of a loved one – maybe because we have, in fact, lost our old selves. But we also learned that so much of “who we were” still remains, especially our values, and that it is possible to find new ways to live with those values in our changed circumstances. We’re not wild about the phrase “silver linings,” but we learned there actually are good things after stroke that we need to acknowledge, even celebrate. There are opportunities for amazing personal growth.
To be clear, we have not figured this out. My journey, our journey, continues to evolve. And it will never end. I will never stop mourning my loss of capabilities, and the career and activities I lost with them — just like I will never stop mourning the loss of my dad 25 years ago. But I hope I can push through that grief and build a truly rewarding life in spite of it.
Steve and I started Stroke Onward because we believe more attention must be placed on the emotional journey in stroke recovery. We want to help develop more resources to support all stroke survivors in their journeys. And we recognize the journey is just as important for carepartners as it is for survivors. In that spirit, next month in this column Steve will share a bit about his journey in the never-requested role of carepartner.
|
|||||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
1
| 46
|
https://www.digitalbridge.com/about
|
en
|
DigitalBridge
|
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DigitalBridge invests in companies that provide infrastructure solutions focused on AI and next-generation digital infrastructure, delivering a converged network experience for an increasingly connected world.
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en
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https://www.digitalbridge.com/about
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Marc C. Ganzi is Chief Executive Officer at DigitalBridge and has been an investor and operator in the digital infrastructure sector for more than 25 years. Mr. Ganzi has led DigitalBridge’s transformation to become a premier platform for digital infrastructure and real estate investment.
Mr. Ganzi originally founded Digital Bridge Holdings in 2013 and, as its CEO, built the firm into a leading global manager of digital infrastructure assets with more than $20 billion in AUM, until its merger in July 2019 into the current public company, DigitalBridge Group, Inc.
Previously, Mr. Ganzi founded Global Tower Partners (“GTP”), which grew to become one of the largest privately-owned tower companies in the U.S. under his leadership before being acquired by American Tower Corporation in 2013 for $4.8 billion. At GTP, Mr. Ganzi executed a series of strategic acquisitions, build-to-suit agreements with wireless carriers and financings in the credit markets.
Prior to the formation of GTP, Mr. Ganzi worked as a consulting partner for DB Capital Partners from 2000 to 2002 where he oversaw the institution’s investments in the Latin American tower sector. Before joining DB Capital, Mr. Ganzi co-founded and served as President of Apex Site Management, one of the largest third-party managers of wireless and wireline communication sites in the United States. In 2000, Apex merged with SpectraSite Communications to create one of the largest telecommunications site portfolios in the United States at the time.
In 1990, Mr. Ganzi served as an assistant Commercial Attaché in Madrid for the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Foreign Commercial Service Department. He also served as a Presidential Intern in the White House for the George H.W. Bush administration with the Office of Special Activities and Initiatives for the Honorable Stephen M. Studdert in 1989.
Mr. Ganzi received a Bachelor of Science from the Wharton School of Business in 1993. He was a Board Member of the Wireless Infrastructure Association from 2008 to 2017 and served as Chairman from 2009 to 2011. He is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization and the Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee of the Federal Communications Commission.
Liam Stewart is Chief Operating Officer at DigitalBridge. Prior to DigitalBridge, Mr. Stewart was the Chief Financial Officer of Macquarie Infrastructure Corporation. He has approximately 15 years of experience in acquiring, operating and financing infrastructure assets in the U.S., Australia, and Asia.
Prior to joining Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets in 2014, Mr. Stewart was a Senior Vice President and Management Partner at Global Tower Partners (GTP), where he had responsibility for all capital markets initiatives and led over a dozen domestic and international financings for GTP. He was also responsible for all treasury, capital markets and strategic planning, budgeting, forecasting, investor relations and reporting initiatives at GTP. Prior to joining GTP in 2009, Mr. Stewart was employed by the Macquarie Group where he had day to day responsibility for a listed Macquarie affiliate’s North American media and telecommunications investments.
Mr. Stewart has an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws from the University of New South Wales. He is also admitted to practice as a solicitor in the state of New South Wales.
Thomas Mayrhofer is the Chief Financial Officer at DigitalBridge. Mr. Mayrhofer brings more than two decades of robust financial and operational experience across the asset management industry.
Prior to joining DigitalBridge, Mr. Mayrhofer served as CFO and, subsequently, Chief Operating Officer at alternative asset manager EJF Capital, where he was responsible for the firm’s financial, operational, technology, and legal functions.
Prior to EJF Capital, Mr. Mayrhofer spent nearly 18 years at The Carlyle Group in a variety of financial roles across all of the firm's products—including private equity, energy, real estate and credit. He concluded his tenure at Carlyle as a Partner and CFO of the firm’s Private Equity business, where he led a team of more than 90 finance professionals and had oversight of approximately $100 billion of assets under management.
Mr. Mayrhofer graduated from The College of William & Mary with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting.
Justin Chang is Senior Managing Director, Head of Asia at DigitalBridge Investment Management. Mr. Chang is responsible for the identification, evaluation, consummation and management of new investments in the Asia Pacific region.
Prior to joining DigitalBridge, Mr. Chang served as Global Head of Private Equity for Colony Capital, Inc. He also served as the Chief Executive Officer of Colony American Homes from its founding in 2012 to its merger with Starwood Waypoint Residential Trust in January 2016.
Prior to joining the DigitalBridge business in 2010, Mr. Chang was a Partner with TPG Capital, an international private equity investment firm that he joined in 1993. At TPG, Mr. Chang was involved in private equity investments across a broad range of industries including consumer products, financial services, healthcare, real estate, technology, media and telecommunications in multiple geographies in North America and Asia.
Mr. Chang received his Bachelor of Arts cum laude in Economics and Political Science from Yale University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He currently serves on the Yale President’s Council on International Activities, the Yale Development Council and the Board of Advisors of the Yale Jackson Institute for Global Affairs.
Dean T. Criares is a Managing Director, Head of Credit at DigitalBridge Investment Management. Mr. Criares has over 30 years of experience investing in credit products with specialties in leveraged finance, structured products and capital markets.
Prior to DigitalBridge, Mr. Criares was a co-managing partner of Sound Harbor Partners, a private investment manager focused on non-investment grade corporate credit. In 2017, Sound Harbor was acquired by Allianz Global Investors where, until joining DigitalBridge, Mr. Criares continued to advise the funds previously managed by Sound Harbor Partners.
Prior to Sound Harbor, Mr. Criares was a Senior Managing Director and partner of The Blackstone Group where he was the founding member of the firm’s senior debt platform. Mr. Criares joined Blackstone in 2002 and built the firm’s senior debt business to scale with offices in New York and London.
Prior to joining Blackstone, Mr. Criares spent 17 years at CIBC World Markets with focus on sourcing, underwriting and monitoring non-investment grade credit investments. From 1997 to 2001, Mr. Criares served as original member of Trimaran Advisors, a CIBC affiliated asset manager, where he was responsible for growing and managing the unit’s $3.0 billion senior debt portfolio.
Mr. Criares received a Bachelor of Arts from Drew University and an MBA from Columbia Business School.
Matt Evans is a Managing Director, Head of Europe at DigitalBridge Investment Management. Mr. Evans is based in London and focuses on European investments and opportunities. He is an accomplished and a highly experienced global infrastructure investor, bringing more than two decades of relevant industry and transaction expertise to DigitalBridge.
Prior to joining DigitalBridge, Mr. Evans served as Global Head of Digital Infrastructure, Co-Head of Origination and Co-Head of Europe at AMP Capital. During his tenure, he was responsible for a number the firm’s investments in the digital infrastructure and rail sectors. Before joining AMP Capital in 2013, Mr. Evans spent 14 years at Macquarie Capital Advisors in various roles of increasing responsibility, most recently as Managing Director of the Telecoms, Media, Entertainment and Technology Group in EMEA.
Mr. Evans has a Bachelor of Science degree and a Bachelor of Arts with Honours from the University of Waikato in New Zealand.
Jeff Ginsberg is Chief Administrative Officer, Chairperson of ESG Committee at DigitalBridge Investment Management. Mr. Ginsberg has more than 32 years of entrepreneurial and executive experience in the telecom infrastructure and services, real estate, and private equity sectors.
Prior to joining DigitalBridge, Mr. Ginsberg was a Managing Director and Operating Partner of Mistral Equity Partners, a consumer-focused private equity fund.
Before joining Mistral in 2008, Mr. Ginsberg was Executive Chairman of InfoHighway Communications, a telecommunications services provider, and CEO/co-founder of its predecessor entity Eureka Broadband.
Prior to co-founding Eureka, Mr. Ginsberg was co-founder and Executive Chairman of Apex Site Management, which grew from its inception in 1995 to become the largest third-party manager of wireless and wireline sites in the U.S. at the time of its sale to SpectraSite in January 2000. Mr. Ginsberg was also the co-founder of Horizon Cellular Group, which grew from a start-up in 1991 (in partnership with McCaw Cellular) to become one of the largest cellular system operators in the country prior to the sale of the business.
Mr. Ginsberg received a Bachelor of Science, cum laude, in Finance and Accounting from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Leslie Wolff Golden is a Managing Director, Global Head of Capital Formation and Investor Relations at DigitalBridge. Ms. Golden is also responsible for marketing and communications across the DigitalBridge Investment Management platform and serves on the firm’s ESG committee.
Prior to joining DigitalBridge, Ms. Golden was a Managing Director in the Investor Solutions Group of Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets where she was primarily responsible for raising capital from and managing relationships with institutional investors and consultants.
Earlier in her career, Ms. Golden was a Managing Director at Ridgewood Energy where she was the Head of Investor Relations. Ms. Golden also was involved with principal investing and portfolio management. Ms. Golden started her career in investment banking with Lehman Brothers and subsequently worked at Bankers Trust and Bank of America (NationsBanc Montgomery).
Ms. Golden is a founding member of the Wharton Women in Private Equity/Venture Capital and sits on the Advisory Board of Wharton Private Equity/Venture Capital.
Ms. Golden received a Bachelor of Science and MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Geoffrey Goldschein is Chief Legal Officer and Company Secretary at DigitalBridge. Mr. Goldschein is responsible for the management of legal affairs and generally provides legal and other support to the operations of DigitalBridge. He has 20 years of experience advising on fund formations, U.S. securities laws, portfolio company acquisitions and divestitures, and other material portfolio company matters.
Prior to DigitalBridge, he spent ten years at Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA), where he worked as legal counsel for many listed and unlisted infrastructure funds.
Prior to MIRA, Mr. Goldschein worked in the corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions and leveraged buyout groups of several large international law firms, primarily representing private equity funds and their portfolio companies in a wide variety of domestic and international transactions.
Mr. Goldschein received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, cum laude, from Tufts University. He earned a Juris Doctor from the Georgetown University Law Center, where he was a senior editor of the Georgetown Journal of International Law and served as an intern in the Satellite Division of the Federal Communications Commission.
Kevin Smithen is Chief Commercial and Strategy Officer at DigitalBridge, where he leads capital formation and co-investment across all products and strategies. Additionally, Mr. Smithen has sourced proprietary, off-market fiber and data center deals for DigitalBridge since 2018. Mr. Smithen has over 27 years of experience in the global communications industry.
Prior to DigitalBridge, Mr. Smithen worked in the equity research division of Macquarie Securities (USA) Inc., most recently as Managing Director, Telecom Services and Infrastructure and as Sector Head for Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT). He has been recognized by StarMine, Bloomberg, and Institutional Investor as a leading analyst and thought leader.
Previously, he worked as a senior analyst and Portfolio Manager for the Lazard Global Opportunities Fund and the Lazard TMT Advantage Fund. He was also the first investment analyst at Coatue Capital, a leading TMT sector hedge fund. Mr. Smithen began his career as an investment banker at Smith Barney, Inc. (Citigroup) in their Media and Telecommunications Group.
Mr. Smithen earned a Bachelor of Arts in History, Middle East, and European Policy, magna cum laude, with Distinction from Duke University.
Alan Bezoza is a Managing Director, Liquid Strategies at DigitalBridge Investment Management with a focus on public equity securities within the Technology, Media and Telecom sectors. Mr. Bezoza has spent over 20 years researching and investing in the TMT sector with a particular focus on the global Communications and Media Ecosystem, which includes media, cable, telecoms, mobile towers, data centers, communications technology, data networking and their respective supply chains.
Prior to joining DigitalBridge in 2020, Mr. Bezoza was a Partner and Sector Head at Dorsal Capital, a market-neutral hedge fund, where he focused on the Media, Telecom and Communications Technology sectors. Prior to Dorsal, he spent over seven years at Janus Capital, where he was a Senior Analyst and Co-Sector Lead of the Communications investment team that included the Telecom, Media and Internet sectors. Mr. Bezoza previously worked in equity research as a Senior Vice President at both Oppenheimer and Friedman Billings Ramsey. He has published numerous industry white papers, appearing in print and financial news outlets (CNBC, Bloomberg, WSJ, etc.), and has keynoted industry conferences. In 2005, he was recognized by The Wall Street Journal as a “Best on the Street” analyst for his stock picks in the Broadcasting and Entertainment sector. Mr. Bezoza started his career at Lazard Asset Management, where he worked on the Emerging Markets and International Small Cap portfolios.
Mr. Bezoza received a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Lehigh University.
Wilson Chung is a Managing Director at DigitalBridge Investment Management. Mr. Chung is based in Singapore and focuses on identifying and evaluating Asia Pacific investment opportunities. He has over 15 years of infrastructure, private equity, and corporate finance experience in Asia.
Prior to joining DigitalBridge, Mr. Chung was most recently a Senior Vice President in the infrastructure principal investments team at Macquarie Capital. He led Macquarie’s balance sheet investments in digital infrastructure in Asia, with a focus on building platforms and developing greenfield datacenters and other digital infrastructure assets. Prior to that role, Mr. Chung worked in Macquarie Capital’s private capital markets team where he focused on principal investments and advisory mandates across the consumer and technology sectors in Asia.
Prior to Macquarie Capital, Mr. Chung was a co-founder and CFO of Litegrid Holdings Ltd, a Hong Kong telecommunications infrastructure developer and prior to that, he covered consumer, industrial and telecom investments for Unitas Capital, an Asian regional private equity fund. Mr. Chung started his career as an investment banking analyst at Citigroup.
Mr. Chung received a Bachelor of Laws, with honors, and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Melbourne.
Jonathan Friesel is a Managing Director at DigitalBridge Investment Management. Mr. Friesel has over 28 years of experience investing in and advising companies in the communications, media, technology and tech enabled services industries. Mr. Friesel is a leader in the Firm’s communications and services areas and is responsible for the identification, evaluation, and management of new investments in these sectors and for non-infrastructure private equity investments.
Prior to DigitalBridge, Mr. Friesel was a Founder and Managing Partner of Twin Point Capital, where he had senior managerial responsibility for the firm’s investment activities and operations. Prior to Twin Point, Mr. Friesel was a Partner of Oak Hill Capital, where he was a member of the Investment Committee and held senior leadership responsibilities for the firm’s Media & Communications and Services investment groups. He also served on the firm’s operations, compliance and ESG committees. Mr. Friesel also worked at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., in its Telecommunications and Media group.
Mr. Friesel received his Bachelor of Sciences from Cornell University and is an Emeritus Member of the Advisory Council of the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell.
Sadiq Malik is a Managing Director at DigitalBridge Investment Management. Mr. Malik is a seasoned investment professional with over 20 years of in-depth investing experience in private, distressed and public companies across a variety of industries including the digital infrastructure verticals of towers, data centers, fiber and ground lease buyouts. At DigitalBridge, Mr. Malik is responsible for identifying, evaluating, consummating, and managing investments across all our verticals globally with a specific focus on the Americas and the MEA regions.
Prior to joining DigitalBridge, Mr. Malik was a co-founding partner of Oskie Capital, a public and private equity firm, which invested in companies undergoing positive business transformations and corporate change. Previously, he also worked on President Obama’s Auto Task Force at the U.S. Department of the Treasury during the financial crisis in 2009.
Earlier in his career Mr. Malik was an investment professional at Och-Ziff Capital, The Blackstone Group and Morgan Stanley.
Mr. Malik received a Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, in Economics from Dartmouth College and an MBA, with distinction, from Harvard Business School.
Warren Roll is a Managing Director at DigitalBridge Investment Management. Mr. Roll has more than 23 years of experience in global private equity, mergers and acquisitions, asset management and operations across a broad range of industry sectors. Mr. Roll helps lead the fiber and small cell strategy at DigitalBridge and is responsible for the identification, evaluation, consummation, and management of new investments with a specific focus on fiber, indoor and outdoor small cell networks, tower infrastructure and related assets and business.
Prior to joining DigitalBridge in 2014, Mr. Roll was a Senior Director at Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) where he led TMT and healthcare sector initiatives in the private equity group. Mr. Roll helped build the private equity direct investing program including being actively involved in the management of Telesat, one of the largest global satellite operators. Mr. Roll also played a leading role in PSP’s first, and one of the largest ever, public-to-private transactions. Prior to PSP Investments, Mr. Roll worked at BMO Financial Group and Desjardins Securities in mergers and acquisitions, as a member of the team advising companies in North America on transactions across various industries with a focus on telecommunications, media and technology.
Mr. Roll received a Bachelor of Arts with honors in 1998 and an MBA with honors in 2001 from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario.
Tejinder Singh is Principal at DigitalBridge Investment Management. Based in Singapore, Mr. Singh is part of the Asia-pacific investment team and involved in the identification, evaluation, and management of digital infrastructure investments and opportunities in that region. He has over 14 years of infrastructure experience.
Prior to joining DigitalBridge, Mr. Singh was a Senior Vice President with Macquarie Asset Management (MAM). During 10 years with MAM, Mr. Singh was involved in building MAM’s business in India and South-East Asia. In India, he led the acquisition of solar platform from Hindustan Power and the divestment of MAM’s investment in GMR Airports. Mr. Singh was responsible for MAM’s entry in Indonesia as he originated and executed their investments in Tower Bersama, one of the largest telecom tower companies in Indonesia. Mr. Singh started his career as an associate at SBI Capital Markets.
Mr. Singh received a Bachelor of Technology from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi and a Post Graduate Diploma in Management from Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode.
Nikki Smart is a Partner and part of the InfraBridge leadership team. Ms Smart joined InfraBridge (formerly managed by AMP Capital) in June 2018 in its Infrastructure Equity Asset Management team based in London. Ms. Smart is responsible for leading the human capital agenda across the platform, which includes C-suite recruitment and leadership assessments, senior executive compensation, talent management, executive coaching and board development, organisational design and business transformation.
Before joining InfraBridge Capital, Ms. Smart was an independent HR Consultant providing strategic HR interventions for a variety of Private Equity backed companies. Ms. Smart worked at National Grid for 14 years and was part of the Global HR Leadership team. Ms. Smart held several senior leadership roles, including Head of HR for National Grid’s UK Business, covering an employee base of 10,000 managers and staff. Her most recent role within National Grid was Global Head of Talent, Leadership and Change, where she was responsible for Board, CEO and Executive Committee leadership and talent development.
Ms. Smart started her career in the Oil and Gas industry as a Graduate Trainee at BG Group. She holds a first-class honours Sports Science and Business Studies degree and a Counselling and Psychotherapy Diploma.
Christian Velasco is a Principal in the InfraBridge investment management team based in our New York office and focused on evaluating, executing, and managing new and existing investments across the mobility, energy transition and digital infrastructure sectors.
Mr. Velasco was a member of the infrastructure equity value-add team of InfraBridge (formerly managed by AMP Capital) since early 2018, where he led the acquisition and financing of major transactions globally.
Prior to joining InfraBridge, Mr. Velasco held several roles as a finance executive and advisor in Latin America where he had a pivotal role in acquiring, financing, and developing large scale infrastructure assets in the region.
Mr. Velasco started his career as a Central Banker at the Peruvian Central Bank and received his Bachelor of Science in Economics and Finance from Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas and a Masters in Infrastructure Investment & Finance from University College London.
Alexandre Villela is Managing Director and Head of Venture Capital at DigitalBridge Investment Management with a focus on privately held, high-growth companies in digital infrastructure technology sectors. Mr. Villela has spent over 25 years working and investing in the Technology, Media and Telecom sector, with a particular focus on communications, infrastructure software, and networking domains.
Prior to joining DigitalBridge in 2021, Mr. Villela was a Managing Director at Qualcomm Ventures where he was responsible for investments in 5G, networking and digital infrastructure. At Qualcomm, Mr. Villela oversaw the Qualcomm Ventures 5G Fund, a $200M global allocation to accelerate adoption worldwide. Prior to Qualcomm, he spent seven years at Intel Capital as a Senior Investment Director, focused on Latin America and digital infrastructure deals in the U.S. Mr. Villela has extensive experience in corporate governance and transaction management, having participated on more than 20 boards as a director or observer.
Before working in venture capital, Mr. Villela was a General Manager at Gradiente Eletronica in Brazil, leading procurement and product development, and an Operations Manager at Samsung Electronics in South Korea, Mexico and Brazil. Mr. Villela received a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering at UNICAMP (Brazil) and attained his MBA at INSEAD (France).
Tom Yanagi is Managing Director, Global Head of Debt Capital Markets at DigitalBridge Investment Management. Mr. Yanagi is an experienced investment professional with over 20 years of principal investing and asset management experience. Mr. Yanagi leads the Capital Markets activities for DigitalBridge and has raised over $20 billion of financings supporting DigitalBridge’s acquisition activities and portfolio company capital needs.
Prior to joining DigitalBridge, Mr. Yanagi was the Head of the Communications Infrastructure Team in New York for Macquarie Infrastructure Partners (“MIP”). During his 13 years with MIP, Mr. Yanagi led a number of investments in sectors including telecommunications, energy and transportation. Most notably, he was responsible for MIP’s investment in Global Tower Partners (GTP) and was involved with the oversight and management of that investment through to the sale to American Tower in October of 2013. In addition to leading transactions, Mr. Yanagi maintained an asset management role and served on the Board of Directors for a number of MIP portfolio companies, including GTP. Prior to MIP, Mr. Yanagi worked in private equity at Nomura Securities and Madison Investment Partners.
Mr. Yanagi received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Rutgers College and an MBA from Columbia Business School.
Christian Belady is a Senior Advisor to DigitalBridge and serves on the Board of Directors of Vantage Data Centers and Scala Data Centers. Mr. Belady is a distinguished industry veteran with over four decades of experience in data center and infrastructure management and development on a global scale.
In his role, Mr. Belady will provide strategic counsel to DigitalBridge in support of the continuing development of the firm’s global data center portfolio, which is positioned to meet demand driven by investment in cloud and AI.
Prior to joining DigitalBridge, Mr. Belady served as Vice President of Data Center Research and Development for Microsoft’s Cloud Infrastructure Organization. In that role, from which he recently retired, Mr. Belady led a team developing new technologies to transform the sector and address the challenges of scaling the cloud and AI. In previous roles at Microsoft, Mr. Belady led global server and data center development, including research, engineering, construction, and operations for Microsoft’s data center portfolio. He also developed and led the energy team during this period.
Mr. Belady is considered the “Father of PUE” and has been a key founder or contributor to a number of industry organizations and standards, including ASHRAE (The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers), The Green Grid, and iMasons Climate Accord (ICA), where he helped to develop new industry metrics and guidelines to foster sustainability and efficiency. His contributions have been recognized with two prestigious industry awards: election to the National Academy of Engineering and the Data Center Icon Award from the North Virginia Technology Council.
Mr. Belady received a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University; he holds a Master of Science in Fluid Dynamics and Heat Transfer from Rensselaer Polytechnic University and a Master of Arts in International Business from the University of Dallas.
Arthur P. (Tim) Brazy, Jr. is a Senior Advisor to DigitalBridge and the Chief Executive Officer of Landmark Dividend, which he co-founded in 2010. Mr. Brazy has more than 30 years of experience in the real estate, financial services and investment industries.
From 2005 to 2009, Mr. Brazy served as CEO of Church Mortgage Acceptance Co., LLC, a private company he co-founded focused on direct lending to churches. From 2001 to 2006, he served as CEO of Lakefront Ventures LLC, a private investment firm specializing in commercial and mortgage finance, private equity, real estate and structured finance advisory services.
During the 1990s, Mr. Brazy founded and led a series of private investment partnerships that raised and provided more than $5 billion of financing to small businesses and commercial real estate owners nationwide. Prior to that time, he was an officer with Eastdil Secured, a diversified real estate investment bank, where he was responsible for advisory assignments and major property debt and equity capital placements.
Mr. Brazy received a B.S. degree in Economics from the California Institute of Technology, pursued further graduate studies as a fellow at Oxford University, and received an M.B.A. from the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University.
Murray H. Case is an Operating Partner at DigitalBridge and Chairman of Scala Data Centers. Mr. Case has focused on Latin American digital infrastructure since 2017. Mr. Case was raised in Brazil and is a dual citizen of the U.S. and Mexico.
In addition to his responsibilities with DigitalBridge, he is currently the lead director of a Brazilian metro fiber operator and a Colombian financial software firm. He is also a director of a Mexican broadband provider. Prior, he was Chief Executive of Grupo redIT, an operator of communications networks, data centers and managed information services in Mexico and the Western U.S., until it was sold to Kio Networks in 2014. Under his leadership, Grupo redIT opened multiple new metro fiber markets, built one of the largest data center complexes in Mexico and was a leading provider of mission-critical IT services.
Prior to co-founding Grupo redIT in the late 1990’s, Mr. Case directed the banking representative office of Salomon Brothers in Mexico City, which he established in 1994. Mr. Case worked in the specialty chemical and cellular communications industries early in his career.
Mr. Case currently serves on the Board of Directors of Scala Data Centers.
Mr. Case received a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Internet entrepreneur and computer scientist, Jeremy Chelot is a Senior Advisor to DigitalBridge and the CEO of Netomnia, a Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) infrastructure provider.
Born in 1983 in Paris, Mr. Chelot’s interest in computers and the internet developed at the age of seven when he became fascinated by how computers and the internet affected how we learn, play, and live. After graduating from two universities with an MSc in Computer Science and an MSc in Telecommunications, Mr. Chelot worked with the UK’s largest internet service providers (Vodafone, O2, BT, 3 and EE). In 2014, having gained more than 10 years of experience in computing and networking, Mr. Chelot left 3 to become the CEO of Community Fibre.
Mr. Chelot left Community Fibre in 2019 to start Netomnia and YouFibre, an internet service provider in the United Kingdom., of which he is still currently the CEO. In just two and a half years, Netomnia and YouFibre have each become one of the fastest-growing infrastructure and internet service provider companies, respectively, in the UK.
Alexander Gellman is a Senior Advisor to DigitalBridge and the Executive Chairman and Co-Founder of Vertical Bridge, the largest private owner and operator of wireless communications infrastructure in the U.S. Mr. Gellman is also one of the Co-founders of Digital Bridge.
Prior to co-founding Vertical Bridge, Mr. Gellman was President and COO of Global Tower Partners, the largest privately held tower company in the U.S. Mr. Gellman was instrumental in the sale of Global Tower Partners to American Tower Corporation in 2013 for over $4.8 billion. Previously, Mr. Gellman has been involved in many successful ventures, including Sonitrol Corporation, a leading provider of verified electronic security in North America where he served as President and COO until its sale to Stanley Works.
Mr. Gellman also co-founded Apex Site Management, the largest third-party manager of wireless and wireline communications sites in the U.S. Apex merged with SpectraSite Communications to create the largest telecommunications site portfolio in the U.S. Following the merger, Mr. Gellman served as President and CEO of SpectraSite-Transco Communications, Ltd., a joint venture between SpectraSite and British Gas to develop tower sites in the U.K.
Mr. Gellman previously served as Vice President - Development and a co-founder of Horizon Cellular Group, a start-up backed by McCaw Cellular to acquire, develop and operate rural cellular franchises in the eastern U.S.
In addition to his role as a Senior Advisor to DigitalBridge, Mr. Gellman serves on the Board of Directors of Highline.
Mr. Gellman received a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Tufts University and an MBA in Finance and Accounting from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
John B. Georges is an Operating Partner at DigitalBridge primarily focused on mobile private networks and new wireless technology platforms such as CBRS. Mr. Georges is considered an early pioneer in both outdoor small cells, and in-building Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS). He has authored or co-authored more than 20 original sector publications and holds 10 patents.
Prior to joining DigitalBridge, he was the CEO and co-founder of NextG Networks (founded in 2001), the first outdoor small cell company utilizing the Public-Rights-of-Way to deploy outdoor DAS and small cells. Before co-founding NextG, Mr. Georges co-founded LGC Wireless, the leading provider of in-building wireless distributed antenna systems at the time and the first company to establish worldwide channel relationships in over 20 countries. Mr. Georges also is part of the founding team of QMC Telecom for their LATAM indoor DAS and outdoor small cell businesses.
Mr. Georges received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley in 1994.
Bruno Jacobfeuerborn has been CEO of DFMG Deutsche Funkturm GmbH since January 2017 including the international activities of GD Towers. In addition, he is Chairman of the Supervisory Board of 1NCE GmbH since January 2018 and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of CTDI Europe since January 2011.
Mr. Jacobfeuerborn joined Deutsche Telekom AG in 1989. Two years later he became head of department for radio network planning in Hanover and, at the same time, regional head of T-Mobile in Leipzig. In this role, Mr. Jacobfeuerborn also managed the planning and development of the mobile communications network in the German regional states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. From 1995 to 1999, Mr. Jacobfeuerborn was responsible for the Technology division of the T-Mobile Northern District in Hanover and took on additional responsibility for Sales and Marketing as head of the T-Mobile Northern District in Hanover from 1999 to 2002.
From 2002 to 2007, Bruno Jacobfeuerborn was a member of the management team in his capacity as Managing Director of Technology, IT, Procurement and, until 2004, Customer Service at T-Mobile Netherlands in The Hague. At the same time, he headed the International Service Management unit at T-Mobile International. Subsequently, he was a member of the management team and Managing Director of Technology, IT and Procurement at Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa in Warsaw until June 30, 2009. Since July 1, 2009 Bruno Jacobfeuerborn has been responsible for Technology (both mobile and fixed network) in Germany and became Director of Technology at Telekom Deutschland GmbH in April 2010. In addition, Bruno Jacobfeuerborn was Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Deutsche Telekom from February 2012 until December 2017. From 2014 to 2020, he was Member of the Supervisory Board of T-Mobile US and from January 2018 until December 2022 he was CEO of Comfort Charge GmbH.
Josh Joshi is an Operating Partner at DigitalBridge and Executive Director of AtlasEdge. Mr. Joshi has over 20 years of experience building value in the digital infrastructure sector and has held, senior positions at several multinational companies.
Prior to joining DigitalBridge, Mr. Joshi served for over a decade as CFO of Interxion, a leading provider of carrier- and cloud-neutral data center solutions across EMEA, which was acquired by Digital Realty in 2019. Mr. Joshi also previously served as CFO of TeleCity plc, a pan European carrier-neutral data center business, and co-founded and served as CFO of Storm Telecommunications Limited, a private-equity-backed U.S. and pan European voice, data and network service provider. Earlier in his career, Mr. Joshi spent 8 years in professional practice as an accountant, predominantly with Arthur Andersen.
Mr. Joshi holds a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Imperial College, London and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
Raul Martynek is a Senior Advisor to DigitalBridge and the Chief Executive Officer of DataBank. Mr. Martynek has over 20 years of experience in the telecom services and Digital Infrastructure sector.
Prior to joining DataBank, he served as an Operating Partner for Digital Bridge, assisting the firm in evaluating digital infrastructure investments, including the acquisition of DataBank and Vantage.
Previously Mr. Martynek was the CEO for Net Access, LLC, a New Jersey-based data center and managed services operator, which was acquired in November 2015 by Denver-based data center operator Cologix. Prior to Net Access, he was the CEO of Voxel dot Net, Inc., a global managed hosting, and cloud company, which was acquired by Internap Network Services Corp. in early 2012.
Mr. Martynek also served as the Chief Restructuring Officer of Smart Telecom, a Dublin, Ireland-based fiber carrier which was acquired by Digiweb in 2009, in connection with his role as a Senior Advisor to Plainfield Asset Management, a multi-billion-dollar hedge fund.
Prior to Plainfield, Mr. Martynek spent 13 years with telecom and Internet provider InfoHighway Communications Corp, first as a COO of Eureka Broadband and then as President and CEO of InfoHighway. InfoHighway was acquired by Broadview Networks in 2007.
Mr. Martynek earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Binghamton University in 1988 and received a Masters’ degree in International Affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs in 1992.
Graham Payne is a Senior Advisor to DigitalBridge and serves as the Executive Chairman of The FreshWave Group (“FreshWave”).
In 2014, Mr. Payne co-founded Opencell, the UK’s first carrier-approved indoor mobile signal service provider and the first to be able to deliver in-building coverage from all four mobile network operators using small cells. In November 2018, DigitalBridge acquired Opencell and merged it with Stratto, a specialist in-building DAS provider. Mr. Payne led the merged business, strattoOpencell, as Chief Executive Officer. He guided the acquisitions of tower company Spyder Facilities Ltd, as well as leading small cell outdoor and radio service provider iWireless Solutions, before transitioning to the role of FreshWave’s Executive Chairman in the beginning of 2020.
Mr. Payne has long been at the heart of the mobile industry, having been involved in the inception of GSM in the 1990’s. He worked as the Planning and Deployment Director for T-Mobile in the UK and Rollout Manager for the T-Mobile International.
In 2007, Mr. Payne took a leading role in negotiating the largest network consolidation agreement in the world at that time. Following this successful negotiation, he was asked to establish and become Managing Director of MBNL, the joint venture between EE and Three. The consolidation was successfully consummated in October 2010 and continues to deliver significant benefits to its shareholders today. After leaving MBNL in 2014, Mr. Payne provided executive consultancy on network sharing and radio network projects, including executive level support to Vodafone on the Beacon project with Telefonica and CTIL, which helped transform delivery and enable large scale 4G rollout for both.
Mr. Payne serves on the Board of Directors of FreshWave and is a valued adviser to numerous global mobile connectivity groups.
Marcos Peigo is a Senior Advisor to DigitalBridge, and the CEO of Scala Data Centers, a Latin American data center platform. Mr. Peigo has over 20 years of experience as a technology and communications infrastructure executive based in Brazil.
Mr. Peigo has significant executive management experience in Latin America, including, most recently, as Vice President of Value Creation at IBM Latin America, where he was responsible for Industry Solutions and Business Development, Architecture and Innovation teams across the region; CEO of Solvo S/A, an IT infrastructure services company focused on complex solutions; Chief Operating Officer of UOLDIVEO, including the management of their data center and managed services business based in Sao Paulo, Brazil; and a partner and Board member of Automatos International Ltd, a company providing automation and management for IT assets. Previously, Mr. Peigo was also the founder of Lemniscata Ventures, a Brazilian privately held advisory and investment firm focused on companies that have intensive use of technology as its core.
Mr. Peigo studied Electrical Engineering and Economics at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo and is Certified in ISO20000, ITIL (v1-2-3) and COBIT.
Dave Pistacchio is an Operating Partner at DigitalBridge and Chairman of Beanfield Metroconnect, working with the investment team to evaluate, manage and operate new digital infrastructure investments, with a specific focus on fiber assets. With over 35 years in leadership positions in the telecommunication and media industries focusing on technology and operations, Mr. Pistacchio has built a reputation as a experienced executive who can lead organizations to operational excellence.
Prior to joining DigitalBridge, Mr. Pistacchio served as President at Cablevision Lightpath Inc., a New York based $375 million telecom company, where he led the company through 12 years of significant growth; growing revenue, earnings, and free cash flow, while achieving industry recognition for innovation and operational excellence.
Prior to that, at Cablevision Systems Corporation, a $17 billion publicly traded media company, Mr. Pistacchio built and ran a large multi-faceted Information Technology organization that supported rapid growth in its Cable Television, Telecom, Media, Sports, Arena, Retail and Theater businesses. While there, he was responsible for delivering many industry “firsts” by effectively applying technology to business challenges.
In addition to his advisory role with DigitalBridge, Mr. Pistacchio serves on the Board of Directors of Zayo Group Holdings, Aptum Technologies, Beanfield Metroconnect (where he serves as Executive Chairman) and Storyleaders LLC.
Brokaw Price is an Operating Partner at DigitalBridge, primarily focused on evaluating new greenfield hyperscale developments and generating strategic leasing relationships with global hyperscale customers across DigitalBridge’s entire portfolio. Mr. Price has over 20 years of professional experience in developing and managing all aspects of global infrastructure strategy for market leading internet properties and content providers. He is an industry leader with success in cultivating, guiding, and closing complex network co-location, peering and network cost reduction focused negotiations.
Prior to joining DigitalBridge, Mr. Price served as Vice President at EdgeConneX. He leveraged his expertise in the hyperscaler and edge data center industry to help grow the EdgeConneX core business through identifying, developing, and executing on strategies and initiatives to support the ongoing expansion of the cloud.
Prior to EdgeConneX, Mr. Price was a Principal at Amazon, where he managed the New or Core Region International Business Development team and focused on identifying immediate and long-term strategic business expansion opportunities and initiatives for key cloud computing markets/regions for AWS. He managed and closed multiple complex co-location, metropolitan and transit network agreements in foreign and domestic markets as lead development negotiator, responsible for closing $1.6 billion contract value and approaching $3 billion total contract value under his management. Prior to Amazon, Mr. Price was responsible for contract execution and site selection for Yahoo!’s Global exchange points and Network co-location facilities. In addition, Mr. Price has held various roles in the telecommunications sector throughout his career.
Mr. Brokaw received a Bachelor of Arts in Communications Studies from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Ian Rae is a Senior Advisor to DigitalBridge and the CEO and President of Aptum. Prior to taking on global leadership at Aptum in 2023, Ian was the founder and CEO of CloudOps, a cloud consulting, managed services, and software company focused on cloud native platforms, open source and DevOps since 2005. He joined the Aptum executive team through the acquisition of CloudOps in January 2023.
Prior to CloudOps, Mr. Rae was the VP engineering at Coradiant, a startup in web application performance management acquired by BMC. He is also the founder of cloud.ca, the original Canadian cloud infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) focused on data residency, privacy and security requirements. Recently acquired, cloud.ca is now Hypertec Cloud. Earlier in his career, Mr. Rae was the CIO at Canderel Management.
Mr. Rae is a member of the board of directors for Genome Canada and Air Transat, and a member of the Digital Industries Table for the Government of Canada. He is also a member of the Canadian Council of Innovators.
Mr. Rae holds a B.Sc. Hon. in Biology from McGill University in evolutionary genetics.
Rob Roy is a Senior Advisor of Digital Bridge, Founder & CEO of Switch. In the year 2000, with a background in business leadership, engineering, commercial development and technology, Rob Roy converged his areas of expertise to create Switch, offering advanced technology ecosystems and the combined services and solutions inherent to those environments. In Rob Roy’s mission to redesign and redefine every aspect of the data center, he has developed more than 700 patent and patent-pending claims. These designs are manifested in industry-renowned Switch SUPERNAP data centers.
As a founder, design engineer and inventor in the technology industry, he has not only designed the largest and most advanced technology ecosystems in the world, but his stamp of innovation and attention to detail can be witnessed across many data center verticals including advanced resiliency, high-density and sustainable architecture and design. Rob Roy’s standard of excellence, leadership and vision is reflected and utilized throughout the modern data center industry.
Daniel E. Seiner is a Senior Advisor to DigitalBridge and the Chief Executive Officer of Andean Telecom Partners (“ATP”), and previously held the same role at Torres Unidas, which was acquired by ATP in December 2017. Mr. Seiner has extensive experience in the telecommunications and media sectors. He is fluent in English, Spanish, Portuguese and Hebrew.
Prior to Torres Unidas, Mr. Seiner served as Chief Executive Officer of Torrecom Partners LLC and served as Managing Director at Ladenburg Thalmann & Company. He also served as Managing Director at BroadSpan Capital.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Seiner led the Latin American Telecommunications investment banking practice group at J.P. Morgan Chase, where he was responsible for origination and execution of advisory and capital raising. While at J.P. Morgan, Mr. Seiner executed over 20 advisory transactions in excess value of US$25 billion and over US$3 billion in capital raising.
He received his MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business, and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Suresh Sidhu is a Senior Advisor to DigitalBridge and the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of EdgePoint Infrastructure, a wireless towers platform focused on the high growth markets of Southeast Asia. Mr. Sidhu has more than 25 years of experience spanning senior leadership, operations, and strategy across Asia in the telecommunications sector.
Prior to founding EdgePoint, Mr. Sidhu was Chief Executive Officer of edotco Group, an integrated telecommunications infrastructure services company providing end-to-end solutions in the tower services sector across Asia. During his 6-year tenor, Mr. Sidhu grew edotco’s tower count and key financial metrics four-fold and expanded its operations from 3 to 8 countries.
Prior to joining edotco, Mr. Sidhu held multiple senior positions across the Asian telecommunications sector including Chief Corporate & Operations Officer at Celcom, Group Chief Officer Enterprise & Global at Dialog Axiata and Senior Vice President, Business Development of Axiata. In these roles, he had been deeply involved in both enterprise transformation and change efforts, as well as end-to-end operational management of cellular networks, including Malaysia’s largest network. Mr Sidhu also has previous experience in telecoms M&A and spent several years with the Boston Consulting Group in Southeast Asia and Toronto.
Mr. Sidhu received an MBA from INSEAD, and a Bachelor of Arts in Natural Science from the University of Cambridge.
Steve Smith is a Senior Advisor to DigitalBridge and the Chief Executive Officer at Zayo, the leading independent provider of communications infrastructure. Steve has over 30 years of expertise as a global leader in the technology sector and a deep background in managing market leading technology businesses.
Most recently, Steve was a Managing Director at GI Partners, a leading private investment firm. From 2007 – 2018, he served as Chief Executive Officer and President of Equinix, the largest data center company globally. Under his leadership, Equinix grew from $2 billion to $34 billion in market value, while revenue increased from $400 million to $4.4 billion. Equinix also successfully integrated 21 acquisitions over 10 years representing over $25 billion in organic and inorganic investments during his tenure. Prior to Equinix, Steve served as Senior Vice President of HP Services, where he was responsible for management of the organization’s Consulting and Integration, Managed Services, and Technology Deployment and Support business groups. Previously, Steve served as Senior Vice President of Global Professional and Managed Services at Lucent Technologies. He has also held various management and sales positions during his 16 years with Electronic Data Systems Corporation, including Chief Sales Officer, President of EDS Asia-Pacific, and President of EDS Western Region.
Steve currently serves on the Board of Directors of Zayo and NextDC, a publicly traded data center company in Australia, and formerly served on the Boards of NetApp, F5 Networks, and Flexential.
Steve had a successful eight-year career in the U.S. Army where, among other roles, he was aide-de-camp to the office of the Commander in Chief of the U.S. Armed Forces in the Pacific. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and holds a B.S. in Engineering.
Jose Sola is a Senior Advisor to DigitalBridge and the Chief Executive Officer of Mexico Telecom Partners.
Prior to Mexico Telecom Partners, Mr. Sola was Senior Vice President of Corporate Development – Latin American for Global Tower Partners (GTP) and successfully led GTP’s expansion into Mexico and Costa Rica, where he was involved in growing and consolidating the operations in those markets.
Mr. Sola began his career in telecommunications in 1994 when he joined Telefonica, the leading provider of telecommunication services in Europe and Latin America. While at Telefonica, Mr. Sola held various management and executive positions in M&A and Corporate Development in Madrid and Miami and he was involved in the international expansion of Telefonica across Latin America. Prior to joining Telefonica, he worked in the international division of ENDESA, one of the largest Spanish utility companies, performing financial due diligence of acquisitions in Portugal.
Mr. Sola holds a Bachelor of Business Science degree in Economics and Finance from the Universidad de Granada – Spain.
Jacky Wu is Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer at DigitalBridge.
Prior to joining DigitalBridge, Mr. Wu was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Driven Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ: DRVN), North America’s largest automotive aftermarket platform where he filed the S-1 and led the public company readiness campaign. Prior to Driven Brands, Mr. Wu was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Xura, Inc (formerly Comverse, Inc. (NASDAQ: MESG)). Prior to Xura, Mr. Wu spent five years at American Tower Corporation (NYSE: AMT) where he was Vice President of Finance and Mergers and Acquisitions. Mr. Wu has over 15 years of experience in the telecommunications industry, beginning his career at Verizon Communications. There he served in numerous accounting, finance and business development roles of increasing scope and responsibility, most recently as Director and Chief Financial Officer of Verizon Digital Services Inc. Mr. Wu was also a recipient of the 2012 Top 100 Under 50 Diverse Executive Leader Award.
Mr. Wu graduated Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa and with Departmental Honors with both a MBA as well as a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Tulane University.
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correct_foundationPlace_00083
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FactBench
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2
| 13
|
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cadian-capital-management-announces-its-support-for-the-spin-off-of-comverse-inc-173374101.html
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en
|
Cadian Capital Management Announces Its Support for the Spin-off of Comverse, Inc.
|
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"Cadian Capital Management",
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[
"Cadian Capital Management"
] |
2012-10-09T05:46:00-04:00
|
/PRNewswire/ -- Cadian Capital Management, LLC (together with its affiliates, "Cadian Capital"), today announced that it intends to vote in favor of the...
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en
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/content/dam/prnewswire/icons/2019-Q4-PRN-Icon-32-32.png
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https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cadian-capital-management-announces-its-support-for-the-spin-off-of-comverse-inc-173374101.html
|
NEW YORK, Oct. 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Cadian Capital Management, LLC (together with its affiliates, "Cadian Capital"), today announced that it intends to vote in favor of the spin-off of Comverse, Inc. ("CNS") from Comverse Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: CMVT) ("CTI") at the upcoming special meeting of shareholders scheduled for October 10, 2012. Cadian Capital believes the terms of the spin-off are fair and reasonable to and in the best interests of CTI's shareholders.
In May 2012, Cadian Capital entered into an agreement with CTI regarding the composition of the Boards of Directors of CTI, its majority-owned subsidiary Verint Systems, Inc., and CNS and agreed to vote in favor of the planned spin-off of CNS to CTI's shareholders, provided the terms of the spin-off were fair and reasonable to and in the best interests of CTI's shareholders.
Cadian Capital is an equity long/short hedge fund manager with a focus on the technology sector.
Contact:
Eric Bannasch / Justin Griffith
Cadian Capital Management, LLC
(212) 792-8800
SOURCE Cadian Capital Management, LLC
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correct_foundationPlace_00083
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FactBench
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2
| 44
|
https://www.olshanlaw.com/people/Steve-Wolosky
|
en
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Steve Wolosky
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2024-07-02T00:00:00
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en
|
assets/images-t1721408271/2080.ico
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https://www.olshanlaw.com/people/Steve-Wolosky
|
Steve is foremost counsel to clients in the market's most significant domestic and cross-border shareholder activism matters, advising on some of the most high-profile activist campaigns year in and year out. Clients regularly seek his shrewd advice in shareholder activism and proxy contest situations and in hostile takeovers of public companies. He has extensive experience representing public and private issuers of debt and equity securities, purchasers and sellers in mergers, stock and asset transactions, and investment funds in their capital raising, and investment transactions. Steve also frequently counsels clients in corporate planning and structuring activities, dealings with stock exchanges, and corporate governance and other public company compliance matters.
Steve’s recent representations have included Elliott Management at Salesforce, Public Storage, Principal Financial Group, and Duke Energy; Starboard Value at eHealth; Impactive at Envestnet; Ryan Cohen at Game Stop; and Chatham Asset Management at R.R. Donnelley. Most notably, Steve led the representation of Starboard Value on its “historic” full board victory at Darden Restaurants and its recent majority board victory at GCP Applied Technologies; H. Partners on its successful, precedent-setting withhold campaign at Tempur Sealy; George Feldenkreis, founder and former Executive Chairman of Perry Ellis International, Inc., in his nomination of directors and successful unsolicited acquisition of Perry Ellis; and Elliott Management in its successful settlements at eBay and Arconic. In international news-making cases, Steve represented foreign clients in successfully obtaining board representation for the first time in Japan, South Korea, and Israel.
Steve goes well beyond advising clients. He provides business-focused strategic counsel that helps his clients drive value and maximize the return on their investments. He advises at every stage, from assessing the ability to affect change to securing board membership and ensuring his clients are well-positioned to successfully navigate any corporate battle.
In addition to maintaining an active practice, as the former chair of the Shareholder Activism Practice Group, Steve oversees work for clients, fields client questions, advises on case strategy and management, guides the firm in professional development, and is a go-to adviser and mentor for the next generation of Olshan leaders.
Steve is regularly quoted as an industry expert in The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, The Deal, Law360, and other notable media publications discussing important trends in shareholder activism. He was profiled in Business Insider as one of the top go-to lawyers for activist investors. Steve also lectures at corporate and securities law conferences and speaks on distinguished activist panels throughout the country.
He is a current director and former chairman of the Federal Law Enforcement Foundation and Chairman of the Board of Advisors of Longacre Square Partners.
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||||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
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FactBench
|
1
| 50
|
https://strokeonward.org/coronavirus-sheltering-in-place-jumbled-emotions/
|
en
|
Coronavirus Sheltering In Place – Jumbled Emotions
|
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"Debra Meyerson",
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en
|
https://strokeonward.org/coronavirus-sheltering-in-place-jumbled-emotions/
|
It’s been almost 7 weeks since we and the rest of the Bay Area were told to “shelter in place” on March 17th. Sharing some reflections about our jumbled emotions.
Like everyone, we are deeply concerned. That emotion hangs there all the time, though we focus on it more and less from day to day – really from minute to minute. It’s heartbreaking to see so many people getting sick – and dying. And thinking about how many more will. In the U.S. and around the world. We talk about the fact that we are living through something that future generations will read about in basic history books – we just don’t yet know how bad a world tragedy they will be reading about.
But we are both naturally wired to “look forward not back” – a main message of Identity Theft – and don’t usually dwell too much on what we can’t control or change. We’re certainly being very careful, but we’re not afraid or worried for ourselves. We do worry about our moms – 91 and 87. Probably unnecessarily since both are in good health and are being very careful, but they are, of course, in a high risk group, and both live in retirement communities where COVID could spread rapidly.
Especially since Steve is consumed in his “other job” at Self-Help, directly involved in getting support to nonprofits and small businesses in and serving low income communities, we think a lot about the pain and suffering the economic crisis is and will cause for those with the fewest resources. You can’t open a news feed without reading about how this pandemic is accentuating the economic divide that has never been greater.
Swirling with all that concern is a sense of profound gratitude, and appreciation for how truly lucky we are. None in our family – or even close to us — has gotten sick. We can work from home, and our income has not been affected. We are in a safe – even beautiful — place to comfortably “ride out the storm”. We were spending the weekend in the mountains when shelter in place was ordered, so we stayed. Our daughter Sarah, and her boyfriend Parker, escaped SF to join us here, so we have a great “quarantine of four” – much less isolated than so many.
And then there is daily life, and the fact that a high degree of frustration is “our new normal” – a part of our post-stroke life. And here, our experiences diverge some, so we’ll separate our voices.
Deb: I know I’m lucky. And I really do try to “look forward” and focus on what I CAN do. But there is still so much I can’t do on my own because of my disabilities – and that is SO frustrating. I know how important Steve’s work at Self-Help is right now, but watching him makes it that much more painful that I can’t dive in like that to Stroke Onward work, let alone my pre-stroke work as a professor. I’m trying so hard to appreciate all I have, and doing the work I can – writing (so slowly!), reading, creating ideas for Stroke Onward. And exercising, stretching and doing the PT/OT work I can do myself. I try to remember to think about all that I can do – focusing on the difference I can make. But I’m so frustrated. And lucky. So a little guilty, and embarrassed. But determined to make the best of it….
Steve: Not a lot to add. I do try to embrace the title of chapter 9 – Stroke is a Family Illness – and the notion that OUR lives – and identities — changed with Deb’s stroke 10 years ago, not just hers. But it’s hard. Deb’s frustration often becomes my frustration, when it feels like I simply can’t do enough to make it all work. And then I remember how truly lucky we are, and try to put, and help Deb put, the frustration in perspective. But that’s so rational – so left brain – and often just doesn’t work. I think my emotional jumble is similar to Deb’s, but probably with about half the intensity.
So we juggle our emotions as best we can. We talk. We try not to yell at each other too much. We maintain connection with other family and friends through phone and video. And we try to look forward as much as we can.
We wish you safety and health during this difficult time,
Debra and Steve
|
|||||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
2
| 72
|
https://www.corumgroup.com/Webinar-Transcript--December-2011
|
en
|
Corum Group
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Corum Group
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https://www.corumgroup.com/Webinar-Transcript--December-2011
|
December Webinar
Buffett/IBM, Patents, Yandex, and Israel Rising
December 1, 2011
INTRO and MARKET OVERVIEW
Ward Carter
Good day and welcome to our webinar. I'm Ward Carter, Chairman of the Corum Group, speaking from our headquarters here in the Seattle, Washington area. You are part of a group of hundreds of software and tech executives from over 20 countries who have registered for this even today.
Here is our agenda for the next 60 minutes. We will start with a market overview, including some commentary on IBM and Warren Buffett, and then a special report on patents. Corum's research department will then be reporting on technology deals and valuations in the software and technology sectors. We will then move to our featured segment on the technology markets in Israel, followed by our guest speakers from three tech companies who will share their recent experiences in the M&A market. At the end of our sessions, we will open the floor to Q&A.
Our slate of speakers today includes Bruce Milne, Corum's founder and CEO, John Melotte, regional director for Corum from our international office in London, Elon Gasper, director of the World Technology Council, Dougan Milne, Courm's VP of research and members of our research team including Amber Stoner, Tomoki Yasuda, and Alina Soltys. Finally, our guest speakers are Roy Golding, Josef Mandelbaum, and Stefan Fountain.
With that, I'll turn the floor over to Corum's VP of Research, Dougan Milne.
Dougan Milne
Thanks, Ward. We have some great presentations coming up here today. We just saw an amazing two-day rally in the markets with domestic indices jumping nearly 5% in some cases. The Fed is supporting the EU for better or worse, but also home sales were up and we had better than expected hiring in the employment arena. Both Black Friday and Cyber Monday were record breaking days for many retailers this year, but I'll turn things over to Bruce to give us the good, the bad and the ugly from some of these recent headlines.
Bruce Milne
Good morning. For the news you need to know as a tech CEO, let's start with China, the world's biggest cyber thief. I'm not sure that's new news. The case for China stimulus is mounting as inflation cools, and of course, enough's enough with undervalued Yuan, said Obama, and I'm sure that will get them to change their mind about it.
Moving to the rest of Asia, there is news about currencies and cutbacks, but the reality is that growth is good. Look at Indonesia's GDP rising rising 6.5%. Japan's economy expanded at 6%. Thailand's GPD growth is accelerating. Singapore's economic growth may slow in 2012, but it is still triple the US'. The Indian rupee may have plunged as investors fled, but some other headlines said how that affected Indian businesses. Rate cuts are looming from Thailand to the Philippines. It's going a little bit slower, but still way ahead of us.
Moving west to Europe, the Greek “Shocker” has stiffened the resolve of Portugal and Ireland. Berlusconi resigned over the austerity plan. So did Papandreo.
Russia's growth has accelerated, that is good, the first time since last year. Early news this month was German investor confidence falling to a three-year low thanks to recession concerns. European growth in general has failed to accelerate in the third quarter as debt slows demand.
UK consumer confidence has dropped to a record low. German business confidence, on the other hand, has unexpected risen as we move ahead into November. The UK economy grew 0.5% in the third quarter, but the Euro tumbled for its longest losing stretch in 18 months.
Eurozone economic confidence fell to a two-year low, but German retail sales increased more than economists forecast in October. Maybe German confidence is up on the idea of returning to the Mark.
Looking now at sovereign debt, the Italy bond attack breached Euro defenses. We have a couple of headlines here about Spanish yields, and Hungary's credit rating was cut to junk by Moody's. Fitch cut Portugal's credit rating, and S&P reduced Belgium's rating to AA. Let's not talk about the banks, it's even worse.
Moving west to the US, the economy is driving more Americans to extreme poverty. They are skittish. Some good news though, US job openings are the highest in three years, there was no sign of US manufacturing slump, and Michigan's consumer index rose, we'll see more on that in a second. US retail sales rose to beat the forecast on electronics gains, and consumer outlook has improved to a 4-month high. That was early in the month, too. Now we move to later in the month.
Initial US jobless claims fell to a 7-month low. The US super committee was ready to announce failure, which was really no surprise, is it? We didn't expect them to be very successful. That is causing some concerns with the ratings agencies.
The S&P 500 posted the worst losing streak in two months, the market went down, but the last couple of days have been pretty good though, back up.
Economic growth in the 3rd quarter was revised downward, consumer spending and durables orders signaled slower growth.
Over the holidays, however, the S&P 500 had the worst week since 1932, but things turned around.
The US rating outlook was cut to negative by Fitch because of the fact that they couldn't come to grips with the debt and cuts in spending. But the US consumer confidence has started to rise the most since 2003 at the end of the month. US car sales, remember we talked about that last month, they are back up, the best since the cash for clunkers episode.
The ADP said that US companies have added about 206,000 workers, almost double that from a couple of months ago. The PMI index is up, with the best growth in 7 months. So we're seeing the US moving back up.
Real Estate, not so great. Zillow's CEO said that US home prices will fall by 5 to 10%. Home foreclosure in the US has risen for the first time in years as backlogs ease. There were fewer new home sales than forecast in the US. Home prices declined more than forecast as well. We're still not quite at bottom. Pending sales of existing US homes, however, were up 10.4%. That was yesterday's headline. That is good news. Things do seem to be turning around.
On the commodities front, an aluminum slump means 25% of smelters are losing money. Gold traders are the most bullish since 2004 on the debt crisis. Gold stocks are down. Oil advanced to cap the longest run of weekly gains since 2009. Speculators have reduced bullish holdings on commodities the most since 2009.
Moving on to Finance, this was a big month for IPOs. Groupon raised $700 million pricing their stock above range. Wow. Delphi offered shares in an IPO pickup. US banks are facing a European contagion risk according to Fitch. We've seen B of A go down dramatically, wow, down to around $5. Angie's List went public. Treasury yields are below 2% as the Euro debt crisis has fueled refuge demands. People want to be in dollars, it has been very strong for most of the month.
Facebook is said to be planning an IPO with a $100 billion valuation. We look forward to seeing that.
Moving on to Mobile, we've looked at a lot in the mobile space here in our monthly reports. Google has dropped support for Blackberry Gmail and boy if that isn't another nail in the coffin for RIM. Samsung topped Apple to become the world's number one smartphone maker. Google's Android has topped 50% of smartphone sales. Apple has won their patent fight with HTC in the US, then we saw Samsung win one in Australia.
On the Technology front, Intel has risked missing the Ultrabook goal with pricing over $1000. In the spring we reported that Intel planned to get 40% of the market. Not with that price tag. Cisco's profit topped estimates on cloud growth. That's good news. SAP plans to double their Chinese workforce, they're expanding. This is interesting, chipmakers are the losers as the iPad challenges PCs. Do you realize that the iPad has 75% fewer chips? A lot of people aren't aware of that. Finally, Silver Lake and Microsoft are looking at Yahoo! bids, several came out yesterday at $16.
Now let's move to a special report.
IBM and Buffett
You know, the last couple of months we've had two special reports, one on ten reasons why tech M&A will continue to surge, and another on the cash flood. Among those ten reasons, let's call this number 11. Warren Buffett has invested in IBM and disclosed that over the last several months he has become their second largest investor, over $11 billion in. Buffett invested more in this quarter than he has at any time. He took a $10.7 billion IBM stake, and then IBM at the same time announced a $7 billion stock buyback and that they were going to focus more on software, around the same time HP announced the same thing.
This is really important. IBM has been a stellar growth company, as you can see here. Buffett has taken a position here that is very similar to his position with Coca-Cola. He believes in tech. This is a guy that said he wouldn't invest in tech because he didn't really understand it. We think that Buffett investing in IBM is a big stamp of approval for tech and we're going to expect a lot more activity happening in M&A and tech.
With that, I'll turn it back over to you.
Dougan Milne
Thanks, Bruce. To add to that, yesterday Zynga filed to go public, I remember they were racing to get their papers filed back in June. Looking at that IBM chart, it reminds me that the debt crisis in Europe is creating global uncertainty, which is driving global investors to currency safety, growth, sure profits, and like IBM and other tech firms in the US that are generating huge cash flows. This will be a huge boon to public tech valuations which in turn should help increase private company valuations.
Patent News
Now, let's hear about the new patent laws, from our own patent pro, Elon Gasper.
Elon Gasper
Thanks, Dougan. In my May presentation I told how patents had increasing influence on M&A, with international ones growing in relative importance, especially with advantages like those furnished by the Patent Cooperation Treaty, Patent Prosecution Highway. But US patents are still generally the most important.
So let’s check out an enormous change in US law:
President Obama signed the “America Invents Act” a couple months ago. It calls for the most significant changes since at least 1952, when the prior century of case law was codified. For entrepreneurs and small companies, it’s definitely the biggest change since the Constitution and the writing of the basic rules for inventions in the 1700s by the first US Patent Examiner, Thomas Jefferson.
Some parts of the law are already in effect, some are coming next year or in 2013, plus regulations and case law look to be in turmoil for long after that. That uncertainty, the broad impact and some specific parts of the law that will be easier for large organizations to address means that on the whole it appears generally unfavorable to smaller companies.
Turning now to survey these changes, the headliner is that after hundreds of years as a international maverick the US has been rounded up and will join the rest of the world in embracing what is known as the first-to-file system, as opposed its quirky first-to-invent where it mattered more when you did it than when you told the government about it.
Secondly, accompanying the increased importance of that filing date, the concept of what’s called “prior art”, that is, public information that can stop a patent, is redefined.
The law also creates a new 9-month process for challenging each new patent.
Another change is that each year, some of those who can pay extra will get to cut the queue and get their patents faster, on a first-come first-serve and rationed basis.
Other changes fill pages with a breathtakingly arcane density that even the Patent Office itself seems flummoxed by.
But don’t take my word for that; listen to its director, former IBM VP David Kappos, who holds down old Tom Jefferson’s job nowadays. He’s called for help from the legal community to understand, implement and build out rules for the new law, as well as from Congress since he’s going to need a few more employees to help him with that. And why would anyone doubt Congress will come through in time in a budget matter? So with everything under control, the lawyers worldwide, including yours, I’m sure, can now get down to the hard work of figuring out what this all means.
If you’d like to pitch in yourself, we’re going to help you with a white paper on Corum’s site, plus here’s a starter:
First the big one. As one firm put it, “While the first-to-file system will streamline the patent process, it produces a few issues for entrepreneurs and small businesses.” The main one is: money. Surprise! Not being able to to rely on having invented first means more pressure to file quickly, incurring costs earlier and on inventions not fully developed. The better financed companies, which are usually large corporations, have the means to file quickly and frequently. If you are one of those, or about to be, perhaps through M&A, congratulations.
There are some risky strategies, based around the new publication rules, or opting out of patenting to work in secret, but unless you have extra cash, come 2013 the new law will make it more important to get a partner or consummate an M&A deal before filing an important application, and more risky to wait or skip it.
The prior art changes are complicated, with derivation and joint research rules and whatnot, but the gist of it is that you’ll need to keep a better eye on developments worldwide, plus now it matters what exists before the U.S. filing date, not before the date of invention. In the old system, once you built it, you had a year to file it, even if someone else published or sold something like it in the meantime; now, there’s urgency every day.
One secondary effect I am seeing is speculative endeavors to file a host of patents before March 2013. I expect not just a land rush to lock in the benefits during the remaining months, but a bulge of “backlog” delaying the progress of all those 2012 patents through the system, and eventually an M&A valuation difference depending on under which regime patents were filed.
The new law also creates a nine-month window to challenge any patent on any grounds. An anonymous submission showing a preponderance of evidence against even one claim of your patent will tie it up in these proceedings.
On the other side of the coin, and there will be coin involved, this seems to imply you need to monitor every other patent as it issues and challenge it within 9 months if you think it’s wrongly granted and bad for your business. That task is difficult for a little company to do.
But good news! With a new “micro-entity” status, the law will lower your patent fees, if you are a small business whose inventor hasn’t filed many before, or something like that. Though not till next year at earliest, according to Director Kappos again, who needs that time to write up the actual rules.
But those government fees are usually small compared to the attorney’s fees for preparing a patent.
Not to mention the ones you’ll be incurring in the meantime if you want to keep up with really understanding and reacting intelligently to this new AIA law in your strategic business considerations, including planning for M&A, because amid all its uncertainties there’s one thing for sure: at least the America Invents Act will create new jobs...for lawyers.
Dougan Milne
Thanks, Elon. You know the patent game is getting pretty wild out there and Corum has recently started advising clients when looking for new office space, be open to the idea of renting or purchasing underground bunkers.
YANDEX
With that, Alina brings us some very interesting information from Russia's hottest tech company, Yandex. They are the Google of Russia. Alina?
Alina Soltys
We all know about the US Tech giants: Amazon, Google, Facebook, but what about some of the
international players that are giants in their own right? Have you heard of Odnoklassniki, hi5, orkut or Bebo? These are all the international facebooks that all have over 100m+ users each.
And, as Dougan mentioned, Google has a fellow competitor in Russia that many of us don't know about: Yandex. Just like Google, the majority of their revenues come from advertising that’s fed on their search site. In fact, now that they disclose results after their IPO in May, there are posting very impressive numbers. Revenue is up 65%, Net income is up 93% year over year.
They're doing some interesting things on the social indexing side as well that are steps ahead of their competitors. Having reached an agreement with the largest social networking site in Russia, Vkontake, they can connect directly to the user's publicly disclosed information and feed it through to search results. Something that Bing is working on with Facebook.
They also launched a start-up program sort of like TechStars. They get an inside look at new technology and a chance to work with top developing talent first, which has led to many acquisitions as we will see next.
Yandex has gotten more acquisitive over the last 2 years—pulling in about 2 companies a year, and more this year. I’m only going to touch on a few briefly due to time constraints. But if we look at theird first acquisition in 2007, SmartCom, for their team which created Yandex maps for mobile. Then in 2010 they got WebVisor, which has a very cool technology for visitor behavior analysis. It tracks mouse movement, clicks, text, and copying on the site. This company actually came up out of their startup events, as well as the next one, Loginza - providing single secure logon to 30+ popular portals. They announced just 3 days ago the addition of SPB Software. This is the only one we have an estimate on, $38 million. This company will allow Yandex search and services like mobile wallet, games, and web tv integration to come in a prepackaged, appealing UI that is available on Windows and Android phones. SPB also had developed a very cool 3D shell for organizing your apps and we’ll have to see if Yandex gets into the mobile game with their own OS.
Moving on, what are their secrets to success? Yandex has entered new markets very strategically and that's really their secret sauce to winning. In their home market of Russia they have pulled away from Google and have maintained their market share position through their focus on providing solutions that the culture of that geography expects rather than Google who applies their US-bred solutions all around the world. Therein their lies advantage, translated to a steady 65% market share versus Google’s 22%.
The company currently provides services in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan, and just launched in Turkey in September.
One cloud on the horizon is the fact that both Yandex and Baidu (the Chinese Google) are looking to
expand internationally, targeting high economic growth countries that have an active web and internet
populations. There will be clashes going forward as they both enter as competitors in countries like Egypt.
The Russian market started as a stepping stone for Yandex and they will remain a very strong competitor with their expanding web services although we won't see them in the US on the search front.
Dougan Milne
Thanks, Alina. We know Yandex, they have made some serious international headlines with their trove of acquisitions, some very smart purchases there.
Corum Research Team
Shifting gears now we're going to shift over to Corum's research department. Tomoki Yasuda and Amber Stoner are going to walk us through the latest data points from the industry and from software and industry M&A. Tomoki, over to you.
Tomoki Yasuda
Thanks, Dougan, and hello to all our listeners out there and welcome to the research portion of the
webinar where we analyze and discuss some important metrics and deals.
The first slide we’ll be starting off with is the overall market performance for second half of 2011
on a daily basis. As we come closer to the end of the year we have a clearer picture of how the
markets have fared overall. Things are looking a little brighter with yesterday’s announcement
by the Federal Reserve and 5 other central banks of alleviating Europe’s debt crisis by making it
cheaper to borrow US dollars. Hopefully this move will ease some of the volatility in the markets
as we’ve seen some big gains in the indices and a bit of leveling off today.
With that in mind how does the Corum Index look Amber?
Amber Stoner
The Corum Index is a table of metrics for technology deals that we track monthly on a yearover-
year basis. What we’ve seen this month is that the number of deals is down 15.3%.
We’ve also seen the largest deal size decrease from over $2b to $814m. That $814m deal is
VeriFone’s acquisition of Point, Northern Europe’s largest provider of payment and gateway
services and solutions for retailers, which will build out VeriFone’s alternative payments
infrastructure.
Tomoki Yasuda
Just to point out Amber on the megadeals trend, we’re seeing a lot of companies hold back on
acquiring targets because of market volatility or push their deadlines back to the start of the
new year with the holidays coming in close. And also to reiterate a point we made in our last
webinar, a majority of major tech buyers have their cash held overseas, limiting their options on
acquiring domestic targets.
Amber Stoner
Yeah, that trend continues with the private equity deals where we have roughly the same
number of deals, but the value of those deals has dropped dramatically. And to go along with
that is a 34% increase in the number of VC backed exits. Moving on to the breakdown of our
six sectors, how is the horizontal sector looking Tomoki?
Tomoki Yasuda
Horizontal is looking fairly healthy, Amber - EBITDA multiples are on the rise while Sales
multiples have trended down a little bit. The deal I’m focusing on is the acquisition of speech recognition vendor Yap by Amazon.
Yap is best known for its voicemail transcription app and backend services for some of
Microsoft’s voice-to-text applications.
This is a very uncharacteristic buy for Amazon - historically they’ve acquired other online
retailers focusing on a specific taste or group of people... for example... Quidsi for their baby
care products, Zappos for their shoe catalogues, and so on... So why the sudden interest
in speech-recognition? One attractive answer that has been floating around the web is that
Amazon is gearing up to compete with Siri.
And although enticing, I don’t think this is the case. Yap’s speciality lies in voice transcription -
literal word-for-word rendering of speech into text.
Instead this is a straight out acquisition for patents. Yap supposedly has IP in very iPhone and
Android device.. And as the mobile device wars heat up, so has the patent lawsuits seemingly
filed by every manufacturer out there. As Amazon builds out its device portfolio, it would rather
cross-license IP than pay a fee to anyone.
Amber Stoner
That’s a really interesting deal Tomoki, you know I saw an unconventional deal in the vertical
space that I found intriguing. PLATO Learning, backed by Thoma Bravo, recently acquired
Educational Options, a provider of web-based educational software as a service for education
markets in the US, including online course management and curriculum development. Now,
what’s interesting is that EdOptions provides schools with online solutions focused on drop-out
prevention, adaptive curriculum, and virtual instruction, which when combined with PLATO will
create a unique offering in the education technology market that will allow PLATO to reach an
even broader customer base.
Tomoki Yasuda
And you know Amber, the education space is going through a lot of dynamic changes. As the
cost of education has been rising in the last decade we’ve seen a plethora of technology in all
shapes and forms come out to keep these costs minimal. And we see firms like PLATO using
this opportunity to consolidate these dynamic technologies into one powerhouse offering.
And speaking of powerhouses, I’d like to jump into the consumer segment and talk about
Microsoft’s pick up of an Israeli startup VideoSurf. VideoSurf provides an online video search
technology able to look at the actual frames inside the video and search on that specific content.
This is an appealing acquisition for Microsoft because it has been aggressively adding new
content sources to Xbox Live and also adding a search layer on top of all those apps - enabling
users to search for bits of content across multiple content providers.
Currently all that searching is being driven by metadata tags from the content providers - which
isn’t really going give you accurate results across all providers, especially YouTube if they get
added to the network. VideoSurf nullifies that, instead being able to identify actors and other key
information within the video.
And this is definitely the right step for Microsoft. It can enrich the user experience on the Xbox
but it also has bigger implications in its overall search capabilities as it could allow Microsoft to
offer rich web-based search through TV — potentially leaping over Google and its current efforts
to do the same with Google TV.
Speaking of search, a lot of people use search on Twitter. So their recent acquisition of Whisper
Systems, which provides mobile voice and data encryption software for Android smart phone
users as well as mobile firewall software, makes a lot of sense as it will strengthen Twitter’s
legitimacy as a real-time reporting system.
Tomoki Yasuda
And you know Amber, Twitter has inked about 15 deals, but this is the first one that focuses on
security. As you said, it adds real weight to it as a communications platform, safeguarding it from malicious attacks or protection against regimes shutting it down as we’ve seen this year.
Similarly in our next sector, we see another Internet firm acquiring a specific technology, the
acquisition of Hunch by eBay.
Hunch is an online recommendations engine. Using a combination of machine learning,
data mining and predictive modeling, the startup will help eBay improve buying and selling
recommendations for its users.
This helps eBay in a number of ways but I think two of the most important points are that:
One, it helps eBay compete with its rival Amazon, which has its own superior recommendations
engine. As retailers like Amazon and eBay build out almost limitless inventories, matching
recommendations to these products becomes even more important.
Two: eBay is also differentiating itself from just a seller of goods - its trying to become a
technology driven company.
Adding Hunch could be another tool on their XCommerce platform, and customers could
plug smart recommendations into their business operations. EBay is really trying to build a
commerce operating system for businesses, and it’s been actively acquiring companies and
putting all these new assets together into one big resource to help enable sales for retailers and
developers. A tool like Hunch to XCommerce customers can make the platform that much more
attractive.
And last but not least, how’s the IT Services sector looking Amber?
Amber Stoner
The IT Services sector is looking about like all the others, seeming pretty steady. One of the larger deals in the space in the past month was Presidio acquiring INX for $89.6m. With INX focused on providing network design and integration services, specializing in data center virtualization and unified communications technologies and Presidio’s focus on network, systems, storage and security integration and software development services, the combined company will be able to offer one of the broadest portfolios of services and advanced IT solutions to businesses and government agencies.
With that, I'll turn it back over to you, Dougan.
Dougan Milne
Thanks, Amber, and thanks Tomoki. Despite some slightly lower numbers in November, we are still seeing a really positive market. From an internal market we are seeing a lot of aggressive bidding for quality companies.
Israel Rising
Speaking of which, and getting further into the meat of our presentation today, John Melotte, Director of Courm's London office is freshly back from Tel Aviv, he has been meeting with a number of interesting and well-run software and internet companies. Corum has done multiple deals with Israeli firms and he'll talk a little bit about that. We're certainly no stranger to the territory. John will talk to us about some of the things that makes this region so significant in our industry. Thanks, John.
John Melotte
Well, thank you Dougan. Israel is often in the news. This small country has more than its fair share of headlines. It also has more than its fair share of software technology companies.
8 million people, living in a country similar in size to New Jersey, smaller than Belgium. Yet, it is second only to the US for computer start-ups and it has the largest number of NASDAQ-listed companies outside North America. BackWeb, Check Point, Click Software, Comverse Technology, and so on. Great global software companies.
Israel has created an environment that welcomes entrepreneurial start-ups, incubates them through their early growth, and then supports the movement of the business from the constraints of a small domestic market, re-basing executives and the sales & marketing operations in the US, but leaving the technology back in Israel, and then hooking up to US finance. This is the “Israeli model” and no one else makes it work as well as they do.
Check Point, ClickSoftware, Amdocs will be considered by most people to be American companies – but they all have an Israeli technology heart. Other companies here, such as Ness, have remained based in Israel. Like all successful global companies these top Israel buyers acquire technology and business from across the world. If the deal is right then geography is no barrier. They have done many deals in the US, but also Romania, Spain, Italy, Hungary, Czech Republic, India, Canada, Ireland, Denmark, UK…oh, and Israel.
We have on this slide a great bit of analysis for the Corum research team. Deal size is definitely on an upward track for the Israeli buyers.
Israeli buyers currently operate at an interesting level, as you can see from this slide of the notable software deals done by Israeli companies in the last couple of years. Good mid-market deals.
Israel: a land of milk and honey. A land of some great emerging software businesses, and the technology heart of good number of acquisitive companies; potential buyers of your mid-market software business.
As successful as the Israeli model has been for Israeli technology companies, not all have moved to the US. There are some great repeat buyers based in Israel. Here we have two: Ness Technologies and NICE Systems. These two companies have acquired ten companies in the last five years. They regularly appear on our lists of potential buyers for the selling clients that we represent. Indeed Corum represented Logos, one of the Ness transactions on this slide, and we have sold businesses to NICE in the past.
And with that, it is my pleasure to introduce Mr. Josef Mandelbaum, CEO of Perion, the company that was until last month known as Incredimail. IncrediMail was founded in 1999, and conducted an IPO in January 2006 on NASDAQ. It currently employs approximately 130 people, and has offices in Tel Aviv, Israel and New York. In August, Incredimail acquired Smilebox, and as Perion has secured additional bank funding for additional acquisitions. Over to Josef.
Josef Mandelbaum
At Perion, our object is really to build simple, safe, and useful products for what we call the second wave of adopters. These are people who are not tech savvy, although they are technically proficient. Technology to them is a means to an end, but such a part of life that they can't get around it, so they are embracing it. But, they are certainly not as savvy and secure in how they embrace technology. We are looking for companies in terms of M&A that really have a product in the productivity sector that addresses the needs of these consumers that we think, through good consumer insight and usability expertise, we can make it simple, safe, and useful to them for our consumers to use. And it goes across all platforms, like mobile and social. It does not include enterprise, we're really going after the consumer segment and we don't really have a geographical preference at this time.
At American Greetings, where I was the CEO for 10 years, in the internet and media division, we bought companies in five different countries, and being based in Israel actually gives us an advantage based on geography and reach. We can manage many different time zones more easily from here than in the United States from that perspective.
As I mentioned, we are not constrained by geography, but for M&A we are looking clearly at the US as for a plethora of startups, looking for different types of companies that have been around for a while, we call them orphan companies, and what I mean by that is we are looking at companies who started as much as seven or eight years ago, who have a great product, a single product in most cases, and because of different reasons, going public is not an option, they are not huge successes, but they have minor success, and the VCs are funding them in many cases, and they have to exit as their funds are expiring.
We think those are good opportunities for us and since they started six, seven, eight years ago, the reality is that they are probably more appropriate for my demographic anyway. We're also looking in Europe, particularly in Eastern Europe as it is very robust, there is lot of activity happening there, and a lot of really good technology and product people coming up with great ideas. So, Eastern Europe, Israel obviously, and the US are the three main places we are looking today for acquisitions.
As I mentioned, our focus is on second wave adopters, but the difference today between a second wave adopter and an early adopter, an early adopter fundamentally embraces a new product or new industry, and they are willing to try anything. Today second wave adopters, we look at mobile, tablets, social, those are all things which aren't new anymore, they are a few years old. Even though a second wave adopter won't be the first one to rush to try, say, Facebook if it were created today, but they would join the social revolution at some point.
So the question is how do we create products and services that really address the needs of my audience on these existing platforms. As we look at the future, clearly mobility is a big issue, whether it is a phone or a tablet, and it is going to grow and our audience, I think, may be bigger users of the tablets and will jump ahead as a consumption factor, maybe even ahead of the mobile phone, and of course social is growing as well. We're clearly looking at those aspects, where the trends are taking us, even for our audience.
Is the tech scene in Israel is unique and poised for future growth? The answer is absolutely yes. There was a book recently written about Israel called Startup Nation which describes the unbelievable technology, talent and entrepreneurial spirit of the country and the people and that is certainly demonstrated in the technology sector. Most big corporations have R&D sectors here, Israel has the most startups per capita in the world after Silicon Valley, the most entrepreneurs, the most public companies on the NASDAQ in the tech sector after the US.
A lot of this is driven by the military, there is a very sophisticated military with a draft, so a lot of people participate in that and go through certain divisions and training which hone skill sets, and just the spirit of the country is really an entrepreneurial one, which really helps drive that. The talent here is really second to none, probably on par with Silicon Valley, which gives you a great opportunity to focus on product development and technology solutions for all aspects of the technology sector, from enterprise to consumer, and especially for a company like Perion, we're certainly taking advantage of that unique concentration of technology here and we are poised for future growth, in our company, but also the country itself as well. Thanks.
John Melotte
Thank you very much Josef, for joining us today. It’s clear that your company is well positioned for significant growth in the next year and we will certainly be watching your developments.
Next I’m equally pleased to introduce live from Tel Aviv, Mr. Roy Golding, the CFO of TelMap,
a maker of mobile navigation software based in Israel. Two months ago, TelMap was acquired by Intel. Details of the deal were not disclosed, but Israeli media said Intel was paying $300 million to $350 million. A major deal, surely, but in past month’s time, TelMap has made two of its own acquisitions -- first of Australian mobile carrier Optus and second: South Africa's third largest mobile operator, Cell C, which will provide mobile mapping, search, and navigation services for Telmap. Roy, it’s been an amazing few months for you. What can you share with our attentive audience about your experiences?
Roy Golding
Thank you, John. It has been a very exciting last few months and I have just been with TelMap for 2.5 years and I can say that these years have been extraordinary, exciting, certainly taking into consideration the dynamics in the market and how face this market has moved.
Within these last two years, TelMap has renewed all its major contracts with the global leaders in tier one mobiles, and we signed additional contracts with NTS, one of the biggest Russian operators. We support a vast majority of operators around the world, including a recently renewal of contracts with all four carriers is Israel.
Through this dynamic market, so much has changed, but we are profitable and cash positive. In addition, we released some time ago what we define as the creation companion, which is TelMap 5, cutting edge technology for location. We have the basis for advertising, local content, social, and commerce, all meeting together in location. We positioned ourselves as a leader and as of a year ago, 46% of paying users are TelMap users.
TelMap is consistently the fastest, consistently growing company in our segment year after year. TelMap did not settle in the position where it is now. We felt about a year ago that the time for TelMap with its new contracts, its business model, its profitability, the cash flow, that it was time for us to move to the next level.
We had many meetings and we thought about the possibility of acquiring and we decided that we wanted to escalate to a level where we could engage with the big players. We started a process, looking at and defining backers. We went to all the suspected guys and chose backers that we felt comfortable with and who had experience in this field. This was a very long and exhausting period.
First of all you just want to find the right partner, a partner with vision who presents itself and gives the company the opportunity to grow and execute its vision. We found that partner with Intel. Both Intel and TelMap position themselves as friendly to the operator. They don't go after the end user, they don't take away the business, we work together and we provide one label for the operators. This obviously supports also the Intel vision. We felt that it was a very good match and Intel acquired TelMap as a stand alone company, meaning we have freedom and we can execute our vision and continue our growth in an ever-changing market.
One of the things that I think is worth mentioning is the joint vision that Intel and TelMap have. Intel's field mobility is one of its growth areas and plays a leading role across the mobility ecosystem, including consumer services. Obviously in that ecosystem, location is a key factor, and TelMap is a market leader in the mobility location industry. TelMap has developed cutting edge technology and IP around mapping, location services, and navigation. As a result we have more than 7 million users using that technology and location companies worldwide.
With that, John, back to you.
John Melotte
Well, Roy, we can’t thank you enough for joining us live from Israel and sharing your insights. Corum’s European team has just returned from a 5-day trip of meetings in Tel Aviv, but we’ll be back soon and we hope to catch up with both out guest speakers then, and with the many Israeli companies that we have mentioned today.
Dougan, that’s our report from Israel. Back to you.
Dougan Milne
John, thanks for your insights on the region and certainly a special thanks to Roy and Josef for taking the time today, congratulations to both of you on your M&A success.
We do have one more speaker, a friend of Corum, Stefan Fountain, he is the founder of Soocial, and Nat Burgess, Corum's President, had the chance to catch up with Stefan for a very candid explanation of his deal, so let's go ahead and roll it.
Nat Burgess
Now we have Stefan Fountain, founder and CEO of Soocial. Soocial was acquired on Tuesday by Viadeo. Stefan, welcome. First, tell us about the name. How did you arrive at the name Soocial with two Os?
Stefan Fountain
It sort of started as a joke, because we realized that Google, Facebook, and Yahoo! all had two Os in the name. We figured that if you want to make it big, clearly you need a name with two Os. And the reason behind Soocial, well the whole idea was that you have all these social networks, and in Holland you had a network called Hide. People were sending each other virtual beers and it was very silly. So we looked at that and felt that the most important social network you have is still on your phone, the people you contact to have a real beer with, the people you go out and have meetings with and if they are not in your phone, then they can't be that important. Hence the name Soocial and the whole idea of backing up and synching your phone address book with other address books.
Nat Burgess
If they're in your phone and you get a new phone, or you entered them in another system, you can solve that problem of making your contacts available anywhere.
Stefan Fountain
That's it in a nutshell.
Nat Burgess
You've had talks with a number of companies that are global household names in social networking, but the company that ultimately bought you is not, especially here, a household name. They are Viadeo. I was looking at them, they have over 40 million users.
Stefan Fountain
Yes, it's very interesting. It seems like these guys have been able to sail under the radar a bit and now they are really gearing up for a much more global exposure. They are really big in France, they're number one there.
Nat Burgess
They're certainly part of a bigger trend that we are seeing with buyers we've never heard of emerging from different geographies. That is exciting to be part of that. Let me ask you a last question, in terms of getting that last transaction done, was there anything that you did that worked particularly well to move that to closure?
Stefan Fountain
I think there are two elements there. I think the one is a balanced enthusiasm, understanding what their vision is and really trying to get behind that vision and seeing if it aligns with your own. That's what happened with these French guys, we found a real click with their CEO and their product officer and we really hit it off. We immediately decided that was where we were going, and I think it was really key to do that.
The other side is playing hard to get a little bit.
Nat Burgess
Well, thanks for checking in with us from Amsterdam. I'm looking forward to hearing your next album. If anyone is interested, go to littlethingsthatkill.bandcamp.com, and there you'll find music with Stefan on bass and backing vocals. Thanks so much, Stefan.
Dougan Milne
Nat, thanks for making that phone call. Folks, that was Soocial in a nutshell right there. Good for Stefan, a great deal for both parties there.
I see our chat window has been filling up with questions, we'll go to our Q&A with some of our speakers and the Corum team now.
Q&A
Ward, we just have a few minutes left, so where should we start?
Ward Carter
Thanks, Dougan, I have a question here for Roy Golding. The question has to do with the growth opportunities you spoke about, specifically, how do you see growth within Europe given the current economic volatility, and secondly, how do you see other geographic regions emerging going forward?
Roy Golding
That's an excellent question. We still have work with the major operators within Europe. Even though you see a significant slowdown there, the smartphones and GPS phones are still consistently being sold. That increases our accessible devices and that gives us additional reach within Europe. In addition, we have significant agreements in India and the Far East, and the Far East is growing. There the growth is incredible, the smartphone is on the rise, and we see incredible opportunities there. We believe we haven't even seen the tip of the iceberg yet.
Ward Carter
Thanks, Roy, sounds like exciting times.
Now we have a question for John Melotte. With so many Israeli companies seeming to be successfully making the move to the US, whereas other companies may really struggle to move here, what are your thoughts on why that might be?
John Melotte
Thanks, Ward. If it were a simple matter, then no doubt many companies would copy the strategy. I would guess it is a combination of factors, the quality of the core technology developed in Israel is just excellent and this is left in Israel, minimizing disruption for the core development team. Secondly, senior executives move into the US from the parent Israeli companies, so that the DNA of the business is fully transferred, which avoids the risk of building a local US team. The third thing is that expansion capital is sourced from the US and not from Israel, allowing the company to draw on the much greater resources in the US. It seems to work.
Ward Carter
Thanks, John. Elon, this is a patent question. The question is, isn't the good law good for small companies because it will streamline litigation and they won't have the expense of proving first invention?
Elon Gasper
Well, sure, once you have a patent and you are passed the new nine-month window for the big guys to take potshots at you with piles of prior filings that will cook slowly through the new invalidation procedures, after that it may cost less, but up to that point it pinches worse, so this law basically shifts the need for money, after you get a granted patent, to earlier, as soon as you invent something new. Now that is not a big deal if you have easy access to capital, but if not, now you need to file faster, at a time when you have more business risks, so you have to drive a worse bargain with investors or acquirers during M&A. It will devalue your unfiled inventions and devalue your granted ones if you don't have cash for defending in the new nine-month after window. The acquirer could argue that it is a liability, maybe even ask for an earn out reserve or an escrow against these uncertain costs of insuring a patent's survival through the new maturation threshold.
Ward Carter
Thanks, Elon. It's certainly going to be an interesting time as this works out. That concludes our hour. Thanks to all of you for joining us, especially our guest speakers, and that concludes our presentation.
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|||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
3
| 90
|
en
|
File:Comverse Wakefield Building.jpg
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en
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||||||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
1
| 66
|
https://www.computingfrontiers.org/2014/keynotes.html
|
en
|
Computing Frontiers 2014
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Computing Frontiers 2014 is proud to announce the following keynote speakers and talks this year:
Keynote 1: Bruce Jacob
High-Bandwidth, High-Capacity, Low-Power Memory Systems
Keynote 2: Gabriel Loh
Evolutionary Paths to Revolutionary Frontiers
Keynote 3: David Bailey
Fooling the Masses: Reproducibility in High-Performance Computing
Fooling the Masses: Reproducibility in High-Performance Computing
David Bailey, Research Fellow at University of California, Davis, US
Abstract:
Reproducibility is emerging as a major issue for highly parallel computing, in much the same way (and for many of the same reasons) that it is emerging as an issue in other fields of science, technology and medicine, namely the growing numbers of cases where other researchers cannot reproduce published results. This talk will summarize a number of these issues, including the need to carefully document computational experiments, the growing concern over numerical reproducibility and, once again, the need for responsible reporting of performance. Have we learned the lessons of history?
Bio:
David Bailey is mathematician / computer scientist with the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory in Berkeley, California, and also a Research Fellow at the University of California, Davis. He has authored more than 170 technical papers, five books, and numerous blog columns and commentaries. He recently retired from the Berkeley Lab, but continues as an active researcher.
Evolutionary Paths to Revolutionary Frontiers
Gabriel Loh, Fellow Design Engineer in AMD Research, US
Abstract:
Academic researchers often find themselves in a conundrum between doing high-risk, forward-looking research and trying to have more immediate impact on real-world problems. In fact, many in industry (perhaps myself included) are guilty of telling researchers to go look ahead and tell us what the future holds and what industry should do, and then when the researchers come back with stunning visions of the future, we respond with comments like "that's not practical" or "that's not how we do things today".
In this talk, I will draw on some of my experiences as both a university professor as well as a researcher in industry, and discuss some computing revolutions and how academic research plays a central and critical role. As an example, I will use the on-going revolution in die-stacking technologies to describe my view of how forward-looking visions combined with evolutionary steps have gotten us to where we are today, why we haven't gotten here sooner, and why some may want further delays. I will also discuss other revolutions that are either underway or lurking in the future. From all this, despite the near-term value of incremental near-term innovations to industry, I will build a case for academic researchers to continue thinking big and to push the frontiers of computing.
Bio:
Gabriel H. Loh is a Fellow Design Engineer in AMD Research, the research and advanced development lab for Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Gabe received his Ph.D. and M.S. in computer science from Yale University in 2002 and 1999, respectively, and his B.Eng. in electrical engineering from the Cooper Union in 1998. Gabe was also a tenured associate professor in the College of Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology, a visiting researcher at Microsoft Research, and a senior researcher at Intel Corporation. He is a senior member of IEEE and the ACM, (co-)inventor on over fifty US patent applications, and a recipient of the US National Science Foundation Young Faculty CAREER Award. His interests include computer architecture, processor microarchitecture, memory systems, emerging technologies, 3D die stacking, sushi, BBQ, ice hockey, snowboarding, and mud running.
High-Bandwidth, High-Capacity, Low-Power Memory Systems
Bruce Jacob, Professor at University of Maryland, US
Abstract:
In large systems, scale is determined by the memory needed: users of supercomputers choose the number of nodes based on the amount of DRAM they will receive; administrators in data centers and enterprise computing run the largest workload possible before paging makes performance unacceptable. These systems are not compute-bound; they are memory-bound.
This talk will discuss several of the recent solutions that our group has helped to develop, including flash-based main memory systems and Micron's Hybrid Memory Cube DRAM.
|
||||||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
1
| 89
|
https://aeroleads.com/list/top-non-profit-companies-in-israel
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en
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Top Non Profit companies In Israel
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"https://aeroleads.com/logos/peres-center.org.png",
"https://aeroleads.com/logos/yadhanadiv.org.il.png",
"https://aeroleads.com/logos/en.startau.co.il.png",
"https://aeroleads.com/logos/modern-agriculture.org.png",
"https://aeroleads.com/logos/olivestone.org.png",
"https://aeroleads.com/logos/stjohneyehospital.org.png",
"https://aeroleads.com/assets2/home_page/logo.png"
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[
"Top",
"Non",
"Profit",
"companies",
"In",
"Israel",
"Top Non Profit companies In Israel's email",
"Top Non Profit companies In Israel's phone number",
"email search",
"email lookup",
"email address lookup",
"phone search",
"phone lookup",
"phone number lookup"
] | null |
[] |
2023-04-28T00:00:00
|
Non-profit companies, also known as non-governmental organizations (NGOs), play an important role in Israeli society by providing services and support to various communities. These organizations are established with the aim of promoting social welfare, advancing education, and advancing public health, as well as supporting cultural activities and scientific research. Non-profit organizations in Israel are subject to strict regulations and must register with the Registrar of Non-Profit Organizations in order to operate. They rely on donations and grants from private individuals, foundations, and government agencies to fund their activities. Some of the most well-known non-profit organizations in Israel include the Jewish National Fund, Hadassah, and the Israel Cancer Association.
|
en
|
/assets2/favicon.png
|
https://aeroleads.com/list/top-non-profit-companies-in-israel
|
Non-profit companies, also known as non-governmental organizations (NGOs), play an important role in Israeli society by providing services and support to various communities. These organizations are established with the aim of promoting social welfare, advancing education, and advancing public health, as well as supporting cultural activities and scientific research. Non-profit organizations in Israel are subject to strict regulations and must register with the Registrar of Non-Profit Organizations in order to operate. They rely on donations and grants from private individuals, foundations, and government agencies to fund their activities. Some of the most well-known non-profit organizations in Israel include the Jewish National Fund, Hadassah, and the Israel Cancer Association.
|
|||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
3
| 28
|
https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2012/01/23/465920/12725/en/Comverse-ONE-BSS-Solution-Provides-Online-Charging-for-Postpaid-Systems-Accelerates-Migration-to-Converged-Billing.html
|
en
|
Comverse ONE BSS Solution Provides Online Charging for Postpaid Systems, Accelerates Migration to Converged Billing
|
[] |
[] |
[] |
[
"Nasdaq:CMVT",
"Comverse Technology",
"Online Charging",
"postpaid",
"converged billing",
"BSS",
"real-time charging",
"monetize data",
"telco CRM",
"TELECOMMUNICATIONS"
] | null |
[
"Comverse Technology"
] |
2012-01-23T00:00:00
|
Online & Converged Charging for Kenan and Other Postpaid Customers Produces Business Benefits for Operators Globally...
|
en
|
/Content/logo/favicon.ico
|
GlobeNewswire News Room
|
https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2012/01/23/465920/12725/en/Comverse-ONE-BSS-Solution-Provides-Online-Charging-for-Postpaid-Systems-Accelerates-Migration-to-Converged-Billing.html
|
WAKEFIELD, Mass., Jan. 23, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Comverse (Nasdaq:CMVT), a global leader in BSS, Mobile Internet and Value-Added Services, announced today that the Online & Converged Charging deployment mode of its flagship Comverse ONE® Billing and Active Customer Management solution is bringing real-time charging to postpaid environments, addressing the growing need of Communication Service Providers (CSPs) around the world for real-time capabilities.
Online charging enables postpaid systems to better monetize data services, improving the experience of users through timely notifications, real-time balance & spending management and more. Comverse ONE's productized integration with Comverse Kenan and other postpaid billing systems offers a speedy, phased path to convergence that protects and leverages existing investment, preventing the need for expensive IT transformation projects.
Spanning policy to billing with a telco-specific approach to CRM, Comverse's market-leading single-system BSS solution fuels business transformations and entry into new lines of business, delivering a consistently superior customer experience. It is deployable in a variety of ways, enabling CSPs to take their optimal route to subscriber and revenue growth, rapid time to market, use of real-time marketing, and account updates.
For example, a Comverse ONE customer recently launched new business models, expanding existing digital television services with advanced real-time rating and charging, leading to increased profitability. Another operator uses Comverse ONE online and converged charging capabilities to augment its Comverse Kenan postpaid billing system with key real-time advantages such as spending control capabilities — experiencing significant postpaid subscriber growth as a result. The foundation for service providers to embark on full business transformation including CRM, Comverse ONE deployments have an established record of lowering network costs and accelerating time to market.
Ari Banerjee, Senior Analyst with leading industry analyst firm Heavy Reading, observes that "a majority of Communications Service Providers, especially mobile operators, signaled in a recent global survey that they will migrate to converged billing within the next two years. Besides improved operational efficiency and having a single place for offer definition, over 85% of mobile operators cited enhanced customer care options for prepaid users and real-time credit control for postpaid subscribers as important benefits driving their converged billing plans."
"One of the first companies with a convergent real-time solution, Comverse continues at the forefront of the market," said Roni Levy, Head of Comverse BSS. "With a constantly expanding client base and a streamlined, phased approach to full convergence for our Kenan installed base and other postpaid systems, Comverse ONE has captured a leading convergent market share in both developed and emerging regions."
About Comverse
Comverse is the world's leading provider of software and systems enabling converged billing and active customer management, mobile Internet, and value-added services. Comverse's extensive customer base spans more than 125 countries and covers over 450 communication service providers serving more than two billion subscribers. The company's innovative product portfolio enables communication service providers to unleash the value of the network for their customers by making their networks smarter. Comverse's solutions support flexible deployment models, including in-network, cloud, hosted and managed services. Comverse, ranked number 55 in PwC's Global 100 Software Leaders based on research by Pierre Audoin Consultants, is a subsidiary of Comverse Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq:CMVT). For more information, visit www.comverse.com.
The Comverse Technology logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=7454
|
||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
3
| 53
|
https://www.apax.com/news-views/verint-announces-plan-to-separate-into-two-independent-publicly-traded-companies/
|
en
|
Verint announces plan to separate into two independent publicly traded companies
|
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[] | null |
en
|
/assets/favicons/apple-touch-icon-57x57.png
|
https://www.apax.com/news-views/verint-announces-plan-to-separate-into-two-independent-publicly-traded-companies/
|
4th December 2019
Apax Verint® Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: VRNT) today announced that its Board of Directors has unanimously approved proceeding with a plan to separate Verint into two inde
Verint® Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: VRNT) today announced that its Board of Directors has unanimously approved proceeding with a plan to separate Verint into two independent companies: one of which will consist of its customer engagement business, and one of which will consist of its cyber intelligence business.
Also announces $200 million minority investment by funds advised by Apax Partners in support of Verint’s separation plan; additional $200 million to be invested post separation
New $300 Million Share Buyback Program Over Period Through Closing of Separation
MELVILLE, N.Y., December 4, 2019: Verint® Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: VRNT), today announced that its Board of Directors has unanimously approved proceeding with a plan to separate Verint into two independent companies: one of which will consist of its customer engagement business, and one of which will consist of its cyber intelligence business. Verint expects to complete the separation shortly after the end of Verint’s next fiscal year ending January 31, 2021.
“With our customer engagement business approaching $1 billion in annual revenue and our cyber intelligence business approaching $500 million in annual revenue, we believe the two independent, publicly traded companies will both benefit from the separation and be well positioned to pursue their own strategies, drive opportunities to accelerate growth and extend their market leadership. The separation will make it easier for investors to evaluate and make independent investment decisions in each business. In preparation for the separation, we have taken steps over the last several years to strengthen the two businesses operationally and believe we are now well positioned to execute our separation plan,” said Dan Bodner, Verint CEO.
Separation Details
Verint intends to implement the separation through a pro-rata distribution of common stock of a new entity that will hold the cyber intelligence business and expects the distribution to qualify as tax free to Verint shareholders for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The completion of the transaction is subject to certain customary conditions, including final approval of the Verint Board of Directors, receipt of tax opinions from counsel as well as rulings from the Internal Revenue Service and the Israeli Tax Authority with respect to tax treatment to Verint and its shareholders, and effectiveness of a registration statement to be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The separation is not expected to require a shareholder vote. The separation structure is subject to change based upon various tax and regulatory factors and there can be no assurance that any separation transaction will ultimately occur or, if one does occur, of its terms or timing.
Investment by Funds Advised by Apax Partners
Funds advised by Apax Partners (the “Apax Funds”), a global private equity advisory firm, have agreed to invest up to $400 million in Verint, subject to customary closing conditions including the receipt of required regulatory clearances. The Apax Funds have significant experience in the software sector, including through previous investments in TriZetto, Plex Systems, RealPage, Sophos, Epicor and Exact Software. The investment will be made in the form of convertible preferred stock in two tranches of $200 million each. The first tranche is targeted to close in our first quarter ending April 30, 2020. The second tranche, conditioned on and expected to close shortly following the separation (expected shortly after the end of Verint’s next fiscal year ending January 31, 2021), will be made into Verint, the entity holding the customer engagement business.
Mr. Bodner added, “Apax Partners has a proven track record of creating value by partnering with leading software companies around the world, including significant experience in both carve-outs and cloud transitions. The investment represents a strong vote of confidence in our strategy and future growth opportunities.”
In connection with the closing of the first tranche of the investment, Jason Wright, Partner at Apax Partners, will be appointed to Verint’s Board of Directors. At the closing of the second tranche, the company will add a mutually agreed upon independent Director to Verint’s Board.
Mr. Wright said, “We are excited to partner with Verint and help the Company complete the separation, enabling both businesses to achieve their full potential. Verint’s Customer Engagement business is a market leader and we look forward to working with management to execute its cloud strategy and extend its market leadership.”
Under the investment agreement, the Apax Funds will initially purchase $200 million of Series A convertible preferred stock with an initial conversion price of $53.50, representing a conversion premium of 17% percent over the volume-weighted average price of the Company’s common stock over the 45 day period prior to the signing date. The Series A convertible preferred stock will not participate in the spin-off of the cyber intelligence business but will have its conversion price adjusted and will remain invested in the entity holding the customer engagement business. Shortly following the separation, the Apax Funds will purchase, subject to certain conditions, up to $200 million of Series B convertible preferred stock with an initial conversion price based on the volume-weighted average price of the Company’s common stock over a 20 day period following the separation, subject to a collar on the minimum and maximum enterprise value of the company post separation. Both the Series A and Series B will have an initial dividend rate of 5.2% dropping to 4.0% over time. Assuming both the Series A and the Series B are issued on the expected timeframe and remain outstanding for 8.5 years from their respective dates of issuance, the average dividend rate on the combined investment will be approximately 4.5%. Following the closing of the Series A investment, the Apax Funds’ ownership in Verint on an as-converted basis will be approximately 5%. Assuming completion of the Series B investment and the separation, the Apax Funds’ ownership on an as-converted basis will be between 11.5% and 15.0%.
Additional information may be found in the Form 8-K that will be filed today with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Share Buyback Program
Verint today also announced that our Board of Directors has authorized a new share repurchase program whereby we may repurchase up to $300 million of common stock over the period ending on February 1, 2021 (on or shortly before the planned business separation). Repurchases are expected to be financed with the proceeds of the first tranche of the Apax Funds investment and available cash, including possible borrowings under our revolving credit facility. We may utilize a number of different methods to effect the repurchases, including but not limited to, open market purchases and accelerated share repurchases, and some of the repurchases may be made through Rule 10b5-1 plans. The specific timing, price, and size of purchases will depend on prevailing stock prices, general market and economic conditions, and other considerations, including the amount of cash available in the U.S. and other potential uses of cash. The program may be extended, suspended or discontinued at any time without prior notice and does not obligate us to acquire any particular amount of common stock.
Customer Engagement and Cyber Intelligence Leadership
We believe that both our businesses are leaders in their respective markets and the separation will enable them to achieve even better performance over the long term, as the two companies will have:
separate boards with further differentiated skillsets to support tailored strategic plans;
specific incentive programs more closely aligned with standalone business performance;
capital structures tailored to the unique characteristics of each business; and
enhanced appeal to a broader set of investors suited to the strategic and financial characteristics of each company.
Customer Engagement Business Highlights
Market leader
Approaching $1 billion of annual revenue
Cloud transition opportunity
Cyber Intelligence Business Highlights
Market leader
Approaching $500 million of annual revenue
Software model transition opportunity
Mr. Bodner concluded, “Today’s announcements are consistent with our commitment to creating value for our shareholders. We have built two strong, but increasingly distinct businesses, and we believe that separating these two businesses at this stage of their evolution will allow each to unlock its full potential. Our customer engagement business will continue to focus on helping organizations elevate customer experience while reducing costs and our cyber intelligence business will continue to focus on helping make the world a safer place.”
Jones Day is serving as legal advisor to Verint and Jefferies LLC is acting as financial advisor to Verint.Kirkland & Ellis LLP is serving as legal advisor to Apax Partners.
About Verint Systems Inc.
Verint® (Nasdaq: VRNT) is a global leader in Actionable Intelligence® solutions with a focus on customer engagement optimization and cyber intelligence. Today, over 10,000 organizations in more than 180 countries—including over 85 percent of the Fortune 100—count on intelligence from Verint solutions to make more informed, effective and timely decisions. Learn more about how we’re creating A Smarter World with Actionable Intelligence® at www.verint.com.
About Apax Partners
Apax Partners is a leading global private equity advisory firm. Over its more than 40-year history, Apax Partners has raised and advised funds with aggregate commitments of c.$50 billion. The Apax Funds invest in companies across four global sectors of Tech & Telco, Services, Healthcare and Consumer. These funds provide long-term equity financing to build and strengthen world-class companies. For more information see: www.apax.com.
Cautions About Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding expectations, predictions, views, opportunities, plans, strategies, beliefs, and statements of similar effect relating to Verint Systems Inc. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and they are based on management's expectations that involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and other important factors, any of which could cause our actual results or conditions to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements. Some of the factors that could cause our actual results or conditions to differ materially from current expectations include, among others: uncertainties regarding the impact of general economic conditions in the United States and abroad, particularly in information technology spending and government budgets, on our business; risks associated with our ability to keep pace with technological advances and challenges and evolving industry standards; to adapt to changing market potential from area to area within our markets; and to successfully develop, launch, and drive demand for new, innovative, high-quality products that meet or exceed customer needs, while simultaneously preserving our legacy businesses and migrating away from areas of commoditization; risks due to aggressive competition in all of our markets, including with respect to maintaining revenues, margins, and sufficient levels of investment in our business and operations; risks created by the continued consolidation of our competitors or the introduction of large competitors in our markets with greater resources than we have; risks associated with our ability to successfully compete for, consummate, and implement mergers and acquisitions, including risks associated with valuations, reputational considerations, capital constraints, costs and expenses, maintaining profitability levels, expansion into new areas, management distraction, post-acquisition integration activities, and potential asset impairments; risks relating to our ability to properly manage investments in our business and operations, execute on growth initiatives, and enhance our existing operations and infrastructure, including the proper prioritization and allocation of limited financial and other resources; risks associated with our ability to retain, recruit, and train qualified personnel in regions in which we operate, including in new markets and growth areas we may enter; risks that we may be unable to establish and maintain relationships with key resellers, partners, and systems integrators and risks associated with our reliance on third-party suppliers, partners, or original equipment manufacturers (“OEMs”) for certain components, products, or services, including companies that may compete with us or work with our competitors; risks associated with the mishandling or perceived mishandling of sensitive or confidential information, including information that may belong to our customers or other third parties, and with security vulnerabilities or lapses, including cyber-attacks, information technology system breaches, failures, or disruptions; risks that our products or services, or those of third-party suppliers, partners, or OEMs which we use in or with our offerings or otherwise rely on, including third-party hosting platforms, may contain defects, develop operational problems, or be vulnerable to cyber-attacks; risks associated with our significant international operations, including, among others, in Israel, Europe, and Asia, exposure to regions subject to political or economic instability, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, and challenges associated with a significant portion of our cash being held overseas; risks associated with political factors related to our business or operations, including reputational risks associated with our security solutions and our ability to maintain security clearances where required, as well as risks associated with a significant amount of our business coming from domestic and foreign government customers; risks associated with complex and changing local and foreign regulatory environments in the jurisdictions in which we operate, including, among others, with respect to trade compliance, anti-corruption, information security, data privacy and protection, tax, labor, government contracts, relating to our own operations as well as to the use of our solutions by our customers; challenges associated with selling sophisticated solutions, including with respect to assisting customers in understanding and realizing the benefits of our solutions, and developing, offering, implementing, and maintaining a broad and sophisticated solution portfolio; challenges associated with pursuing larger sales opportunities, including with respect to longer sales cycles, transaction reductions, deferrals, or cancellations during the sales cycle, risk of customer concentration; challenges associated with our ability to accurately forecast when a sales opportunity will convert to an order, or to accurately forecast revenue and expenses, including as a result of our Customer Engagement segment cloud transition and our Cyber Intelligence segment software model transition, and increased volatility of our operating results from period to period; risks that our intellectual property rights may not be adequate to protect our business or assets or that others may make claims on our intellectual property, claim infringement on their intellectual property rights, or claim a violation of their license rights, including relative to free or open source components we may use; risks that our customers delay or cancel orders or are unable to honor contractual commitments due to liquidity issues, challenges in their business, or otherwise; risks that we may experience liquidity or working capital issues and related risks that financing sources may be unavailable to us on reasonable terms or at all; risks associated with significant leverage resulting from our current debt position or our ability to incur additional debt, including with respect to liquidity considerations, covenant limitations and compliance, fluctuations in interest rates, dilution considerations (with respect to our convertible notes), and our ability to maintain our credit ratings; risks arising as a result of contingent or other obligations or liabilities assumed in our acquisition of our former parent company, Comverse Technology, Inc. (“CTI”), or associated with formerly being consolidated with, and part of a consolidated tax group with, CTI, or as a result of the successor to CTI's business operations, Mavenir, Inc., being unwilling or unable to provide us with certain indemnities to which we are entitled; risks relating to the adequacy of our existing infrastructure, systems, processes, policies, procedures, internal controls, and personnel, and our ability to successfully implement and maintain enhancements to the foregoing, for our current and future operations and reporting needs, including related risks of financial statement omissions, misstatements, restatements, or filing delays; risks associated with changing accounting principles or standards, tax laws and regulations, tax rates, and the continuing availability of expected tax benefits; risks associated with market volatility in the prices of our common stock and convertible notes based on our performance, third-party publications or speculation, or other factors and risks associated with actions of activist stockholders; risks associated with the planned issuance of preferred stock to Apax Partners, including with respect to Apax’s significant ownership position and potential that their interests will not be aligned with those of our common stockholders; and risks associated with the planned spin-off of our Cyber Intelligence business, including the possibility that the spin-off transaction may not be completed in the expected timeframe or at all, that it does not achieve the benefits anticipated, or that it negatively impacts our operations or stock price. We assume no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement, except as otherwise required by law. For a detailed discussion of these risk factors, see our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2019, our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended April 30, 2019 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended October 31, 2019, when filed, and other filings we make with the SEC.
VERINT, ACTIONABLE INTELLIGENCE, THE CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT COMPANY, CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT SOLUTIONS, CYBER INTELLIGENCE SOLUTIONS, GI2, FIRSTMILE, OMNIX, WEBINT, LUMINAR, RELIANT, VANTAGE, STAR-GATE, TERROGENCE, SENSECY, and VIGIA are trademarks or registered trademarks of Verint Systems Inc. or its subsidiaries. Verint and other parties may also have trademark rights in other terms used herein.
|
||||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
2
| 48
|
https://www.onecle.com/blog/category/stock-options/
|
en
|
stock options – Contracts Blog
|
[] |
[] |
[] |
[
""
] | null |
[] | null |
en
| null |
6. Karatz acknowledges and agrees that the exercise price of each annual stock option granted to him since October 2, 1998 (the “Subject Options”) shall be changed to the closing price per share of the Company’s common stock on the new measurement dates selected by KB Home for such grants as reflected in the restated financial statements or adjusted books and records expected to be completed by KB Home. For each Subject Option exercised by Karatz prior to the date hereof, Karatz shall pay to KB Home, in cash, the product of (i) any positive difference between the exercise price and the fair market value of KB Home common stock on the new measurement date for the Subject Option and (ii) the number of shares subject to such Subject Option. KB Home will provide Karatz with a schedule containing reasonable detail regarding the new measurement dates and amounts payable by Karatz in respect of the Subject Options within 15 days of filing financial statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission and Karatz shall make the required payments and enter into amended option agreements within 90 days thereafter. Karatz acknowledges that KB Home makes no representation as to the tax treatment of Karatz’s KB Home stock options and shares of restricted stock and that he will be responsible for any tax obligations that may arise therefrom.
The Company has determined that the stock option (“Option ”) granted to you on June 7, 2004 in respect of 30,000 shares of our Series B common stock (“Common Stock ”) at an exercise price of $10.00 per share was granted with an exercise price less than the fair market value of the Common Stock at the time of grant.
…
[Y]ou and the Company desire to raise the exercise price of the Common Stock in respect of the Option from $10.00 per share to $21.25 per share, which the Company has determined to be the fair market value of the Common Stock on June 7, 2004.
|
|||||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
3
| 44
|
https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-1000700618
|
en
|
Comverse seeks buyer for billing unit
|
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] | null |
[
"Nadav Neuman"
] |
2011-11-24T09:01:00
|
"Reuters" reports that the software developer has received buying interest in its telecom billing unit, which could be worth $2 billion.
|
en
|
https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-1000700618
|
Comverse Technology Inc. (Nasdaq: CMVT) has been sharing financial information with prospective parties in recent weeks, including major global technology companies, in an attempt to sell its telecom billing unit, "Reuters" reports. The report adds that the software developer has received buying interest in its Comverse Network Systems unit.
RELATED ARTICLES
Goldman Sachs is reportedly advising Comverse on its strategic options and Rothschild ROT.UL is advising the board of directors. Both Goldman Sachs and Rothschild declined to comment on the report.
The attempt to sell its billing unit comes two months after Comverse relisted on Nasdaq and drew a line under the backdating of stock options scandal, which has plagued the company for nearly six years. Comverse's founder and former CEO Kobi Alexander currently lives in Namibia in an attempt to evade US federal charges related to the affair.
"Reuters" cites Hedge fund Cadian Capital Management LLC, which has a 4.18% stake in Comverse Technology, and which said in a regulatory filing last month that the unit alone could be worth more than $2 billion. The billing unit reported $182 million in revenue, accounting for nearly half of Comverse Technology's overall revenues for the quarter ending July 31.
The report observes that Amdocs Ltd. (NYSE: DOX) and Oracle have shown previous interest in Comverse's billing unit but did not follow through due to the company's backdating problems.
Comverse's share price rose 1.54% yesterday on Nasdaq to $6.60, giving a market cap of $1.35 billion.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 24, 2011
|
||||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
2
| 2
|
https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences-and-law/economics-business-and-labor/businesses-and-occupations/comverse-technology-inc
|
en
|
Comverse Technology Inc
|
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Comverse Technology, Inc.
|
en
|
/sites/default/files/favicon.ico
|
https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences-and-law/economics-business-and-labor/businesses-and-occupations/comverse-technology-inc
|
170 Crossways Park Drive
Woodbury, New York 11797
U.S.A.
Telephone: (516) 677-7200
Fax: (516) 677-7355
Web site:http://www.cmvt.com
Public Company
Incorporated: 1984
Employees: 6,400
Sales: $1.2 billion (2000)
Stock Exchanges: NASDAQ
Ticker Symbol: CMVT
NAIC: 541512 Computer Systems Design Services; 33418 Printed Circuit Assembly; 33429 Other Communications Equipment Manufacturer; 514191 On-Line Information Services; 511210 Software Publishers
Founded in 1984, Comverse Technology, Inc. quickly grew to be a leader in multimedia messaging communications systems, namely mobile mailboxes for wireless networks. With over 370 customers in more than 100 countries, Comverse provides voice mail, fax and messaging services to most of the world’s largest telecommunications companies. Comverse sells its products through an international sales force and found success early by securing a multimillion-dollar contract with the German government. The contract gave Comverse recognition as a contender in the new wireless voice mail messaging market. Today, Comverse continues to stay on top by offering a wide range of updated features, options, and variations on its systems and by developing new technologies for the communications field. Even with the slowdown in the tech sector during 2000 and 2001, Comverse has been able to post record revenues.
A Pioneer of Wireless Voice Mail Systems During the Early 1980s
Kobi Alexander founded Comverse Technology in 1984. A native of Israel, Alexander had studied economics in Tel Aviv before moving to New York in the early 1980s. He enrolled at New York University, but also found a job as an investment banker at Shearson Lehman. Alexander worked full-time at Shearson and earned his Masters of Business Administration at night. Alexander had always wanted to run his own business, but he did not expect an opportunity to arise so early. In 1982, Alexander met Boaz Misholi, an Israeli engineer who had an idea for a business venture. “The week after I met him, I resigned from Shearson,” Alexander recalled in the June 18,1990, News-day. “I always knew I wanted to have my own company.”
Misholi’s idea was to develop a voice and fax messaging system that would allow customers to store, process, access, and transmit information from any telephone or fax machine. The system would offer a far more comprehensive alternative to answering machines and other rudimentary gear available at the time. Misholi and Alexander recruited some engineers to help them develop the system. They also moved to their native Israel, where the national government was awarding subsidies to high-technology start-up companies.
In Israel, Alexander and Misholi operated their venture as Efrat Future Technology Ltd. It took the company just a few years to design and develop a marketable messaging system. Alexander and Misholi worked with the development team in Israel for two years. Joining them was Alexander’s brother-in-law, Yechiam Yemini, who served as the company’s chief scientist. In 1984, Alexander, Yemini, and Misholi moved back to New York to begin laying the groundwork for an infrastructure through which they could market their product once it was ready to sell.
The three partners set up a company in Woodbury, New York, called Comverse (a fusion of “communication” and “versatility”). In fact, that enterprise became the parent company of Israel-based, Efrat Future Technology, Ltd. Comverse was incorporated in New York in 1984. The company generated sales of a few million dollars annually during its first three full years of operations. Net losses during the period were only slightly less than the company’s sales volume because of expenses related to marketing and ongoing research and development. To raise additional investment capital, Comverse went public on the NASDAQ in 1986.
The product that Comverse began marketing in the late 1980s looked like a simple box. Inside the case, though, was a complex multimicroprocessor computer. The computer, when hooked to a customer’s telephone line, was capable of performing a number of information-management functions related to voice and fax messaging, as well as call processing. For example, it could store incoming and outgoing messages for different people in personal “mailboxes.” Although similar products were on the market at the time, Comverse claimed to be the first company to integrate voice, fax, and call processing functions into a single system.
Securing Exclusive Partnerships in the Late 1980s
Misholi served as president and chief executive of Comverse in 1986 and 1987. In 1988, he resigned to pursue other interests; he later became a professor of computer science at Columbia University. Alexander stepped up to assume the helm, still aided by Yemini. Alexander realized that, because his tiny company was participating in an industry dominated by such telecommunications technology giants as AT&T, he would have to devise a savvy marketing strategy if he wanted to compete successfully. To that end, he decided early to target the international market, particularly in Europe. With the European economic unification scheduled for 1992, Alexander reasoned, Comverse could benefit by developing an early lead in its niche on that continent.
Specifically, Alexander and fellow executives succeeded during the late 1980s in securing exclusive relationships with several of the top equipment distributors in Europe. Between 1987 and 1990, Comverse signed marketing agreements with six large European distributors who had already established cozy relationships with governments and major equipment buyers. Those agreements gave Comverse an edge over larger rivals, because the distributors often learned of potential deals before Comverse or its rivals. That allowed Comverse to begin pushing its product early in the decision-making process. Among the companies that had agreed to distribute Comverse systems were Ascom Gfeller (Switzerland), GPT (United Kingdom and Australia), Voice Data Systems (Holland), and Oki (Japan).
Nokia Data Systems, an electronics products distributor based in Helsinki, Finland, became the sixth major distributor to sign up with Comverse in the late 1980s. Nokia Data was a member of the $5 billion Nokia Group, the world’s largest manufacturer of mobile phones and cable machines. The agreement was important for Comverse because it made the company Nokia’s exclusive provider of messaging equipment. Nokia enjoyed a close relationship with the Finnish national telephone company and provided Comverse with a strong link to parts of Europe and the Soviet Bloc that were relatively inaccessible through other marketing channels. Indeed, Comverse was banking on such emerging regions as the former Eastern Bloc to drive industry growth in the long-term.
Comverse’s European Marketing Strategy into the 1990s
Comverse found a winning formula when it targeted Europe for its sales expansion. In 1990, the company landed a lucrative German government contract worth $10 million. The German post office, or Deutsch Bundespost, was accepting bids to supply messaging systems for German cellular telephone users. Competing for the contract were such telecommunications and computer giants as AT&T, Hewlett-Packard, the Netherlands’ Alcatel, and Germany-based Siemens. Comverse was aided in the bidding process by Ascom Gfeller, a large Swiss distributor with which it had signed an agreement in the late 1980s. The giant contract—by far the largest ever captured by Comverse—gave the company instant recognition as a contender in the market for messaging systems.
The system that Comverse had developed during the 1980s and agreed to supply to the Deutsch Bundespost was dubbed the “Trilogue.” The product allowed callers who failed to connect with a cellular phone user to leave a message in the user’s “mailbox” for later voice or fax retrieval, or remote paging. By the time it secured the Deutsch Bundespost contract, Comverse had sold only about 300 Trilogue systems, mostly in the United States. The German government, though, planned to install enough Trilogue systems to create 100,000 mailboxes for cellular phone customers.
Before the German contract, Comverse employed about 150 people, roughly 40 of whom were located at Comverse’s New York headquarters; the rest were in Israel. The company performed most of its research, development and manufacturing in Israel, then assembled, marketed and distributed the systems from its New York offices. Most of the equipment was shipped to Europe. In fact, the percentage of its products shipped overseas had grown from ten percent in 1987 to about 80 percent by 1990. Comverse’s United States sales were mostly to domestic telephone companies, particularly the wireless divisions of the Regional Bell Operating Companies and independent cellular companies like PacTel and McCaw.
Company Perspectives:
Comverse is dedicated to the development and delivery of a broad range of multimedia network-based infrastructure, systems, applications and services, all designed to offer the user a personalized communications experience for network, cable, or Internet service providers. Committed to delivering market solutions that inspire the world, Comverse leverages global leadership and a successful heritage in network-based enhanced services, offering our customers the ability to deliver unprecedented access to communication, content, commerce, and community.
A Small Company Grows Bigger During the Early 1990s
Largely in response to the German deal, but also because of subsequent contracts, Comverse began adding staff and beefing up operations in the early 1990s. Sales increased to nearly $16 million in 1990 and then to more than $21 million in 1991. After posting its first positive net income in 1989 (of $380,000), Comverse’s profit rose to nearly $3 million in 1991. Augmenting growth in sales of its proven Trilogue systems, Comverse was developing and marketing other technologies. In 1990, for instance, it started selling a product called FaxLogue, a Trilogue add-on system that provided a wide range of options for sending, receiving, and storing facsimile messages. The technology was first implemented by US West Communications, a Regional Bell Operating Company.
A series of developments during the early 1990s combined to rapidly boost Comverse’s revenue and profit. In 1991, for example, Comverse agreed to purchase (in 1992) the assets of Startel Corp., which became a subsidiary of Comverse. Based in Irvine, California, Startel Corp. was a leading supplier of transaction processing systems used mostly by the telephone answering service industry, hospitals, and corporate message centers. The acquisition brought important new technology to Comverse’s research and development lab and gave it access to a new segment of the market.
Likewise, Comverse scored a big victory late in 1992 when it reached an agreement with global communications giant AT&T for that company to offer Comverse’s multilingual voice-processing system to corporate customers and telecommunications providers outside of the United States. The deal was a huge boon for Comverse because it represented an endorsement of its technology by the communications industry leader. The agreement gave AT&T the right to market Comverse’s Trilogue and newer Trilogue Infinity products. Among the systems’ newer features was a “virtual telephone” feature that allowed residents in developing countries to have a telephone number without actually owning a telephone or paying for a separate line.
Rapid Expansion in the Mid-1990s
In addition to marketing successes, Comverse continued to profit from the development and introduction of cutting-edge technology. By the mid-1990s, its Trilogue systems featured a number of sophisticated features. For example, newer Trilogue units incorporated multilingual speech recognition that allowed users to control their messaging functions by speaking commands in their native language. Other complex functions allowed Comverse’s gear to support a variety of protocols and equipment and to minimize communication costs and maximize the efficiency of information flow.
As important as advances in Comverse’s core Trilogue product division were, the company also found success in a different line of technology called AudioDisk. Comverse had developed AudioDisk in the late 1980s and started marketing it in the early 1990s. It assumed a much lower public profile than Trilogue, however, because the AudioDisk systems were marketed primarily to police and intelligence organizations. Therefore, the company was comparatively discreet about sales of the units. AudioDisk systems enabled police and intelligence gatherers, as well as public health, safety, and financial institutions, a much-improved alternative to wire-tapping, which traditionally relied on reel-to-reel tape. AudioDisk used digital technology to simultaneously monitor hundreds of telephone and fax lines and retrieve data instantly. Although it had received much less public attention than the Trilogue line, AudioDisk systems accounted for about 50 percent of Comverse’s total revenue base in 1993. Furthermore, growth prospects were favorable. Sales gains in the AudioDisk division amplified hefty gains in Trilogue shipments driven largely by rapid international growth from Asia to Europe.
Comverse reaped the benefits of rapid expansion during the mid-1990s. Its sales rose to $37.5 million in 1992 before more than doubling in 1993, while net income increased to nearly $15 million. Then, in 1994, Comverse boosted revenues more than 40 percent to $98.84 million. But, even with yearly increases in revenues and profits, the company continued to look for ways to improve upon itself. It also faced tough competition from Octel Communications, which at the time was the industry leader of messaging services. When word came out that Octel would be purchased by telecommunications giant Lucent Technologies, Comverse needed to find a way to remain competitive. In August 1997, it secured a deal to merge with Boston Technology, headquartered in Wakefield, Massachusetts. Previously, Comverse had been primarily marketing its services to digital cellular phone or wireless companies, Boston Technology specialized in supplying voice mail, fax and messaging services to traditional wire-based telephone companies. The merger allowed Comverse to now offer its services to both wireless and wireline companies and gave Comverse clout, as it became one of the largest makers of messaging systems in the world. Boston Technology’s operations were combined with Comverse’s Network Systems division and Francis Girard, president and CEO of Boston Technology, became president and CEO of the Network Systems division, while Kobi Alexander continued in his current position of chairman, president and CEO of Comverse.
Key Dates:
1984:
Israel native Kobi Alexander, along with Yechiam Yemini and Boaz Misholi, form Comverse Technology.
1986:
Comverse goes public.
1990:
The German government awards Comverse a $10 million contract to supply messaging systems.
1991:
Sales reach $21 million with profits at nearly $3 million.
1992:
Comverse purchases Startel Corporation, a leading supplier of transaction processing systems; the company also enters into a partnership with AT&T to provide multilingual voice processing systems.
1997:
The company acquires Boston Technology in a merger deal, after which Comverse becomes one of the biggest makers of telephone voice processing equipment.
1999:
Comverse acquires Amarex Technology, Inc., a privately held software development company; the company purchases Intouch Systems, Inc., maker of speech recognition software.
2000:
Comverse acquires the Israeli startup Exalink for $480 million in stock; the company also buys Loronix Information Systems, Inc.
Comverse Takes the Lead in Voice Messaging by 2000
By the end of the 1990s, Comverse stood as the market share leader of wireless voice messaging systems with revenues reaching $1.2 billion and a customer list that included telecommunications giants Sprint PCS and Vodafone in Europe. But the company was also in danger of becoming a one-hit wonder. After 15 years in business, Comverse derived a whopping 73 percent of its revenues from essentially just one product—mobile mailboxes. Critics of Comverse point out that since its breakthrough voice mail system, the company has offered little else in the way of innovative products. Aware of the criticism, Comverse began a business strategy in the late 1990s and early 2000s to acquire companies with promising technologies of their own. For example, in March of 2000, Comverse signed an agreement to acquire Loronix Information Systems, Inc., a leading developer of software-based digital video recording, networking and live Internet video streaming technology. Management decided to run Loronix from its existing facility in Durango, Colorado, as a subsidiary of Comverse. The company quickly followed up that transaction with the purchase of an Israeli start-up company Exalink for $480 million in stock. Comverse hoped Exalink, like Loronix, would help it expand into the high-speed 3G video streaming technology arena and capture more sales to cell phone companies that had begun to outfit their networks with this much ballyhooed new technology.
Prior to acquiring Loronix and Exalink, Comverse bought Amarex Technology, Inc., a privately held software development company in March 1999. In August of that same year, Comverse purchased InTouch Systems, Inc., maker of speech recognition software. InTouch, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, perfected the industry standard for natural language speech application interface based on continuous, speaker-independent, large-vocabulary speech recognition technology. Called InFlection, it gives subscribes the capability to dial, check email and even surf the net through voice commands. Subscribers may also have email and fax messages read to them over the phone. Commenting on the acquisition in a press release, Kobi Alexander, chairman, president, and CEO of Comverse, recognized the benefit and need for voice-activated services. “The increasing need to reduce the complexity of communications, as well as the growing focus on safety issues relating to using wireless handsets while driving are fueling the demand for a single, easy-to-use voice-based interface to network-based services,” Alexander pointed out. “The integration of InTouch’s state-of-the-art voice technology applications and middleware with Comverse’s wide portfolio of advanced messaging and information services positions Comverse to expand its leadership in enhanced services even further by providing our customers with leading-edge voice activated services.”
As of 2001, Comverse Technology Inc. divided its products and services into five primary business groups. Comverse Network Systems sells the company’s Access NP and Trilogue Infinity enhanced services platforms to wireless, wireline, and Internet companies. Through the Comverse Infosys division, the company offers the Audiodisk line of multimedia digital monitoring systems to law enforcement and intelligence agencies. The Ulticom division is a leading provider of network signaling software for wireless, wireline, and Internet communication services and was formerly known as DGM&S Telecom. Startel is Comverse’s provider of integrated voice, data and networking software, which is used by telephone answering services, governments, universities and healthcare organizations. Comverse’s star*home division delivers enhanced roaming messaging services to subscribers worldwide.
With Comverse’s current rapid expansion through acquisitions, chances are good the company will add more divisions and product lines in an effort to keep its technology competitive and to retain its leadership in the marketplace.
Principal Competitors
Lucent Technologies; Nortel Technologies
Principal Subsidiaries and Divisions
Comverse Network Systems; Comverse Infosys; Loronix Information Systems; star*home; Startel; Ulticom.
Further Reading
“$2 Million Order for Comverse,” Israel Business Today, April 7, 1995, p. 12.
“AT&T Using Comverse Technology System,” LI Business News, May 30, 1994, p. 43.
Alexander, Kobi, “Comverse Technology Announces 1994 Results,” Business Wire, posted March 22, 1995, http://www.businesswire.com.
Bernstein, James, “Big Catch for Small Fry,” Newsday, May 18, 1990, p. 47.
——, “High-Tech David Beats out Goliaths,” Newsday, June 18, 1990, Section 3, p. 5.
Berry, Don M., Alexander, Kobi, et al., “Comverse Technology Inc. Enters into Definitive Agreement to Acquire Startel Corp.,” Business Wire, posted October 18, 1991, http://www.businesswire.com.
“Best Comverse Profits Ever,” Israel Business Today, May 21, 1993,p. 5.
Citrano, Virginia, “Telecom Contracts Spur N.Y. Exporters,” Crain’s New York Business, March 8, 1993, p. 17.
“Contract Signed by Comverse, US West,” Business News, March 12, 1990, p. 13.
Demery, Paul, “Sales Calls Ringing for Telecom Exports,” Business News, January 22, 1990, p. 3(2).
Labate, John, “Comverse Technology,” Fortune, May 17, 1993, p. 102.
Machlis, Avi, “Comverse Acquires Israeli Start-up,” Financial Times, London Edition, July 6, 2000, p. 34.
McDonald, Michael, “Message for Comverse Is Diversification,” Crain’s New York Business, March 26, 2001, p. 14.
Smithberg, Kristen, “Boston Technology Joins Comverse in Merger Deal,” RCR Radio Communications Report, August 25, 1997, p. 22.
“Record Quarter at Comverse,” LI Business News, December 4, 1989, p. 6.
Wax, Alan J., “Comverse, AT&T Connect,” Newsday, October 7, 1992, p. A37.
—Dave Mote
—update: Suzanne L. Rowe
Comverse Technology, Inc.
170 Crossways Park Drive
Woodbury, New York 11797
U.S.A.
(516) 677-7200
Fax: (516) 677-7355
Public Company
Incorporated: 1984
Employees: 840
Sales: $98.84 million (1994)
Stock Exchanges: NASDAQ
SICs: 3577 Computer Peripheral Equipment, Not Elsewhere Classified; 3669 Communications Equipment, Not Elsewhere Classified; 7373 Computer Integrated Systems Design
Comverse Technology, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, and markets computer and telecommunications systems for specialty multimedia communications and information processing applications. The company sells its products through an international sales force and had installed its gear in more than 30 countries by 1995. Comverse was growing rapidly in the mid-1990s by expanding internationally and by introducing new technology to the marketplace.
Kobi Alexander founded Comverse Technology in 1984. A native of Israel, Alexander had studied economics in Tel Aviv before moving to New York in the early 1980s. He enrolled at New York University but also found a job as an investment banker at Shearson Lehman. Alexander worked full-time at Shearson and earned his Masters of Business Administration at night. Alexander had always wanted to run his own business, but he didn’t expect an opportunity to arise so early. In 1982, Alexander met Boaz Misholi, an Israeli engineer who had an idea for a business venture. “The week after I met him, I resigned from Shearson,” Alexander recalled in the June 18, 1990, Newsday. “I always knew I wanted to have my own company.”
Misholi’s idea was to develop a voice and fax messaging system that would allow customers to store, process, access, and transmit information from any telephone or fax machine. The system would offer a far more comprehensive alternative to answering machines and other rudimentary gear available at the time. Misholi and Alexander recruited some engineers to help them develop the system. They also moved to their native Israel, where the national government was awarding subsidies to high-technology start-up companies.
In Israel, Alexander and Misholi operated their venture as Efrat Future Technology Ltd. It took the company just a few years to design and develop a marketable messaging system. Alexander and Misholi worked with the development team in Israel for two years. Joining them was Alexander’s brother-in-law, Yechiam Yemini, who served as the company’s chief scientist. In 1984, Alexander, Yemini, and Misholi moved back to New York to begin laying the groundwork for an infrastructure through which they could market their product once it was ready to sell.
The three partners set up a company in Woodbury, New York, called Comverse (a fusion of “communication” and “versatility”). In fact, that enterprise became the parent company of Israel-based Efrat Future Technology, Ltd. Comverse was incorporated in New York in 1984. The company generated sales of a few million dollars annually during its first three full years of operations. Net losses during the period were only slightly less than the company’s sales volume because of expenses related to marketing and ongoing research and development. To raise additional investment capital, Comverse went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 1986.
The product that Comverse began marketing in the late 1980s looked like a simple box. Inside the case, though, was a complex multimicroprocessor computer. The computer, when hooked to a customer’s telephone line, was capable of performing a number of information-management functions related to voice and fax messaging, as well as call processing. For example, it could store incoming and outgoing messages for different people in personal “mailboxes.” Although similar products were on the market at the time, Comverse claimed to be the first company to integrate voice, fax, and call processing functions into a single system.
Misholi served as president and chief executive of Comverse in 1986 and 1987. In 1988 he resigned to pursue other interests and later became a professor of computer science at Columbia University. Alexander stepped up to assume the helm, still aided by Yemini. Alexander realized that, because his tiny company was participating in an industry dominated by such telecommunications technology giants as AT&T, he would have to devise a savvy marketing strategy if he wanted to compete successfully. To that end, he decided early to target the international market, particularly in Europe. With the European economic unification scheduled for 1992, Alexander reasoned, Comverse could benefit by developing an early lead in its niche on that continent.
Specifically, Alexander and fellow executives succeeded during the late 1980s in securing exclusive relationships with several of the top equipment distributors in Europe. Between 1987 and 1990, Comverse signed marketing agreements with six large European distributors who had already established cozy relationships with governments and major equipment buyers. Those agreements gave Comverse an edge over larger rivals, because the distributors often learned of potential deals before Comverse or its rivals. That allowed Comverse to begin pushing its product early in the decision-making process. Among the companies that had agreed to distribute Comverse systems were Ascom (Switzerland), GPT (United Kingdom and Australia), Voice Data Systems (Holland), and Oki (Japan).
For example, the sixth major distributor that latched onto Comverse in the late 1980s was Nokia Data Systems, an electronics products distributor based in Helsinki, Finland. Nokia Data was a member of the $5-billion Nokia Group, the world’s largest manufacturer of mobile phones and cable machines. The agreement was important for Comverse because it made the company Nokia’s exclusive provider of messaging equipment. Nokia enjoyed a close relationship with the Finnish national telephone company and provided Comverse with a strong link to parts of Europe and the Soviet Bloc that were relatively inaccessible through other marketing channels. Indeed, Comverse was banking on such emerging regions as the former Eastern Bloc to drive industry growth in the long-term.
An example of the wisdom of Com verse’s European marketing strategy was a contract worth up to $10 million awarded to Comverse in 1990 by the German government. The German post office, or Deutsch Bundespost, was accepting bids to supply messaging systems for German cellular telephone users. Competing for the contract were such telecommunications and computer giants as AT&T, Hewlett-Packard, the Netherlands’ Alcatel, and Germany-based Siemens. Comverse was aided in the bidding process by Ascom Gfeller, a large Swiss distributor with which it had signed an agreement in the late 1980s. The giant contract—by far the largest ever captured by Comverse—gave the company instant recognition as a contender in the market for messaging systems.
The system that Comverse had developed during the 1980s and agreed to supply to the Deutsch Bundespost was dubbed the “Trilogue.” The German government was going to use the Trilogue Message Management System to store messages for cellular telephone users. When callers failed to connect with a cellular phone user, they could leave a message in the user’s “mailbox” for later voice or fax retrieval, or remote paging. By the time it landed the big contract, Comverse had sold only about 300 Trilogue systems, mostly in the United States. It was also licensing some European telecommunications companies to sell Comverse gear under their brand names. The German government, though, planned to install enough Trilogue systems to create 100,000 mailboxes for cellular phone customers.
Before Comverse landed the $10 million German contract, it was employing about 150 people, roughly 40 of whom were located at the U.S. Comverse headquarters and the rest in Israel. The company performed most of its research, development, and manufacturing in Israel, then assembled, marketed, and distributed the systems from its New York headquarters. Most of the equipment was shipped to Europe. In fact, the percentage of its products shipped overseas had grown from ten percent in 1987 to about 80 percent by 1990. Com verse’s U.S. sales were mostly to domestic telephone companies, particularly the wireless divisions of the Regional Bell Operating Companies and independent cellular companies like PacTel and McCaw.
Largely in response to the German deal, but also to subsequent contracts, Comverse began adding staff and beefing up operations in the early 1990s. Sales increased to nearly $16 million in 1990 and then to more than $21 million in 1991. After posting its first positive net income in 1989 (of $380,000), Comverse’s profit rose to nearly $3 million in 1991. Augmenting growth in sales of its proven Trilogue systems were other technologies being developed and marketed by Comverse. In 1990, for instance, it started selling a product called Fax-Logue, a Trilogue add-on system that provided a wide range of options for sending, receiving, and storing facsimile messages. The technology was first implemented by US West Communications, a Regional Bell Operating Company.
A series of developments during the early 1990s combined to rapidly boost Comverse’s revenue and profit. In 1991, for example, Comverse agreed to purchase (in 1992) the assets of Startel Corp., which became a subsidiary of Comverse. Based in Irvine, California, Startel was a leading supplier of transaction processing systems used mostly by the telephone answering service industry, hospitals, and corporate message centers. The acquisition brought important new technology to Comverse’s research and development lab and gave it access to a new segment of the market.
Likewise, Comverse scored a big victory late in 1992 when it reached an agreement with global communications giant AT&T for that company to offer Com verse’s multilingual voice-processing system to corporate customers and telecommunications providers outside of the United States. The deal was a huge boon for Comverse because it represented an endorsement of its technology by the communications industry leader. The agreement gave AT&T the right to market Cornverse’s Trilogue and newer Trilogue Infinity products. Among the systems’ newer features was a “virtual telephone” feature that allowed residents in developing countries to have a telephone number without actually owning a telephone or paying for a separate line. AT&T planned to market the technology in 60 countries by 1996.
In addition to marketing successes, Comverse continued to profit from the development and introduction of cutting-edge technology. Going into the mid-1990s, its Trilogue systems featured a number of sophisticated features. For example, newer Trilogue units incorporated multilingual speech recognition that allowed users to control their messaging functions by speaking commands in their native language. Other complex functions allowed Comverse’s gear to support a variety of protocols and equipment and to minimize communication costs and maximize the efficiency of information flow.
As important as advances in its core Trilogue product division was the success of a completely different line of technology called AudioDisk. Comverse had developed AudioDisk in the late 1980s and started marketing it in the early 1990s. It assumed a much lower public profile than Trilogue, however, because the AudioDisk systems were marketed primarily to police and intelligence organizations. Therefore, the company was comparatively discreet about sales of the units. AudioDisk systems enabled police and intelligence gatherers—but also public health, safety, and financial institutions, for example—a much-improved alternative to wire-tapping, which traditionally relied on reel-to-reel tape. AudioDisk used digital technology to simultaneously monitor hundreds of telephone and fax lines and retrieve data instantly.
Although it had received much less public attention than the Trilogue line, AudioDisk systems were accounting for about 50 percent of Comverse’s total revenue base in 1993. Furthermore, growth prospects for that market were extremely favorable. Sales gains in the AudioDisk division amplified hefty gains in Trilogue shipments, which were driven largely by rapid international growth from Asia to Europe. The end result for Comverse was rapid expansion into the mid-1990s. Sales rose to $37.5 million in 1992 before more than doubling in 1993, while net income increased to nearly $15 million. In 1994, moreover, Comverse managed to boost revenues more than 40 percent to $98.84 million. Comverse continued to benefit in 1995 by increasing its share of the rapidly growing niche markets that it served.
Principal Subsidiaries
Efrat Future Technology, Ltd.; Startel Corp.; Applied Silicon Inc. (Canada); Telemesser Ltd.; DGM&S, Inc.
Principal Divisions
Trilogue Product Family; AudioDisk Product Family.
Further Reading
“$2 Million Order for Comverse,” Israel Business Today, April 7, 1995, p. 12.
“AT&T Using Comverse Technology System,” LI Business News, May 30, 1994, p. 43.
Alexander, Kobi, “Comverse Technology Announces 1994 Results,” Business Wire, March 22, 1995.
Bernstein, James, “Big Catch for Small Fry,” Newsday, May 18, 1990, p. 47.
_____, “High-Tech David Beats out Goliaths,” Newsday, June 18, 1990, Section 3, p. 5.
Berry, Don M., Alexander, Kobi, et al., “Comverse Technology Inc. Enters into Definitive Agreement to Acquire Startel Corp.,” Business Wire, October 18, 1991.
“Best Comverse Profits Ever,” Israel Business Today, May 21, 1993, p. 5.
Citrano, Virginia, “Telecom Contracts Spur N.Y. Exporters,” Crain’s New York Business, March 8, 1993, p. 17.
“Contract Signed by Comverse, US West,” Business News, March 12, 1990, p. 13.
Demery, Paul, “Sales Calls Ringing for Telecom Exports,” Business News, January 22, 1990, p. 3(2).
Labate, John, “Comverse Technology,” Fortune, May 17, 1993, p. 102.
“Record Quarter at Comverse,” LI Business News, December 4, 1989, p. 6.
Wax, Alan J., “Comverse, AT&T Connect,” Newsday, October 7, 1992, p. A37.
—Dave Mote
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en
|
/sites/default/files/Favicon-dark_0.png
|
Amdocs
|
https://www.amdocs.com/products-services/comverseone
|
ComverseONE is a unified solution with more than 15 years of development and customers around the world. Offers an array of best-in-class capabilities, built on a robust and scalable foundation with a unified data model, market-oriented Product Catalog, and an open operational and business framework. This allows CSPs of ANY size to start with specific functionality and add more as their business needs change, with minimal rework, allowing them to accelerate their time to maximum revenue.
ComverseONE solution is founded upon these fundamental concepts:
|
||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
2
| 49
|
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/topic/comverse-technology/amp
|
en
|
comverse technology: Latest News & Videos, Photos about comverse technology
|
[] |
[] |
[] |
[
"comverse technology",
"comverse technology news",
"comverse technology updates",
"comverse technology latest news",
"comverse technology image",
"comverse technology video"
] | null |
[] | null |
comverse technology Latest Breaking News, Pictures, Videos, and Special Reports from The Economic Times. comverse technology Blogs, Comments and Archive News on Economictimes.com
|
en
|
https://m.economictimes.com/icons/etfavicon.ico
|
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/topic/comverse-technology
|
Weak rupee to help IT companies post strong Q2 results
The Indian IT sector is set to post strong results in the second quarter, with TCS and Infosys leading the growth front, reckoned analysts, despite HCL Tech's warning.
Sensex slips over 250 points, Nifty below 8750; top 15 stocks in focus
The S&P BSE Sensex fell as much as 102 points in trade on Thursday tracking mixed trend seen in other Asian markets.
PMO takes foreign telcos' call on tough security norms
The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has asked communications and home ministries to review the strict new security standards that are being labelled 'too tough' by foreign telecom gear makers.
ADVERTISEMENT
Govt unveils stiff rules for telecom equipment imports
Government said penalties of 100% of the contract value will be imposed on mobile phone operators if any spyware or malware is found.
Govt asks telcos to address gear security issues
The Centre has put the onus on mobile phone companies to address and control all security related issues regarding procurement of equipment as per the newly introduced clauses.
DoT plans to bar Chinese, Israeli equipment cos temporarily
The government has drawn up a comprehensive list of Chinese and Israeli telecom gear makers who will be temporarily barred from supplying equipment to mobile service companies in India till the new network security norms are in place.
ADVERTISEMENT
|
|||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
2
| 65
|
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20130911-israel-military-key-to-start-ups
|
en
|
Israel: Boot camp for start-up success
|
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"Matthew Kalman"
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2013-09-11T00:00:00+00:00
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Tel Aviv stands apart as a hub for tech innovation thanks to one single overriding influence: the Israeli armed forces.
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en
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/bbcx/apple-touch-icon.png
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https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20130911-israel-military-key-to-start-ups
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Tel Aviv stands apart as a hub for tech innovation thanks to one single overriding influence: the Israeli armed forces.
Rothschild Boulevard has always been one of the grandest streets in Tel Aviv, with its broad tree-lined central promenade and elegant Bauhaus architecture.
The cafes, kiosks and benches teem with young entrepreneurs who seem to survive on a diet of caffeine and wi-fi. Of Israel’s 5,000 tech companies, city planners have counted 600 start-ups in the single square mile around Rothschild. Israel has more companies on Nasdaq than any country beside the US and China, and it attracts more venture funding per capita than anywhere in the world. Its tech sector employs 230,000 people in a population of eight million, earning more than a quarter of the country’s total exports.
Just off the southern end of the boulevard is the Shalom Meir Tower – once the tallest building in the Middle East. A lift door in the corner of the mezzanine leads to a municipal library on the seventh floor that had been forgotten by all but its ageing clientele. In 2011, it was refurbished as a shared workspace for start-ups. The fourth group of 13 companies has just finished their four-month session, which includes meetings with potential partners, lectures by business experts, networking – not to mention a great view over the city's beach.
The pattern is repeated all the way down Rothschild, where incubators and start-ups compete for space among the coffee shops and restaurants. There are similar tech hubs in many cities throughout the world, but Avner Warner, Director of International Economic Development at the Tel Aviv Global City Administration, says Tel Aviv stands apart because of a single overriding influence on early-stage Israeli companies: the Israeli armed forces.
“The military gives them their technological experience, managerial experience and networks,” says Warner. “For the average person, the greatest barrier to being an entrepreneur is 'Where the hell do I start? What do I do first?' Most people just get confused at this point and go get a normal job. That’s the experience the army gives them. It’s understanding how you actually build a product, which is the same as managing a project in the army.”
Big data pioneers
Inside the HQ of the Mamram, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) technical support unit in nearby Ramat Gan, computer training course commander Capt. H (her full name is classified) says new recruits on a six-month intensive programming course study from dawn till night and are taught programming skills, teamwork, project management and – most importantly how to be creative. It’s like a school for start-ups.
“When you do a degree in computer science you study the technical things," she says. "You study how to write a code, mathematics. We don’t focus on that. We focus on how to work in a team. How to understand what your client needs and make software that fits his demands. How to write good code that you will be able to de-bug and maintain."
Tal Marian, founder of the TechLoft, a commercial shared workspace just off Rothschild, says the results of the military training are obvious. “Some of the military units work like a civilian organisation," says Marian. "They encourage entrepreneurship, the feeling that if you come up with a good idea that answers a real need of that unit’s mission, you will get the funding and manpower and the time you need."
After years of helping to solve the nation’s major security threats, the challenges of gaming and mobile apps pale by comparison, he adds.
Sometimes, the military technology connection is obvious. The miniaturised camera and power pack in the Given Imaging camera pill is based on equipment in the nose of a military drone, for example. Israel raced a decade ahead in the management and use of large data sets – or big data – that drive many consumer apps because of expertise developed by Unit 8200, the intelligence-gathering arm that is now the largest unit in the IDF.
IBM has spent nearly $1bn (£640m) on four Israeli companies that all developed big data storage solutions: Storwize, XIV, Diligent and FileX. Earlier this year, Google acquired the mapping app Waze for more than $1 bn.
The founders of Waze received their technical training in Israeli military intelligence. The giant Israeli tech firms Nice, Comverse and Check Point were all created by Unit 8200 alumni or based on technology originally developed by the unit.
Youthful exuberance
Across the boulevard, Yaron Tal is Chief Technical Officer of 6Scan, a website security start-up he founded with ex-army buddies. A white-hat hacker (one that works for non-malicious motives), since the age of 12, he was running his own web security consultancy by the age of 17, before being head-hunted for Matzov, the army’s cyber-security unit.
“Entrepreneurs in Israel are unique,” he says. “Their approach to problems is different to others because the army is a huge incubator for innovation and entrepreneurship. The army gave us a few million dollars at the age of 18 and asked us to build technology and systems that address problems that only people 10 or 20 years older are dealing with in other parts of the world. That kind of pressure and challenge really brings a lot of things out of you.”
Tal skipped university to work at a start-up before launching his own, but another important driver of the tech scene is the fact that Israeli university students pay only about $3,100 (£2,000) a year in tuition fees. They emerge from military service and three years of studying with zero debt, eager to take a year off to pursue their dreams.
That youthful exuberance, combined with the rigorous military training in technology and project management, has found a natural home among cafes running down the centre of Rothschild.
Recruiting to 6Scan became easy after they opened an office on the boulevard, according to Tal. “The street is full of start-ups. We talk together, help each other. There are no big companies here, which is great. We live very near the office. We love the vibe, the place, the other start-ups, the restaurants. It’s easier to bring developers to the company when you say it’s in Rothschild even though we don’t have much money to offer. We offer them equity and a good place to spend each day.”
Facebook page or message us on Twitter.
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3
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_and_technology_in_Israel
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en
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Science and technology in Israel
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2003-12-11T16:13:43+00:00
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_and_technology_in_Israel
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National research, development and proficience of Israel
Science and technology in Israel is one of the country's most developed sectors. Israel spent 4.3% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on civil research and development in 2015, the highest ratio in the world.[1] In 2019, Israel was ranked the world's fifth most innovative country by the Bloomberg Innovation Index.[2] It ranks thirteenth in the world for scientific output as measured by the number of scientific publications per million citizens.[3] In 2014, Israel's share of scientific articles published worldwide (0.9%) was nine times higher than its share of the global population (0.1%).[4][1]
Israel counts 140 scientists and technicians per 10,000 employees, one of the highest ratios in the world. In comparison, there are 85 per 10,000 in the United States and 83 per 10,000 in Japan.[5] In 2012, Israel counted 8,337 full-time equivalent researchers per million inhabitants.[1] This compares with 3,984 in the US, 6,533 in the Republic of South Korea and 5,195 in Japan. Israel's high technology industry has benefited from both the country's highly educated and technologically skilled workforce coupled with the strong presence of foreign high-tech firms and sophisticated research centres.[6][1]
Israel is home to major companies in the high-tech industry and has one of the world's most technologically literate populations.[7] In 1998, Tel Aviv was named by Newsweek as one of the ten most technologically influential cities in the world.[8] Since 2000, Israel has been a member of EUREKA, the pan-European research and development funding and coordination organization, and held the rotating chairmanship of the organization for 2010–2011.[9][10] In 2010, American journalist David Kaufman wrote that the high-tech area of Yokneam, Israel, has the "world's largest concentration of aesthetics-technology companies".[11] Google Chairman Eric Schmidt complimented the country during a visit there, saying that “Israel has the most important high-tech center in the world after the US.”[12] Israel was ranked 14th in the Global Innovation Index in 2023,[13] down from tenth in 2019.[14] The Tel Aviv region was ranked the 4th global tech ecosystem in the world.[15]
Jewish settlement in Mandate Palestine was motivated by both ideology and flight from persecution.[16] Return to the homeland was an important aspect of Jewish immigration and was perceived by many as a return to the soil. To establish the rural villages that formed the core of Zionist ideology and produce self-supporting Jewish farmers, agronomic experiments were conducted.[17] The foundations of agricultural research in Israel were laid by the teachers and graduates of the Mikveh Yisrael School, the country's first agricultural school, established by the Alliance Israelite Universelle in 1870.[18] On a field trip to Mount Hermon in 1906, the agronomist Aaron Aaronsohn discovered Triticum dicoccoides, or emmer wheat, believed to be the "mother of all wheat."[19] In 1909, he founded an agricultural research station in Atlit where he built up an extensive library and collected geological and botanical samples.[20] The Agricultural Station, founded in Rehovot in 1921, engaged in soil research and other aspects of farming in the country's difficult climatic conditions.[21] This station, which became the Agricultural Research Organization (ARO), is now Israel's major institution of agricultural research and development.
In 1912, the first cornerstone of the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology was laid at a festive ceremony in Haifa, which was then occupied by the Ottoman Empire. The Technion would become a unique university worldwide in its claim to precede and create a nation. As Jews were often barred from technical education in Europe,[22] the Technion claims to have brought the skills needed to build a modern state.[23]
Established before World War I, the Hebrew Health Station in Jerusalem, founded by Nathan Straus engaged in medical and public health research, operating departments for public hygiene, eye diseases and bacteriology.[24] The station manufactured vaccines against typhus and cholera, and developed methods of pest control to eliminate field mice. The Pasteur Institute affiliated with the station developed a rabies vaccine.[24] Departments for microbiology, biochemistry, bacteriology, and hygiene were opened at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, founded on Mount Scopus in 1925. In 1936, Jewish workers in the center of the country donated two-days' pay toward the establishment of the "Hospital of Judea and Sharon," later renamed Beilinson Hospital. In 1938, Beilinson established the country's first blood bank.[25] The Rothschild-Hadassah University Hospital on Mount Scopus opened in 1939 and was the first teaching hospital and medical center in the country. Since renamed the Hadassah Medical Center, it has become a leader in medical research.[26]
Industrial research began at the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, was also initiated at the Daniel Sieff Research Center (later the Weizmann Institute of Science), established in 1934 in Rehovot. The Dead Sea Laboratories opened in the 1930s. The first modern electronic computer in Israel and the Middle East, and one of the first large-scale, stored-program, electronic computers in the world, called WEIZAC, was built at the Weizmann Institute during 1954–1955, based on the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) architecture developed by John von Neumann.[27] WEIZAC has been recognized by the IEEE as a milestone in the history of electrical engineering and computing.[28] IBM Israel, registered on June 8, 1950, was the country's first high-tech firm. The company, located on Allenby Street in Tel Aviv, assembled and repaired punch card machines, sorting machines and tabulators. In 1956, a local plant was opened to produce punch cards, and a year later, the first service center opened, offering computerized data processing services.[29]
Scientific and technological research in Israel was boosted by the appointment of a chief scientist for the Industry and Trade Ministry at the recommendation of a committee headed by Ephraim Katzir, later president of Israel.[30] The Israeli government provided grants that covered 50–80 percent of the outlay for new start-ups, with no conditions, no shareholding and no participation in management.[30] In the early 1980s, Control Data Corporation, a partner in Elron Electronic Industries, formed the country's first venture capital firm.[30]
Israel's high-technology industries are a spin-off of the rapid development of computer science and technology in the 1980s in such places as Silicon Valley and Massachusetts Route 128 in the US, which ushered in the current high-tech era. Up until that point, Israel's economy had been essentially based on agriculture, mining and secondary sectors such as diamond polishing and manufacturing in textiles, fertilizers and plastics.
The key factor which enabled high-tech industries based on information and communication technologies to take root and flourish in Israel was investment by the defense and aerospace industries, which spawned new technologies and know-how. Israel devoted 17.1% of its GDP to military expenditure in 1988. Even though this share had dropped to 5.8% of GDP by 2016, Israel military spending remains among the highest in the world. For the purposes of comparison, the United States devoted 5.7% of its GDP to military expenditure in 1988 and 3.3% in 2016.[31] This heavy investment in defense and aerospace formed the basis for Israel's high-tech industries in medical devices, electronics, telecommunications, computer software and hardware.
The massive Russian immigration of the 1990s reinforced this phenomenon, doubling the number of engineers and scientists in Israel overnight. Between 1989 and 2006, about 979,000 Russian Jews and their relatives migrated to Israel, which had a population of just 4.5 million in 1989.[1]
The purchase of Mirabilis in 1998 marked the first big exit of high technology in Israel and caused a rush of Israeli companies as part of the Dot-com bubble.
Currently, Israel has the world's most research-intensive business sector. In 2018, 4.95% of its GDP was invested in research and technology.[32] Meanwhile, Israel's technology sector plays a crucial role in the country's economy. In 2021, the Israeli high-technology sector accounted for around 12% of the country's economic output and 10% of its national labour force.[33]
Competitive grants and tax incentives are the two main public policy instruments in supporting business research and development. Thanks to generous government incentives and the availability of highly trained human capital, Israel has become an attractive location for the research and development centers of leading multinational corporations around the world. The country's national innovation ecosystem relies on both foreign multinationals and large corporate investors in research and development, as well as on start-ups.
As of 2019, some 530 foreign research centres were currently active in Israel.[34] Many of these centers are owned by large multinational firms that have acquired Israeli companies, technology and know-how and transformed them through mergers and acquisitions into their own local research facilities. The activity of some research centers even spans more than three decades, such as those of Intel, Applied Materials, Motorola and IBM.[1]
In the late 2010s, Israel saw a sharp increase in the number of high-technology startups that achieved 'unicorn status' (a financing round at a valuation of $1 billion or more): in 2016, Israel had 10 such startups.[35] By 2019, the number had risen to 19.[35] Be the end of 2021, 74 tech unicorns had emerged from Israel's tech sector - 33 in 2021 alone.[36][37] The growth in the number of unicorn startups in Israel, together with tech startups maturing to become public companies rather being acquired earlier in their lifecycle, has led to the suggestion that Israel has transitioned from 'Startup Nation' to 'Scale-up Nation'.[38][39][40][41][42]
Israel's higher education system is regulated by the Council for Higher Education and its Planning and Budgeting Committee. The Israeli higher education system operates under a multi-year plan agreed upon by the Planning and Budgeting Committee (PBC) and the Ministry of Finance. Each plan determines policy objectives and, accordingly, the budgets to be allocated in order to achieve these objectives.[1]
The annual government allocation to universities totalled about US$1.75 billion in 2015, providing 50–75% of their operating budgets. Much of the remainder of their operating budget (15–20%) comes from annual student tuition fees, which are uniform at about US$2,750 per year. The Sixth Higher Education Plan (2011–2016) makes provision for a 30% rise in the Council for Higher Education's budget. The Sixth Plan changes the budgeting model of the PBC by placing greater emphasis on excellence in research, along with quantitative measures for the number of students. Under this model, 75% of the committee's budget (NIS 7 billion over six years) is being allocated to institutions offering higher education. The Sixth Higher Education Plan launched the Israeli Centres of Research Excellence (I-CORE) programme in October 2011. This reflects a renewed interest in funding academic research and constitutes a strong indication of a reversal in government policy.[1]
The Israeli Centres of Research Excellence (I-CORE) programme, which dates from 2011, envisions the establishment of cross-institutional clusters of top researchers in specific fields and returning young Israeli scientists from abroad, with each centre being endowed with state-of-the-art research infrastructure. The Sixth Higher Education Plan invests NIS 300 million over six years in upgrading and renovating academic infrastructure and research facilities.[1]
I-CORE is run jointly by the Council for Higher Education's Planning and Budgeting Committee and the Israel Science Foundation. By 2015, 16 centres had been established in two waves across a wide spectrum of research areas: six specialize in life sciences and medicine, five in the exact sciences and engineering, three in social sciences and law and two in humanities. Each centre of excellence has been selected via a peer review process conducted by the Israel Science Foundation. By May 2014, around 60 young researchers had been absorbed into these centres, many of whom had previously worked abroad.[1]
The research topics of each centre are selected through a broad bottom-up process consisting of consultations with the Israeli academic community, in order to ensure that they reflect the genuine priorities and scientific interests of Israeli researchers.[1]
I-CORE is funded by the Council for Higher Education, the host institutions and strategic business partners, with a total budget of NIS 1.35 billion (US$365 million). The original goal was to set up 30 centres of research excellence in Israel by 2016. However, the establishment of the remaining 14 centres has provisionally been shelved, for lack of sufficient external capital.[1]
In 2013–2014, the Planning and Budgeting Committee's budget for the entire I-CORE programme amounted to NIS 87.9 million, equivalent to about 1% of the total for higher education that year. This budget appears to be insufficient to create the critical mass of researchers in various academic fields and thus falls short of the programme's objective. The level of government support for the centres of excellence has grown each year since 2011 as new centres have been established and is expected to reach NIS 93.6 million by 2015–2016 before dropping to 33.7 million in 2017–2018. According to the funding model, government support should represent one-third of all funding, another third being funded by the participating universities and the remaining third by donors or investors.[1]
In the 2012–2013 academic year, there were 4,066 faculty members. The targets fixed by the Planning and Budgeting Committee for faculty recruitment are ambitious: universities are to recruit another 1 600 senior faculty within the six-year period – about half of whom will occupy new positions and half will replace faculty expected to retire. This will constitute a net increase of more than 15% in university faculty. In colleges, another 400 new positions are to be created, entailing a 25% net increase. The new faculty will be hired via the institutions’ regular recruitment channels, some in specific research areas, through the Israeli Centers of Research Excellence program.[1]
The increase in faculty numbers will also reduce the student-to-faculty ratio, the target being to achieve a ratio of 21.5 university students to every faculty member, compared to 24.3 at present, and 35 students for every faculty member in colleges, compared to 38 at present. This increase in the number of faculty positions, alongside the upgrading of research and teaching infrastructure and the increase in competitive research funds, should help Israel to staunch brain drain by enabling the best Israeli researchers at home and abroad to conduct their academic work in Israel, if they so wish, at institutions offering the highest academic standards.[1]
The new budgeting scheme described above is mainly concerned with the human and research infrastructure in universities. Most of the physical development (e.g. buildings) and scientific infrastructure (e.g. laboratories and expensive equipment) of universities comes from philanthropic donations, primarily from the American Jewish community (CHE, 2014). This latter source of funding has greatly compensated for the lack of sufficient government funding for universities up until now but it is expected to diminish significantly in the years to come. Unless the government invests more in research infrastructure, Israel's universities will be ill-equipped and insufficiently funded to meet the challenges of the 21st century.[1]
Israel has offered virtually universal access to its universities and academic colleges since the wave of Jewish immigration from the former Soviet Union in the 1990s prompted the establishment of numerous tertiary institutions to absorb the additional demand. However, the Arab and ultra-orthodox minorities still attend university in insufficient numbers. The Sixth Higher Education Plan places emphasis on encouraging minority groups to enroll in higher education. Two years after the Mahar program was implemented in late 2012 for the ultra-orthodox population, student enrollment had grown by 1400. Twelve new programs for ultra-orthodox students have since been established, three of them on university campuses. Meanwhile, the Pluralism and Equal Opportunity in Higher Education program addresses the barriers to integration of the Arab minority in the higher education system. Its scope ranges from providing secondary-school guidance through preparation for academic studies to offering students comprehensive support in their first year of study, a stage normally characterized by a high drop-out rate. The program renews the Ma’of fund supporting outstanding young Arab faculty members. Since the introduction of this program in 1995, the Ma’of fund has opened tenure track opportunities for nearly 100 Arab lecturers, who act as role models for younger Arab students embarking on their own academic careers.[1]
Although Israel does not have an ‘umbrella type’ policy for science, technology and innovation optimizing priorities and allocating resources, it does implement, de facto, an undeclared set of best practices combining bottom-up and top-down processes via government offices, such as those of the Chief Scientist or the Minister of Science, Technology and Space, as well as ad hoc organizations like the Telem forum. The procedure for selecting research projects for the Israeli centers for research excellence is one example of this bottom-up process.[1]
Israel has no specific legislation regulating the transfer of knowledge from the academic sector to the general public and industry. Nevertheless, the Israeli government influences policy formulation by universities and technology transfer by providing incentives and subsidies through programmes such as Magnet and Magneton, as well as through regulation. There were attempts in 2004 and 2005 to introduce bills encouraging the transfer of knowledge and technology for the public benefit but, as these attempts failed, each university has since defined its own policy.[1]
The Israeli economy is driven by industries based on electronics, computers and communication technologies, the result of over 50 years of investment in the country's defence infrastructure. Israeli defence industries have traditionally focused on electronics, avionics and related systems. The development of these systems has given Israeli high-tech industries a qualitative edge in civilian spin-offs in the software, communications and Internet sectors. However, the next waves of high technologies are expected to emanate from other disciplines, including molecular biology, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, nanotechnology, material sciences and chemistry, in intimate synergy with information and communication technologies. These disciplines are rooted in the basic research laboratories of universities rather than the defence industries. This poses a dilemma. In the absence of a national policy for universities, let alone for the higher education system as a whole, it is not clear how these institutions will manage to supply the knowledge, skills and human resources needed for these new science-based industries.[1]
The country's various policy instruments are evaluated by the Council for Higher Education, the National Council for Research and Development, the Office of the Chief Scientist, the Academy of Sciences and Humanities and the Ministry of Finance. In recent years, the Magnet administration in the Office of the Chief Scientist has initiated several evaluations of its own policy instruments, most of which have been carried out by independent research institutions. One such evaluation was carried out in 2010 by the Samuel Neaman Institute; it concerned the Nofar programme within the Magnet directorate. Nofar tries to bridge basic and applied research, before the commercial potential of a project has caught the eye of industry. The main recommendation was for Nofar to extend programme funding to emerging technological domains beyond biotechnology and nanotechnology. The Office of the Chief Scientist accepted this recommendation and, consequently, decided to fund projects in the fields of medical devices, water and energy technology and multidisciplinary research.[1]
An additional evaluation was carried out in 2008 by Applied Economics, an economic and management research-based consultancy, on the contribution of the high-tech sector to economic productivity in Israel. It found that the output per worker in companies that received support from the Office of the Chief Scientist was 19% higher than in ‘twin’ companies that had not received this support. The same year, a committee headed by Israel Makov examined the Office of the Chief Scientist's support for research and development in large companies. The committee found economic justification for providing incentives for these companies.[1]
The Israeli Science Foundation is the main source of research funding in Israel and receives administrative support from the Academy of Sciences and Humanities. The foundation provides competitive grants in three areas: exact sciences and technology; life sciences and medicine; and humanities and social sciences. Complementary funding is provided by binational foundations, such as the USA–Israel Binational Science Foundation (est. 1972) and the German–Israeli Foundation for Scientific Research and Development (est. 1986).[1]
The Ministry of Science, Technology and Space funds thematic research centres and is responsible for international scientific co-operation. The Ministry's National Infrastructure Programme aims to create a critical mass of knowledge in national priority fields and to nurture the younger generation of scientists. Investment in the programme mainly takes the form of research grants, scholarships and knowledge centres. Over 80% of the ministry's budget is channelled towards research in academic institutions and research institutes, as well as towards revamping scientific infrastructure by upgrading existing research facilities and establishing new ones. In 2012, the ministry resolved to invest NIS 120 million over three years in four designated priority areas for research: brain science; supercomputing and cybersecurity; oceanography; and alternative transportation fuels. An expert panel headed by the Chief Scientist in the Ministry of Science, Technology and Space chose these four broad disciplines in the belief that they would be likely to exert the greatest practical impact on Israeli life in the near future.[1]
The main ongoing programmes managed by the Israel Innovation Authority, Previously known as the Office of the Chief Scientist within the Ministry of the Economy are: the R&D (Research and Development) Fund; Magnet Tracks (est. 1994; Tnufa (est. 2001) and the Technological Incubator Programme (est.1991). Between 2010 and 2014, the Office of the Chief Scientist initiated several new programmes:[1]
Grand Challenges Israel (since 2014): an Israeli contribution to the Grand Challenges in Global Health programme, which is dedicated to tackling global health and food security challenges in developing countries; Grand Challenges Israel is offering grants of up to NIS 500 000 at the proof of concept/feasibility study stage.
Research and development in the field of space technology (2012): encourages research to find technological solutions in various fields.
Technological Entrepreneurship Incubators (2014): encourages entrepreneurial technology and supports start-up technology companies.
Magnet – Kamin programme (2014) provides direct support for applied research in academia that has potential for commercial application.
Cyber – Kidma programme (2014): promotes Israel's cybersecurity industry.
Cleantech – Renewable Energy Technology Centre (2012): supports research through projects involving private–public partnerships in the field of renewable energy.
Life Sciences Fund (2010): finances the projects of Israeli companies, with emphasis on biopharmaceuticals, established together with the Ministry of Finance and the private sector.
Biotechnology – Tzatam programme (2011): provides equipment to support research and development in life sciences. The Chief Scientist supports industrial organizations and the PBC provides research institutions with assistance.
Investment in high-tech industries (2011): encourages financial institutions to invest in knowledge-based industries, through a collaboration between the Office of the Chief Scientist and the Ministry of Finance.
Another source of public research funding is the Forum for National Research and Development Infrastructure (Telem). This voluntary partnership involves the Office of the Chief Scientist of the Ministry of the Economy and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Space, the Planning and Budgeting Committee and the Ministry of Finance. Telem projects focus on establishing infrastructure for research and development in areas that are of common interest to most Telem partners. These projects are financed by the Telem members’ own resources.[1]
In 2014, Israel topped the world for research intensity, reflecting the importance of research and innovation for the economy. Since 2008, however, Israel's research intensity has weakened somewhat (4.21% of GDP in 2013), even as this ratio has experienced impressive growth in the Republic of Korea (4.15% in 2014), Denmark (3.06% in 2013) and Germany (2.94% in 2013). The OECD average was 2.40% of GDP in 2014. Business expenditure on research and development (BERD) continues to account for ~84% of GERD, or 3.49% of GDP.[1]
The share of higher education in gross domestic expenditure on research and development (GERD) has decreased since 2003 from 0.69% of GDP to 0.59% of GDP (2013). Despite this drop, Israel ranks 8th among OECD countries for this indicator. The lion's share of GERD (45.6%) in Israel is financed by foreign companies, reflecting the large scale of activity by foreign multinational companies and research centres in the country.[1]
The share of foreign funding in university-performed research is also quite significant (21.8%). By the end of 2014, Israel had received €875.6 million from the European Union's (EU's) Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2007–2013), 70% of which had gone to universities. Its successor, Horizon 2020 (2014–2020), has been endowed with nearly €80 billion in funding, making it the EU's most ambitious research and innovation programme ever. As of February 2015, Israel had received €119.8 million from the Horizon 2020 programme.[1]
In 2013, more than half (51.5%) of government spending was allocated to university research and an additional 29.9% to the development of industrial technologies. Research expenditure on health and the environment has doubled in absolute terms in the past decade but still accounts for less than 1% of total government GERD. Israel is unique among OECD countries in its distribution of government support by objective. Israel ranks at the bottom in government support of research in health care, environmental quality and infrastructure development.[1]
There has been insufficient government funding for universities in recent years. University research in Israel is largely grounded in basic research, even though it also engages in applied research and partnerships with industry. Basic research in Israel only accounted for 13% of research expenditure in 2013, compared to 16% in 2006. There has since been an increase in General University Funds and those destined for non-oriented research.[1]
In 2012, there were 77 282 full-time equivalent researchers in Israel, 82% of whom had acquired an academic education, 10% of whom were practical engineers and technicians and 8% of whom held other qualifications. Eight out of ten (83.8%) were employed in the business sector, 1.1% in the government sector, 14.4% in the higher education sector and 0.7% in non-profit institutions.[1]
In 2011, 28% of senior academic staff were women, up by 5% over the previous decade (from 25% in 2005). Although the representation of women has increased, it remains very low in engineering (14%), physical sciences (11%), mathematics and computer sciences (10%) relative to education (52%) and paramedical occupations (63%).[1]
There is a visible ageing of scientists and engineers in some fields. For instance, about three-quarters of researchers in the physical sciences are over the age of 50 and the proportion is even higher for practical engineers and technicians. The shortage of professional staff will be a major handicap for the national innovation system in the coming years, as the growing demand for engineers and technical professionals begins to outpace supply. [1]
During the 2012/2013 academic year, 34% of bachelor's degrees were obtained in fields related to science and engineering in Israel. This compares well with the proportion in the Republic of Korea (40%) and most Western countries (about 30% on average). The proportion of Israeli graduates in scientific disciplines and engineering was slightly lower at the master's level (27%) but dominated at PhD level (56%).[1]
Recent statistics support the assertion that Israel may be living on the ‘fruits of the past’, that is to say, on the heavy investment made in primary, secondary and tertiary education during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Between 2007 and 2013, the number of graduates in physical sciences, biological sciences and agriculture dropped, even though the total number of university graduates progressed by 19% (to 39 654). Recent data reveal that Israeli educational achievements in the core curricular subjects of mathematics and science are low in comparison to other OECD countries, as revealed by the exam results of Israeli 15-year-olds in the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment. Public spending on primary education has also fallen below the OECD average. The public education budget accounted for 6.9% of GDP in 2002 but only 5.6% in 2011. The share of this budget going to tertiary education has remained stable at 16–18% but, as a share of GDP, has passed under the bar of 1%. There is concern at the deteriorating quality of teachers at all levels of education and the lack of stringent demands on students to strive for excellence.[1]
In recent years, Israel encountered the problem of shortage of specialists in the high-tech industry. Now high technology sector is rapidly growing and demand for tech talent increasing as well - the further growth of the industry depends on it.[43][44] The shortage also generates a significant and disproportionate increase in salaries, which causes companies to look for new employees abroad.[45][46] To solve the problem Israel's Council for Higher Education has already launched a five-years program to increase the number of graduates from computer science and engineering programs by 40%.[47]
Israel is investing heavily in technologies such as AI and data science, smart mobility, digital health and e-governance through Digital Israel, a series of national programmes that include the Fuel Choices and Smart Mobility Initiative.[48]
Digital Israel is the concrete expression of the government’s Digital Policy for 2017–2022. This NIS 1.5 billion (about US$ 425 million) initiative aims to make Israel a global leader in this domain. The programme plans to leverage Israeli expertise in information and communication technologies (ICTs) to accelerate economic growth, reduce socio-economic disparities and make governance smarter, faster and citizen-friendlier.[48]
The programme is led by the Headquarters for the National Digital Israel Initiative, placed under the Ministry of Social Equality; this body collaborates with ministries, local authorities, companies and non-profit organizations.
In 2018, Israel embarked on a five-year National Programme for Digital Health. The stated aims are to create a new national economic growth engine, advance Israel’s clinical and academic research and create a local digital health care system that is among the best in the world. The programme is backed by an investment of NIS 898 million (ca US$ 256 million) and implemented by multiple governmental bodies, including the Ministry of Health, the Ministry for Social Equality (Digital Israel), the Ministry of the Economy and Industry, the Israeli Innovation Authority and the Council for Higher Education.[48][49]
Israel has seven research universities: Bar-Ilan University, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, the University of Haifa, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Tel Aviv University and the Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot. Other scientific research institutions include the Volcani Institute of Agricultural Research in Beit Dagan, the Israel Institute for Biological Research and the Soreq Nuclear Research Center. The Ben-Gurion National Solar Energy Center at Sde Boker is an alternative energy research institute established in 1987 by the Ministry of National Infrastructures to study alternative and clean energy technologies.
Israeli universities are ranked among the top 50 academic institutions in the world in the following scientific disciplines: in chemistry (Technion);[50] in computer science (Weizmann Institute of Science, Technion, Hebrew University, Tel Aviv University);[51] in mathematics and natural sciences (Hebrew University, Technion)[52] and in engineering (Technion).[53]
In 2009, Mor Tzaban, an Israeli high school student from Netivot, won first prize in the First Step to Nobel Prize in Physics competition. In 2012, Yuval Katzenelson of Kiryat Gat won first prize with a paper entitled "Kinetic energy of inert gas in a regenerative system of activated carbon." The Israeli delegation won 14 more prizes in the competition: 9 Israelis students won second prize, one won third prize and one won fourth prize.[54]
Except universities, Israel has seven R&D centers in the periphery. These centers were established by the Ministry of Science and Technology, and include Migal [55] and the Dead Sea and Arava science center.[56] Their orientation is based on applied science and the dissemination of scientific knowledge to the general population. To date, seven centers are working with significant academic impact and relevance to the region.
The number of Israeli publications stagnated between 2005 and 2014, according to Thomson Reuters' Web of Science (Science Citation Index Expanded). Consequently, the number of Israeli publications per million inhabitants also declined: between 2008 and 2013, it dropped from 1 488 to 1 431; this trend reflects a relative constancy in scholarly output in the face of relatively high population growth (1.1% in 2014) for a developed country and near-zero growth in the number of full-time equivalent researchers in universities. Between 2005 and 2014, Israeli scientific output was particularly high in life sciences. Israeli universities do particularly well in computer science but publications in this field tend to appear mostly in conference proceedings, which are not included in the Web of Science.[1]
Israeli publications have a high citation rate and a high share of papers count among the 10 percent most-cited. The share of papers with foreign co-authors is almost twice the OECD average, which is typical of small countries with a developed scientific and technological ecosystem. A team of 50 Israeli scientists work full-time at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, which operates the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland. Israel was granted observer status in 1991 before becoming a fully fledged member in 2014. An Israeli delegation headed by President Shimon Peres visited the particle accelerator in 2011.[57]
Israeli scientists collaborate mostly with Western countries such as the European Union and the United States but there has been strong growth in recent years in collaboration with East Asian countries such as China, Japan, and South Korea, India, and the Southeast Asian city state of Singapore.[1]
Research conducted at Israeli universities and institutes is shared with the private sector through technology transfer (TT) units.[58] Israel's first university TT unit, Yeda, was established by the Weizmann Institute of Science in the 1950s.[59] Research in such fields as arid and semi-arid zone agricultural engineering was transferred to kibbutzim and private farmers on a gratis basis and agricultural knowledge was shared with developing countries.[60]
In 1964, Yissum, the technology transfer company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, was founded.[61]
Since the 1990s, the traditional dual mission of universities of teaching and research has broadened to include a third mission: engagement with society and industry. This evolution has been a corollary of the rise of the electronics industry and information technology services, along with a surge in the number of research personnel following the wave of immigration from the former Soviet Union.[1]
Israel has no specific legislation regulating the transfer of knowledge from the academic sector to the general public and industry. There were attempts in 2004 and 2005 to introduce bills encouraging the transfer of knowledge and technology for the public benefit but, as these attempts failed, each university has since defined its own policy.[1]
All Israeli research universities have technology transfer offices. Recent research conducted by the Samuel Neaman Institute has revealed that, between 2004 and 2013, the universities’ share of patent applications constituted 10–12% of the total inventive activity of Israeli applicants. This is one of the highest shares in the world and is largely due to the intensive activity of the universities’ technology transfer offices. The Weizmann Institute's technology transfer office, Yeda, has been ranked the third-most profitable in the world. Through exemplary university–industry collaboration, the Weizmann Institute of Science and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries have discovered and developed the Copaxone drug for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. Copaxone is Teva's biggest-selling drug, with US$1.68 billion in sales in the first half of 2011. Since the drug's approval by the US Food and Drug Administration in 1996, it is estimated that the Weizmann Institute of Science has earned nearly US$2 billion in royalties from the commercialization of its intellectual property.[1]
In 2007, the United Nations General Assembly's Economic and Financial Committee adopted an Israeli-sponsored draft resolution on agricultural technology transfer to developing countries. The resolution called on developed countries to make their knowledge and know-how accessible to the developing world as part of the UN campaign to eradicate hunger and dire poverty by 2015. The initiative is an outgrowth of Israel's many years of contributing its know-how to developing nations, especially Africa, in the spheres of agriculture, fighting desertification, rural development, irrigation, medical development, computers and the empowerment of women.[62]
Main article: Venture capital in Israel
As new technology companies require money and seed capital to grow and thrive, Israel's science and technology sector is backed by a strong venture capital industry. Between 2004 and 2013, the Israeli venture capital industry played a fundamental role in funding the development of Israel's high-tech sector. In 2013, Israeli companies had raised more venture capital as a share of GDP than companies in any other country as it attracted US$2 346 million alone during that year. Today, Israel is considered one of the biggest venture capital centers in the world outside the United States of America. Several factors have contributed to this growth. These include tax exemptions on Israeli venture capital, funds established in conjunction with large international banks and financial companies and the involvement of major organizations desirous to capitalize on the strengths of Israeli high-tech companies. These organizations include some of the world's largest multinational technology companies, including Apple, Cisco, Google, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Oracle, Siemens and Samsung. In recent years, the share of venture capital invested in the growth stages of enterprises has flourished at the expense of early stage investments.[1] Nowadays, Israeli companies are considered to be more popular than their American peers. For comparison, investments volume in Israeli startups grew by 140% during 2014-2018 and investments in technological startups from the U.S. grew by 64%.[63][64]
Israel's venture capital market backed deals worth US$ 4 759 million in 2018. About half of venture capital-backed deals involved an Israeli venture capitalist, either working solo or with others. According to the IVC database, 480 Israeli venture capital companies invested in Israeli high-tech firms in 2018 and 2019.[48]
For most OECD countries, venture capital constitutes less than 0.05% of GDP. Israel and the USA are the exception; their venture capital industry accounts for more than 0.35% of GDP.[65]
Intellectual property rights in Israel protect copyright and performers’ rights, trademarks, geographical indicators, patents, industrial designs, topographies of integrated circuits, plant breeds and undisclosed business secrets. Both contemporary Israeli legislation and case law are influenced by laws and practices in modern countries, particularly Anglo-American law, the emerging body of EU law and proposals by international organizations.[1]
Israel has made a concerted effort to improve the economy's ability to benefit from an enhanced system of intellectual property rights. This includes increasing the resources of the Israel Patent Office, upgrading enforcement activities and implementing programmes to bring ideas funded by government research to the market. Between 2002 and 2012, foreigners accounted for nearly 80% of the patent applications filed with the Israel Patent Office. A sizeable[clarification needed] share of foreign applicants seeking protection from the Israel Patent Office are pharmaceutical companies such as F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Janssen, Novartis, Merck, Bayer-Schering, Sanofi-Aventis and Pfizer, which happen to be the main business competitors of Israel's own Teva Pharmaceutical Industries.[1]
Israel ranks tenth in the world for the number of patent applications filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) by country of residence of the first-named inventor. Israeli inventors file far more applications with USPTO (5 436 in 2011) than with the European Patent Office (EPO). Moreover, the number of Israeli filings with EPO dropped from 1400 to 1063 between 2006 and 2011. This preference for USPTO is largely because foreign research centres implanted in Israel are primarily owned by US firms such as IBM, Intel, Sandisk, Microsoft, Applied Materials, Qualcomm, Motorola, Google or Hewlett–Packard. The inventions of these companies are attributed to Israel as the inventor of the patent but not as the owner (applicant or assignee). The loss of intellectual property into the hands of multinationals occurs mainly through the recruitment of the best Israeli talent by the local research centres of multinational firms. Although the Israeli economy benefits from the activity of the multinationals’ subsidiaries through job creation and other means, the advantages are relatively small compared to the potential economic gains that might have been achieved, had this intellectual property been utilized to support and foster the expansion of mature Israeli companies of a considerable size.[1]
Further information: Solar power in Israel
As of 2014, Israel leads the 2014 Global Cleantech Innovation Index.[67] The country's lack of conventional energy sources has spurred extensive research and development of alternative energy sources and Israel has developed innovative technologies in the solar energy field.[68] Israel has become the world's largest per capita user of solar water heaters in the home. A new, high-efficiency receiver to collect concentrated sunlight has been developed, which will enhance the use of solar energy in industry as well.[69]
In a 2009 report by the CleanTech Group, Israel ranked number 5 clean tech country in the world.[70] The Arrow Ecology company has developed the ArrowBio process a patented system which takes trash directly from collection trucks and separates organic and inorganic materials through gravitational settling, screening, and hydro-mechanical shredding. The system is capable of sorting huge volumes of solid waste, salvaging recyclables, and turning the rest into biogas and rich agricultural compost. The system is used in California, Australia, Greece, Mexico, the United Kingdom and in Israel. For example, an ArrowBio plant that has been operational at the Hiriya landfill site since December 2003 serves the Tel Aviv area, and processes up to 150 tons of garbage a day.[71]
In 2010, Technion – the Israel Institute of Technology – established the Grand Technion Energy Program (GTEP). This multidisciplinary task-force brings together Technion's top researchers in energy science and technology from over nine different faculties. GTEP's 4-point strategy targets research and development of alternative fuels; renewable energy sources; energy storage and conversion; and energy conservation. GTEP is presently the only center in Israel offering graduate studies in energy science and technology to bring the energy skills and know-how to address the energy challenges of the future.
Since 1999, large reserves of natural gas have been discovered off Israel's coast. This fossil fuel has become the primary fuel for electricity generation in Israel and is gradually replacing oil and coal. In 2010, 37% of electricity in Israel was generated from natural gas, leading to savings of US$1.4 billion for the economy. In 2015, this rate is expected to surpass 55%.[72]
In addition, the usage of natural gas in industry – both as a source of energy and as a raw material – is rapidly expanding, alongside the requisite infrastructure. This is giving companies a competitive advantage by reducing their energy costs and lowering national emissions. Since early 2013, almost the entire natural gas consumption of Israel has been supplied by the Tamar field, an Israeli–American private partnership. The estimated reserves amount to about 1 000 BCM, securing Israel's energy needs for many decades to come and making Israel a potentially major regional exporter of natural gas. In 2014, initial export agreements were signed with the Palestinian Authority, Jordan and Egypt; there are also plans to export natural gas to Turkey and the EU via Greece.[72]
In 2011, the government asked the Academy of Sciences and Humanities to convene a panel of experts to consider the full range of implications of the most recent discoveries of natural gas. The panel recommended encouraging research into fossil fuels, training engineers and focusing research efforts on the impact of gas production on the Mediterranean Sea's ecosystem. The Mediterranean Sea Research Centre of Israel was established in 2012 with an initial budget of NIS 70 million; new study programmes have since been launched at the centre to train engineers and other professionals for the oil and gas industry. Meanwhile, the Office of the Chief Scientist, among others, plans to use Israel's fledgling natural gas industry as a stepping stone to building capacity in advanced technology and opening up opportunities for Israeli innovation targeting the global oil and gas markets.[72]
Further information: Israel Space Agency
During the 1970s and 1980s Israel began developing the infrastructure needed for research and development in space exploration and related sciences. In November 1982, the Minister of Science and Technology, Yuval Ne'eman, established the Israel Space Agency (ISA), to coordinate and supervise a national space program as well as to conduct space, planetary, and aviation research. Because of geographical constraints, as well as safety considerations, the Israeli space program focuses on very small satellites loaded with payloads of a high degree of sophistication, and cooperation with other national space agencies.[73] The Technion Asher Space Research Institute plays a central role in educating the aerospace engineers of the next generation.[74] In 2009 Israel was ranked 2nd among 20 top countries in space sciences by Thomson Reuters agency.[75]
Israel became the eighth nation in the world to have an orbital launch capability when it deployed its first satellite, Ofeq-1, using the locally built Shavit launch vehicle on September 19, 1988, and has made important[clarification needed] contributions in a number of areas in space research, including laser communication, research into embryo development and osteoporosis in space, pollution monitoring, and mapping geology, soil and vegetation in semi-arid environments.[76]
Key projects include the TAUVEX telescope, the Tel Aviv University Ultra Violet Experiment, a UV telescope for astronomical observations which was developed in the 1990s to be accommodated on an Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) geo-synchronous satellite GSAT-4, for joint operation and use by Indian and Israeli scientists; the VENUS microsatellite, developed in collaboration with the French space agency, CNES, which will use an Israeli-developed space camera, electric space engine and algorithms; and MEIDEX (Mediterranean – Israel Dust Experiment), in collaboration with NASA.[77]
Ilan Ramon was Israel's first astronaut. Ramon was the Space Shuttle payload specialist on board the fatal STS-107 mission of Space Shuttle Columbia, in which he and the six other crew members were killed in a re-entry accident over the southern United States. Ramon had been selected as a payload specialist in 1997 and trained at the Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, from 1998 until 2003.[78] Among other experiments, Ramon was responsible for the MEIDEX project in which he was required to take pictures of atmospheric aerosol (dust) in the Mediterranean area using a multispectral camera designed to provide scientific information about atmospheric aerosols and the influence of global changes on the climate, and data for the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) and Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instruments. Researchers from Tel Aviv University (TAU) were responsible for the scientific aspect of the experiment. The TAU team also worked with a US company, Orbital Sciences Corporation, to construct and test special flight instruments for the project.[79]
Further information: Israel Aerospace Industries
Aerospace engineering related to the country's defense needs has generated technological development with consequent civilian spin-offs. The Arava short take-off and landing (STOL) plane manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries was the first aircraft to be produced in Israel, in the late 1960s, for both military and civilian uses.[80] This was followed by the production of the Westwind business jet[81] from 1965 to 1987, and later variants, the Astra[82] and the Gulfstream G100, which are still in active service.
Israel is among the few countries capable of launching satellites into orbit and locally designed and manufactured satellites have been produced and launched by Israel Aerospace Industries(IAI), Israel's largest military engineering company, in cooperation with the Israel Space Agency. The AMOS-1 geostationary satellite began operations in 1996 as Israel's first commercial communications satellite. It was built primarily for direct-to-home television broadcasting, TV distribution and VSAT services. AMOS-2 was launched in December 2003 and a further series of AMOS communications satellites (AMOS 2 – 5i) are operated or in development by the Spacecom Satellite Communications company, headquartered in Ramat-Gan, Israel. Spacecom provides satellite telecommunications services to countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.[83] Another satellite, the Gurwin-II TechSAT, designed and manufactured by the Technion, was launched in July 1998 to provide communications, remote sensing and research services. EROS, launched in 2000, is a non-geostationary orbit satellite for commercial photography and surveillance services.[84]
Israel also develops, manufactures, and exports a large number of related aerospace products, including rockets and satellites, display systems, aeronautical computers, instrumentation systems, drones and flight simulators. Israel's second largest defense company is Elbit Systems, which makes electro-optical systems for air, sea and ground forces; drones; control and monitoring systems; communications systems and more.[85] The Technion - Israel Institute of Technology is home to the Asher Space Research Institute, which is unique in Israel as a university-based center of space research. At ASRI, Israeli students designed, built and launched their own satellite: Gurwin TechSat.[86]
Main article: Agricultural research in Israel
Israel's agricultural sector is characterized by an intensive system of production stemming from the need to overcome the scarcity in natural resource, particularly water and arable land, in a country where more than half of its area is desert. The growth in agricultural production is based on close cooperation of scientists, farmers and agriculture-related industries and has resulted in the development of advanced agricultural technology, water-conserving irrigation methods, anaerobic digestion, greenhouse technology, desert agriculture and salinity research.[87] Israeli companies also supply irrigation, water conservation and greenhouse technologies and know-how to other countries.[88][89][90]
The modern technology of drip irrigation was invented in Israel by Simcha Blass and his son Yeshayahu. Instead of releasing water through tiny holes, blocked easily by tiny particles, water was released through larger and longer passageways by using velocity to slow water inside a plastic emitter. The first experimental system of this type was established in 1959 when Blass partnered with Kibbutz Hatzerim to create an irrigation company called Netafim. Together they developed and patented the first practical surface drip irrigation emitter.[91] This method was very successful and had spread to Australia, North America and South America by the late 1960s.
Israeli farmers rely heavily on greenhouse technology to ensure a constant, year-round supply of high quality produce, while overcoming the obstacles posed by adverse climatic conditions, and water and land shortages. Technologies include computerized greenhouse climate control, greenhouse shading, irrigation, fertigation, greenhouse water recycling and biological control of plant disease and insects, allow farmers to control most production parameters. As a result, Israeli farmers successfully grow 3 million roses per hectare in season and an average of 300 tons of tomatoes per hectare, four times the amount harvested in open fields.[92]
Israeli companies excel in computer software and hardware development, particularly computer security technologies, semiconductors and communications. Israeli firms include Check Point, the creators of the first commercial firewall; Amdocs, which makes business and operations support systems for telecoms; Comverse, a voice-mail company; and Mercury Interactive, which measures software performance.[93] A high concentration of high-tech industries in the coastal plain of Israel has led to the nickname Silicon Wadi (lit: "Silicon Valley").[94] Both Israeli and international companies are based there. Intel,[95] Microsoft,[96] and Apple[97][98] built their first overseas research and development centers in Israel, and other high-tech multi-national corporations, such as IBM, Cisco Systems, and Motorola, have opened facilities in the country. Intel developed its dual-core Core Duo processor at its Israel Development Center in Haifa.[99] More than 3,850 start-ups have been established in Israel, making it second only to the US in this sector[100] and has the largest number of NASDAQ-listed companies outside North America.[101]
Optics, electro-optics, and lasers are significant fields and Israel produces fiber-optics, electro-optic inspection systems for printed circuit boards, thermal imaging night-vision systems, and electro-optics-based robotic manufacturing systems.[102] Research into robotics first began in the late 1970s, has resulted in the production of robots designed to perform a wide variety of computer aided manufacturing tasks, including diamond polishing, welding, packing, and building. Research is also conducted in the application of artificial intelligence to robots.[102]
Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science and Technion – Israel Institute of Technology are ranked among the top 20 academic institutions in the world in computer science.[51] An Israeli electronics engineer and businessman who was the founder, chief executive officer, and president of M-Systems, Dov Moran, invented the first flash drive in 1998.[103]
Main article: Israeli cybersecurity industry
In November 2010, the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu entrusted a task force with responsibility for formulating national plans to place Israel among the top five countries in the world for cybersecurity. On 7 August 2011, the government approved the establishment of the National Cyber Bureau to promote the Israeli cyberdefence industry. The bureau is based in the Prime Minister's Office. The National Cyber Bureau allocated NIS 180 million (circa US$50 million) over 2012–2014 to encourage cyber research and dual military–civilian R&D; the funding is also being used to develop human capital, including through the creation of cybersecurity centres at Israeli universities that are funded jointly by the National Cyber Bureau and the universities themselves.[72]
In January 2014, the prime minister launched CyberSpark, Israel's cyber innovation park, as part of plans to turn Israel into a global cyber hub. Located in the city of Beer-Sheva to foster economic development in southern Israel, CyberSpark is a geographical cluster of leading cyber companies, multinational corporations and universities, involving Ben Gurion University of the Negev, technology defence units, specialized educational platforms and the national Cyber Event Readiness Team.[72]
About half of the firms in CyberSpark are Israeli, mostly small to medium-sized. Multinational companies operating in CyberSpark include EMC2, IBM, Lockheed Martin and Deutsche Telekom. PayPal recently acquired the Israeli start-up CyActive and has since announced plans to set up its second Israeli research centre in CyberSpark, with a focus on cybersecurity. This acquisition is just one of the many Israeli cybersecurity start-ups acquired by multinational companies in the past few years. Major acquisitions of Israeli start-ups in 2014 include Intellinx, purchased by Bottomline Technologies, and Cyvera, purchased by Palo Alto Networks.[72]
The National Cyber Bureau has estimated that the number of Israeli cyberdefence companies had doubled in the past five years to about 300 by 2014. Israeli companies account for an estimated 10% of global sales, which currently total an estimated US$60 billion. Total research spending on cyberdefence in Israel quadrupled between 2010 and 2014 from US$50 million to US$200 million, bringing Israel's spending to about 15% of global research spending on cyberdefence in 2014. Cybersecurity technologies are exported by Israel in accordance with the Wassenaar Arrangement, a multilateral agreement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies.[72]
The Israeli cyber-intelligence firm, NSO Group Technologies had reportedly been selling its Pegasus spyware to the UAE, Saudi Arabia and other repressive Gulf states, with official mediation of the Israeli government. The software permits law enforcement authorities to hack into cellphones, copy their contents and sometimes even to control their camera and audio recording capabilities.[104] In 2018, a lawsuit was filed against NSO accusing it of secretly helping Saudi Arabia to spy Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist, later murdered in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul.[105] In 2019, WhatsApp sued NSO accusing it of helping government spies in a hacking spree, where they broke into the phones of roughly 1,400 users across 20 countries, targeting diplomats, political dissidents, journalists and senior government officials.[106]
Since rain falls only in the winter, and largely in the northern part of the country, irrigation and water engineering is vital to the country's economic survival and growth. Large-scale projects to direct water from rivers and reservoirs in the north, to make optimal use of groundwater, and to reclaim flood overflow and sewage have been undertaken. The largest such project was a national water distribution system called the National Carrier, completed in 1964, flowing from the country's biggest freshwater lake, the Sea of Galilee, to the northern Negev desert, through huge channels, pipes and tunnels.[107] The Ashkelon seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination plant was the largest in the world at the time it was built.[108] The project was developed as a BOT (build-operate-transfer) by a consortium of three international companies: Veolia water, IDE Technologies and Elran.[109]
By 2019, desalination provided 70% of domestic and municipal water.[48] The growing volume of desalinated water is creating challenges of its own. Lack of magnesium in the daily diet is associated with heart disease and this condition is becoming more prevalent in Israel in areas where desalinated water is the only source of drinking water, spurring discussion about whether to add magnesium to the water.[110]
According to water experts, pipe leakage is one of the major problems confronting the global water supply today. For Israel, which is two-thirds desert, water-saving technologies are of critical importance. The International Water Association has cited Israel as one of the leaders in innovative methods to reduce "non-revenue water," i.e., water lost in the system before reaching the customer.[111]
Further information: Rafael Advanced Defense Systems
Rejection of requests for weapons and technologies, arms sanctions and massive rearmament of the Arab countries prodded Israel into the development of a broad-based indigenous arms industry.[112] The Israel Defense Forces relies heavily on local military technology and high-tech weapons systems designed and manufactured in Israel. Israeli-developed military equipment includes small arms, anti-tank rockets and missiles, boats and submarines, tanks, armored vehicles, artillery, unmanned surface vehicles, aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), air-defense systems, weapon stations and radar. An impetus for the development of the industry was the embargo on arms sales to Israel during the Six-Day War which prompted Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI), founded as a maintenance facility in 1953, to begin developing and assembling its own aircraft, including the Kfir, the Arava and the Nesher.[113]
Notable technology includes the Uzi submachine gun, introduced in 1954,[114] the country's main battle tank, the Merkava, and the jointly designed Israeli and U.S. Arrow missile, one of the world's only operational, advanced anti-ballistic missile systems.[115] The Iron Dome mobile air defense system developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems is designed to intercept short-range rockets and artillery shells. The system was created as a defensive countermeasure to the rocket threat against Israel's civilian population on its northern and southern borders, and was declared operational and initially deployed in the first quarter of 2011.[116] It is designed to intercept very short-range threats up to 70 kilometers in all-weather situations.[117] On April 7, 2011, the system successfully intercepted a Grad rocket launched from Gaza, marking the first time in history a short-range rocket was ever intercepted.[118]
Israel has also developed a network of reconnaissance satellites.[119] The Ofeq (lit. Horizon) series (Ofeq 1 – Ofeq 7) were launched between 1988 and 2007.[120] The satellites were carried by Shavit rockets launched from Palmachim Airbase. Both the satellites and the launchers were designed and manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), with Elbit Systems' El-Op division supplying the optical payload.
Israel also has the first all-around operational active defense system for tanks named Trophy, successfully intercepting anti tank missiles fired at Merkava tanks.[citation needed]
Israel has an advanced[clarification needed] infrastructure of medical and paramedical research and bioengineering capabilities. Biotechnology, biomedical, and clinical research account for over half of the country's scientific publications, and the industrial sector has used this extensive knowledge to develop pharmaceuticals, medical equipment and treatment therapies.[121]
Israel has over 900 biotechnology and life sciences companies in operation throughout the country with nearly 50 to 60 formed each year. Many multinational corporations such as J&J, Perrigo, GE Healthcare and Phillips Medical have all established branches in Israel.[6]
Israeli scientists have developed methods for producing a human growth hormone and interferon, a group of proteins effective against viral infections. Copaxone, a medicine effective in the treatment of multiple sclerosis, was developed in Israel from basic research to industrial production. Genetic engineering has resulted in a wide range of diagnostic kits based on monoclonal antibodies, with other microbiological products.[121]
Advanced stem cell research takes place in Israel. The first steps in the development of stem cell studies occurred in Israel, with research in this field dating back to studies of bone marrow stem cells in the early 1960s. By 2006, Israeli scientists were leaders on a per capita basis in the number of articles published in scientific journals related to stem cell research.[122] In 2011, Israeli scientist Inbar Friedrich Ben-Nun led a team which produced the first stem cells from endangered species, a breakthrough that could save animals in danger of extinction.[123] In 2012, Israel was one of the world leaders in stem cell research, with the largest number of articles, patents and research studies per capita.[124]
Sophisticated medical equipment for both diagnostic and treatment purposes has been developed and marketed worldwide, such as computer tomography (CT) scanners, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems, ultrasound scanners, nuclear medical cameras, and surgical lasers. Other innovations include a controlled-release liquid polymer to prevent accumulation of tooth plaque, a device to reduce both benign and malignant swellings of the prostate gland, the use of botulin to correct eye squint, and a miniature camera encased in a swallowable capsule used to diagnose gastrointestinal disease,[121] developed by Given Imaging.[125] MeMic Medical LTD. founded in 2012 received its FDA approval in 2021 for its robotic platform for natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) for myomectomy through the vagina.[126]
In 2009, scientists from several European countries and Israel developed a robotic prosthetic hand, called SmartHand, which functions like a real one, allowing patients to write with it, type on a keyboard, play piano and perform other fine movements. The prosthesis has sensors which enable the patient to sense real feeling in its fingertips.[127] A new MRI system for identifying and diagnosing tumors developed at the Weizmann Institute has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and is already being used in diagnosing breast and testicular cancer. The new system will replace invasive procedures and eliminate waiting time for the results.[128]
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, headquartered in Petah Tikva, Israel, is the largest generic drug manufacturer in the world and one of the 20 largest pharmaceutical companies worldwide.[129] It specializes in generic drugs and active pharmaceutical ingredients and has developed proprietary pharmaceuticals such as Copaxone and Laquinimod for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, and Rasagiline for the treatment of Parkinson's disease.[130]
The world's first Quantum computing center, located in Tel Aviv, which has several different quantum computers able to hold different quibit modalities was opened in the university of Tel Aviv in June 2024.[131][132]
NoCamels and CTech are among several Israeli online websites that focus on Israeli innovation, science and technology.[133][134]
For a more comprehensive list, see List of Israeli Nobel laureates.
Six Israelis have won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry. In 2004, biologists Avram Hershko and Aaron Ciechanover of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology were two of the three winners of the prize, for the discovery of ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation.[135] In 2009, Ada Yonath was a co-winner of the prize for her studies of the structure and function of the ribosome. She is the first Israeli woman to win a Nobel Prize.[136] Michael Levitt and Arieh Warshel received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2013 for the development of multiscale models for complex chemical systems.[137]
Additionally, 1958 Medicine laureate Joshua Lederberg was born to Israeli Jewish parents, and 2004 Physics laureate David Gross grew up partly in Israel, where he obtained his undergraduate degree. In the social sciences, the Nobel Prize for Economics was awarded to Daniel Kahneman in 2002, to Robert Aumann of the Hebrew University in 2005, and to Joshua Angrist in 2021.
Israel portal
Science portal
Technology portal
This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0. Text taken from UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030, 409-429, UNESCO, UNESCO Publishing.
Levav, Amos (1998). The Birth of Israel's High-Tech. Zmora Bitan (in Hebrew).
Gewirtz, Jason (2016). Israel's Edge: The Story of The IDF's Most Elite Unit - Talpiot. Gefen Publishing House.
Siegel, Seth M. (2017) Let There Be Water: Israel's Solution for a Water-Starved World. A Thomas Dunne Book for St. Martin's Griffin.
Katz, Yaakov; Bohbot, Amir (2017). The Weapon Wizards: How Israel Became a High-Tech Military Superpower. St. Martin's Press.
Kainan, Noga; Reuter, Adam (2018). Israel - Island of Success
Hemi, Galit; Shulman, Sophie (2018). The Israeli Mind: the story of the Israeli innovation. Yedioth Books (in Hebrew).
Jorisch, Avi (2018). Thou Shalt Innovate: How Israeli Ingenuity Repairs the World. Gefen Publishing House.
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correct_foundationPlace_00083
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FactBench
|
1
| 67
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https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/comverse-mobile-internet/26274192
|
en
|
Comverse Mobile Internet
|
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2013-09-17T10:42:07+00:00
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Comverse Mobile Internet - Download as a PDF or view online for free
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en
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https://public.slidesharecdn.com/_next/static/media/favicon.7bc3d920.ico
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SlideShare
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https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/comverse-mobile-internet/26274192
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1. The Right Stuff: DMM Solution Product Suite With data trafficgrowing rapidly worldwide, Communication Service Providers (CSPs) seek to expand their business offering, move beyond flat rate pricing models, and adopt multiple marketing and monetization tools for maximiz- ing their revenues – while assuring an enhanced real-time subscriber experience. Comverse Data Management and Monetization (DMM) maximizes the mobile data opportunity with three key product components: DMM Policy Manager (with Policy Studio) DMM Policy Enforcer DMM Mobile Internet Analytics
2. Comverse DMM Policy Manager is a business-oriented solution enabling CSPs to define advanced data monetiza- tion plans and promotions. Compliant with 3GPP Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) standards (Release 9), the DMM Policy Manager goes further, providing beyond-standards facilitation of advanced subscriber-aware, application-aware and device- aware policy rules. Fast implementation of end-to-end scenarios accelerates monetization and marketing innovation. With highest independently confirmed performance and scalability stats1 , DMM Policy Manager is ready to handle the massive traffic associated with future LTE and M2M scenarios, functioning across a variety of access technologies: HSPA, EVDO, WiMAX, LTE, etc. For maximum value, DMM Policy Manager can be integrated with Comverse DMM Policy Enforcer as well as with Comverse ONE® Billing and Active Customer Management; and is open for integration with external network and IT elements. DMM Policy Studio™ This dedicated marketing oriented policy creation environment accelerates definition of data plans. The Policy Studio bridges the gap between the highly technical infrastructure where CSP networking and IT department technicians operate, and the CSP marketing team that deals with subscriber plans, quality of experience, etc. The Policy Studio’s easy-to-use graphical interface lets CSP marketers create multiple policy plans and promotions with virtually no learning curve. 1) http://www.comverse.com/press_releases.aspx?newsId=2470 Comverse DMM Policy Enforcer is a modular PCEF enforcement solution that enables CSPs to bring a broad range of business scenarios rapidly to market. DMM Policy Enforcer includes the following enforcement elements: Traffic and Quota Management: Enables CSPs to effectively manage traffic loads while enhancing service personalization, utilizing DPI-based traffic and quota management functions such as bandwidth shaping and prioritization Application Gateway: Equips CSPs with traffic and content manipulation capabilities to ensure the highest quality of experience, utilizing a range of Layer 7 services such as Video Optimization, Parental Control, and Content Adaptation Charging Enablement: Supports real-time and near real-time data charging, providing differentiated charging capabilities for any type of subscriber – prepaid and postpaid This unique combination governed by the DMM Policy Manager enables both policy definition and enforcement of complex business logic, such as quota based video optimization and content filtering policies. DMM Policy Manager DMM Policy Enforcer
3. Comverse DMM Mobile Internet Analytics provides CSPs with enhanced analysis capabilities. The Analytics module produces real time and long-term trend analysis reports which can be utilized for network planning and smarter marketing decisions. Service outputs include: Complete and Accurate Picture of Network Usage: Per application, subscriber group, and device. Analysis of Mobile Usage Behavior: Based on device, network, segments, services, protocols & applications, and demographic information. Fraud Detection Indicators: Identifies extreme changes in subscriber behavior (i.e. data volume and usage patterns, device used, time of day, etc.) Comverse DMM lets CSPs capitalize on the vast mobile broadband potential. Targeted premium segmented plans, upselling and cross- selling of data services, and partnering with third-party content and application providers enable CSPs to leverage data usage and growth. CSPs can provide advanced personalized services, together with effective tools to enable users to better manage their own consumption. DMM Mobile Internet Analytics Meeting the Current and Future Challenges Facing CSPs Boosting Monetization through Segmented Plans Roaming and Bill Shock Prevention helps increase data transparency and customer satisfaction, enabling: Easy definition of advanced roaming plans Quota/ balance based subscriber notifications Redirection to upsell pages and trigger of multiple enforcement actions upon reaching quota/ balance limitations Roaming Charges and Bill Shock Prevention Effective data monetization requires tight integration between policy management, policy enforcement, and BSS elements. Comverse’s unique PCRF-PCEF-BSS solution enables CSPs to introduce advanced monetization scenarios with the fastest TTM and lowest TCO. Providing utmost flexibility in defining hybrid network- and subscriber-aware policies through the tight linkage with Comverse ONE Billing & Active Customer Management, Comverse DMM is also open to work with external IT elements using standard Gy, Sy interfaces. Tight Integration between Policy Management, Policy Enforcement and BSS
|
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correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
1
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|
https://www.shareholdersfoundation.com/comverse-technology-inc-nasdaqcmvt-investor-investigation-over-potential-breaches-fiduciary-duties
|
en
|
Comverse Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:CMVT) Investor Investigation Over Potential Breaches Of Fiduciary Duties In Merger
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this_is_test_body_summary
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https://www.shareholdersfoundation.com/comverse-technology-inc-nasdaqcmvt-investor-investigation-over-potential-breaches-fiduciary-duties
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Investigation Overview
Aug. 14, 2012 (Shareholders Foundation) -- The proposed takeover of Comverse Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:CMVT) prompted an investigation on behalf of current investors in NASDAQ:CMVT shares concerning whether the offer by Verint Systems Inc. is unfair and undervalues Comverse Technology, Inc. On August 13, 2012, Comverse Technology, Inc. ('CTI') announced that it has signed a merger agre...
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||||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
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FactBench
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3
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https://www.cnbc.com/id/100152324
|
en
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Cadian Capital Management Announces Its Support for the Spin-off of Comverse, Inc.
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2012-11-11T14:59:44-05:00
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NEW YORK, Oct. 9, 2012/ PRNewswire/-- Cadian Capital Management, LLC, today announced that it intends to vote in favor of the spin-off of Comverse, Inc. from Comverse Technology, Inc. at the upcoming special meeting of shareholders scheduled for October 10, 2012. Cadian Capital believes the terms of the spin-off are fair and reasonable to and in the best interests of CTI's shareholders.
|
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CNBC
|
https://www.cnbc.com/id/100152324
|
NEW YORK, Oct. 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Cadian Capital Management, LLC (together with its affiliates, "Cadian Capital"), today announced that it intends to vote in favor of the spin-off of Comverse, Inc. ("CNS") from Comverse Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: CMVT) ("CTI") at the upcoming special meeting of shareholders scheduled for October 10, 2012. Cadian Capital believes the terms of the spin-off are fair and reasonable to and in the best interests of CTI's shareholders.
In May 2012, Cadian Capital entered into an agreement with CTI regarding the composition of the Boards of Directors of CTI, its majority-owned subsidiary Verint Systems, Inc., and CNS and agreed to vote in favor of the planned spin-off of CNS to CTI's shareholders, provided the terms of the spin-off were fair and reasonable to and in the best interests of CTI's shareholders.
Cadian Capital is an equity long/short hedge fund manager with a focus on the technology sector.
Contact:
Eric Bannasch / Justin Griffith
Cadian Capital Management, LLC
(212) 792-8800
SOURCE Cadian Capital Management, LLC
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correct_foundationPlace_00083
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FactBench
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1
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https://www.standrews-ri.org/about-us/board-of-trustees
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en
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Board of Trustees
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The Board's connection to the School is deep and personal. As committed volunteers, the Board members offer their services, wisdom, and support.
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Nina has served in a number of capacities for St. Andrew’s including Trustee, Chair of the Governance Committee and Vice President. Her history with St. Andrew’s started with her son, Matt, now an alumnus.
Nina graduated from Tulane University. After Tulane, she worked at the National Park Service and Worlds' Fairs in Knoxville and New Orleans before moving to Cuttyhunk Island to run and eventually own the Allen House Inn and Restaurant. After selling it, she purchased another property on the Island and opened a gift shop and rental property, which she closed in 2010 when she retired from retail. Nina has consulted with different groups on the island and has served on Cuttyhunk’s Finance Committee, School Board and Electric Light Committee. Presently, she is working with the Visitor Center committee to set up a welcome center in the old Coast Guard boathouse.
“St. Andrew’s has been a positive and rewarding experience for our whole family. Matt’s His education at St. Andrew’s was the pivotal life experience that has enabled him to flourish and succeed both in college and the "real" world.”
David has served as treasurer, vice president, and president of the board of trustees and is a devoted and supportive alumnus of St. Andrew's School. He is president and owner of the Whittet-Higgins Company, which he established in 1966, a manufacturer of mechanical power transmission equipment. David received his MBA in 1962 from Harvard University and is a 1956 graduate of Brown University. Since his graduation from St. Andrew’s in 1952, David has given much of his time and talent. He was instrumental in the concept and development of The David A. Brown '52 Science Center, which was named in his honor in September of 2000. David resides in East Providence with his wife Susan.
Head of Burns & Levinson’s Providence office, senior environmental attorney and founding member of the Infrastructure & Public-Private Partnerships (P3) Group, Sean Coffey works with private developers, financial institutions, municipal and state governments and quasi-public agencies on environmental matters and public-private partnership projects. Sean’s two sons are graduates of St. Andrew’s, James Coffey ‘17 and Damon Coffey ‘20.
Sean served the former Rhode Island Department of Natural Resources as staff counsel and assisted in the development of legislation creating the Department of Environmental management where he served as legal coune=sel and chief legal counsel from 1977 to 1983. He served as a Rhode Island State Senator from Providence’s Second District from 1985 to 1991. Sean is also past Chair of the Committee on Environmental Law of the Rhode Island Bar Association and Served as Chairman of the Rhode Island P3 Commission.
Sean previously served as board chair of the United Way of Rhode Island and the Providence Preservation Society. He holds a BSFS in International Relations from Georgetown University and a juris doctorate from Boston University School of Law.
Joe Farmer is a founding partner of Farmer, First & Vining, CPAs and has more than twenty years of expertise related to the tax needs of closely-held businesses, high net worth individuals and non-profit organizations. He earned his Masters Degree in Taxation from Bryant University in 1990.
Throughout his career, Joe has been very involved in community non-profit organizations, serving on the boards of Bristol County Lions Club, Columbus Credit Union, East Bay Chamber of Commerce, East Bay Community Development Corporation (and related entities), ReFocus RI, and Riverwood Mental Health Services.
At St. Andrew’s, he is a member of the Finance Committee and a member of the Friends of St. Andrew’s. His wife Pam was St. Andrew’s first Spanish teacher and currently serves as the Assistant Director for Alumni Engagement. Joe and Pam live in Bristol, RI and have five children, two of whom are St. Andrew’s students.
Pam has been a member of the Board of Trustees for 25 years and has served as president of the Board. She is a Board member and the development chair for the Providence Public Library Foundation, and serves on the Board of Trustees and is a founding member of Tap-In, Inc. She has been active at St. John's Church in Barrington, where she has served as senior warden. Mrs. Faulkner is a past president of the Junior League of Rhode Island. She has a granddaughter and grand-niece who are students at St. Andrew’s and she lives in Barrington, RI.
"I have stayed so long on the St. Andrew's Board because I passionately believe in its mission. I have seen up close what the school can do, especially the teachers, for its students. It brings me the greatest joy when I run into a parent and hear, 'St. Andrew's has changed my child's life. I don't know what would have happened if we hadn't found St. Andrew's.'"
Soohuen is an Associate at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, where he leverages his federal regulatory and enforcement experience to advise his clients with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) compliance issues.
After St. Andrew’s, Soohuen attended Rutgers University and soon after graduation, served in the U.S. Navy for 5 years. Soohuen then obtained his law degrees from St. John’s University School of Law and Georgetown University Law Center. He and his partner, Josephine, live in San Francisco, CA with their rescue Shar Pei-mix, Bella. In his spare time, Soohuen enjoys smoking various cuts of meat, which he picked up in the last few years.
John is the former President of Matrix Incorporated in East Providence, Rhode Island, a manufacturing company specializing in close tolerance injection molded components. He is a former Board President at St. Andrew’s who served as a member for 25 years. In 2020 he re-joined the Board for a second time. He is an active volunteer for non-profits in the state including Hattie Ide Chaffee and We Make RI. John lives in Barrington, Rhode Island, with his wife of 38 years, Betsy. Together, they have two children and three grandchildren. His hobbies include tennis, golf and fishing.
Peter joined the St Andrew's family in 2015 when his daughter, Victoria ‘22 entered St. Andrew's in the sixth grade. Peter has previously served as the vice-chairperson to the Industry Advisory Board of Roger Williams University’s Construction Management Program from 2008 to 2018. He currently serves as the associate dean for administration and finance for the College of Natural Sciences at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Prior to that, he has served in multiple leadership roles at Brown University and the FDA, specializing in the design, construction of, and operations of biomedical research and educational facilities. Peter graduated from Roger Williams University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Construction Management and he received his MBA from Bryant University. Peter and his wife, Andrea, reside in the Pioneer Valley area of Massachusetts and have two daughters Grace and Victoria.
Tim is in his 13th year as Head of School at Pingree School in South Hamilton, MA, where he lives with his wife Jen and their four children. Prior to Pingree, Tim was a teacher, coach, and administrator at Springside Chestnut Hill School in Philadelphia and Hampton Roads Academy in Virginia. Both Tim and Jen are working artists and Tim continues to teach drawing and painting at Pingree. Tim has served as a trustee and volunteer for many boards and professional organizations, including the Association of Independent Schools in New England (AISNE), Tower School, Montserrat College of Art, and Bowdoin College Museum of Art. Tim earned his BA from Bowdoin, MFA from Maryland Institute College of Art, and Ed.D. from the University of Pennsylvania.
Audrey, of Barrington is a practicing internal medicine doctor with Coastal Medical. Prior to this, she worked with Rhode Island Group Health Association (RIGHA) and then Harvard Pilgrim Health Care-NE (HPHC-NE). Kupchan is a graduate of Union College. She attended Cornell University Medical College in New York City, after which she completed The Primary Care Internal Medicine Residency at Rhode Island Hospital. Kupchan was involved with the St. Andrew’s Parent Association (SAPA) when her children were students and she is currently co-chair of the Development Committee. In regards to other organizations, Kupchan has been involved with committees such as Strategic Planning (Synagogue), re-writing by-laws (RIGHA), and Pension Committee and Governance Committee (Coastal Medical). There have been numerous ad-hoc committees on which she has served throughout her career as well, and in the past she has held administrative positions as chief of medicine and health center director for HPHC-NE. Kupchan resides in Barrington with her husband Sam Havens and sons Daniel DeLuca '12 and David DeLuca '14.
Mike is a Distinguished Military Graduate of Providence College's ROTC Class of 1997. He has served our country in many ways including being deployed to the Republic of Germany and Kosovo. In February of 2002, after joining the Rhode Island Army National Guard, he was appointed Commander of the 173rd Infantry Detachment Long Range Surveillance who was mobilized in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom III followed by a deployment with Special Operations Detachment Global (SOD-G) in support of Operation Enduring Freedom Caribbean and Central America. In 2010, he graduated with Distinction from the U.S. Naval War College with a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies. In 2013, LTC Manning mobilized and deployed in the capacity of Senior Special Operations Advisor to the Afghan Ministry of Defense. He has also served as an Assistant Professor of Military Science at Providence College, State Partnership Program Coordinator, Legislative Liaison, Operations Officer for Special Operations Detachment Global, Secretary of the General Staff and presently serves as the Commander of the RI Army National Guard’s Recruiting & Retention Battalion.
Mike received an honorary doctorate from his Alma Mater, Providence College, and presented the commencement address that year. LTC Manning is a former Peer-to-Peer Committee Chairperson for the Veterans Task Force of Rhode Island and Board Member for the Providence College Alumni Board. He previously served as the Head Coach for the Wickford Middle School Girls Soccer Team and as a longstanding coach with the Ocean State Soccer Club in North Kingstown, RI. He is a former member of the track team at Providence College and was a member of the Rhode Island National Guard Marathon Team. LTC Manning resides in Hingham MA and is the proud father of three children, Michael ‘17, Jack, and Shannon.
Sara Shea McConnell is the commissioner for the City of Providence Park Commission and former board president for Sophia Academy. She graduated from Providence College with a bachelor of arts and received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Rhode Island College. Shea McConnell has served on the Dorcas Place Adult & Family Literacy Board of Directors and as Diversity Committee chair and vice-chair for the Gordon School Board of Trustees. She has also been a Democratic National Convention delegate in 1996 and 2004. Currently, she resides in Providence with her husband Jack and they are the parents of Catherine, Margaret, and John '15.
After St. Andrew’s, Demetris attended Syracuse University. At Syracuse, he led their basketball team in scoring for the Big East Conference and off the court, he graduated with a (BA) in Speech Communication. Demetris was the first Saint to get selected in the NBA draft. After playing a couple of years in the NBA, he took his basketball talents to Europe where he would play another eleven years in countries like Italy, Russia, Greece, France and Croatia. In recent years he has pursued communication opportunities as an inspirational speaker and has worked in broadcasting, podcasting and sales. Demetris now lives in the Syracuse area with his wife and two beautiful daughters and recently was hired to be a part of the basketball coaching staff at his Alma mater.
Karen Pelczarski has more than 35 years of experience litigating complex business issues concentrating on mediations and appeals. For several consecutive years, she has been recognized as one of the top 250 women in litigation in the United States, as Rhode Island "Lawyer of the Year" in various litigation areas, and her law firm has been consistently named a "Tier 1" best law firm by US News and World Report. Many of her cases have involved family-owned businesses and closely held corporations. She is known for providing practical guidance to individual and corporate clients, and for achieving favorable results that are closely tailored to her clients’ goals and needs.
Karen received her Bachelor's degree with honors in music and economics from Wellesley College and her law degree from Boston College Law School. She is engaged in the local community and is involved in many local non-profits including Sophia Academy and the Rhode Island Philharmonic and Music School. Karen joined the St. Andrew’s Board of Trustees in 2013 and is now rejoining the Board after a short time away. She splits her time between Tiverton, RI and Jupiter, FL, spending time on the water with her husband Rich.
Mark retired from his position as vice president of Ross-Simons Jewelers, a top retailer of fine jewelry, tableware, gifts, and collectibles. Mark is a graduate of the University of Rhode Island (URI), which he continues to enthusiastically support as a member of the College of Arts & Sciences Dean's External Advisory Council, a board member for URI Hillel, and a member of numerous other committees. Mark has served since 1999 as a trustee of St. Andrew’s School during which time he has been a strong presence on the Development Committee, which he currently co-chairs. He also serves on the Boards of Dorcas International Institute Rhode Island and Rhode Island Community Food Bank. Mark and his wife Donna live in Warwick, RI, and are the parents of two sons, Jared and Seth '00.
Fred is managing and founding partner at Van Liew Trust Company. He was elected to the Board of Trustees shortly after his daughter Elizabeth '84 graduated from St. Andrew's and is a past president of the Board. Prior to establishing the Van Liew Trust Company, he served for 24 years at Rhode Island Hospital Trust, where he held a number of roles. He is active in many charitable, yachting, and civic organizations. He earned his bachelor of arts from Brown University.
"Whatever the reason for a child to be at St. Andrew's, seeing so many transformations from a struggle to a success, and being so close to the process, continues to excite me. Thanks to St. Andrew's, our children and grandchildren have a resource to help them develop to their potential."
Al’s career spanned 50 years at Hasbro, Inc., including serving as CEO from 2003 through 2008 and as chairman of the publicly traded company from 2008 to 2015. He is currently the independent chairman of Iron Mountain, Inc., a global business dedicated to storing, protecting, and managing information and assets. He is a former member of the board of CVS Health, FGX International, Bacou USA, and Old Stone Corporation. He served as chairman of Lifespan, Inc., and was on the board of Bradley Hospital. He is vice chair of the URI Foundation & Alumni Engagement Board of Directors and serves on the URI College of Business Dean’s Advisory Council. Al’s grandson graduated from St. Andrew’s in 2014 and another grandson is a current sophomore.
|
||||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
1
| 5
|
https://contactout.com/company/Comverse-Technology-22956
|
en
|
Comverse Technology Email Format & Staff Directory
|
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[] |
[] |
[
""
] | null |
[] | null |
The most accurate and popular Comverse Technology email format is {f}{last}@comversetechnology.com (ex. jsmith@comversetechnology.com), which is used 75.00% of the time.
|
en
|
/favicon.ico
|
https://contactout.com/company/Comverse-Technology-22956
|
What is Comverse Technology email format?
The widely used Comverse Technology email format is {f}{last} (e.g. [email protected]) with 75.00% adoption across the company.
What is Comverse Technology customer service number?
To contact Comverse Technology customer service number in your country click here to find.
|
|||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
2
| 45
|
https://www.dell.com/en-us/dt/corporate/newsroom/announcements/2006/02/02142006-4012.htm
|
en
|
Comverse Integrates Insight with EMC CLARiiON for Advanced Multimedia Telecom Storage and Management Solutions
|
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[] |
[] |
[
""
] | null |
[] | null |
Dell Technologies is the leader in digital transformation, providing digital technology solutions, products, and services to drive business success.
|
en
|
/etc/designs/uwaem/assets/img/favicons/favicon-192x192.png
|
https://www.dell.com/en-us/dt/corporate/newsroom/announcements/2006/02/02142006-4012.htm
|
Barcelona, Spain (3GSM World Congress 2006, Hall 2, Booth G141) - February 14, 2006 -
EMC Corporation, (NYSE: EMC) the world leader in information management and storage, announced it has signed an OEM agreement with Comverse, a unit of Comverse Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: CMVT), and the world's leading supplier of software and systems enabling network-based multimedia enhanced communication services, to integrate the EMC® CLARiiON® CX series of networked storage systems into Comverse InSight™ Open Services Environment. Modular and standards-based, Comverse InSight core components (such as voice ports, message and subscriber profile stores, and management services) are shared across services, reducing costs and speeding deployments.
Through this technology integration, Comverse will provide operators with an efficient, highly functional and cost-effective solution for managing, storing and protecting data from multimedia messaging and other value added services. The integrated Comverse solution enables telecom service providers to manage, manipulate and deliver personal and public multimedia content to their subscriber community with the highest levels of performance and reliability.
"Telecom service providers need an integrated, high-performance multimedia storage solution capable of supporting enhanced services in a converged environment," said BJ Jenkins, EMC's Vice President of Global Marketing. "The EMC CLARiiON CX series is an ideal fit to meet this growing need with carrier-grade NEBS and ETSI certified systems that facilitate cutting-edge enhanced services, including new next-generation multimedia, voice and data services from the industry leading Comverse InSight Open Services Environment."
"In order to meet the subscriber's appetite for multimedia services, carriers are increasingly investing in data and multimodal interfaces," said Menashe Rothschild, CTO at Comverse. "The industry leading EMC CLARiiON family of networked storage systems, combined with our multimedia management capabilities, enable us to support many new enhanced services possibilities, such as video applications. By complying with NEBS and ETSI requirements, the Comverse multimedia platform results in superior storage capabilities that enhances functionality and expands capacity while potentially reducing telecom service provider's operating expenses."
|
|||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
1
| 10
|
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CSG_International
|
en
|
CSG International
|
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[] |
[] |
[
""
] | null |
[
"Contributors to Wikimedia projects"
] |
2013-12-20T23:55:55+00:00
|
en
|
/static/apple-touch/wikipedia.png
|
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CSG_International
|
Corporation in Greenwood Village, Colorado
CSG is a multinational corporation headquartered in Englewood, Colorado. It provides business support systems (BSS) software and services, primarily to the telecommunications industry.
CSG was founded by Neal Hansen as a division of First Data in 1982. It became an independent corporation when it was acquired by CSG Holdings in 1994 for $137 million. A contract with Tele-Communications Inc. (TCI), the largest cable TV business at the time, was influential in the company's growth from $80 million in revenue in 1994 to $171 million by 1997. CSG went public in 1996. A dispute with TCI over pricing led to a $120 million arbitration settlement in 2002 with Comcast, who acquired the TCI business. The two continued to do business together and expanded their relationship in 2014. CSG made more than ten acquisitions in the 2000s, mostly of companies that sold billing, customer service, and operations software.
Corporate history[edit]
Early history[edit]
CSG was founded in 1982 by Neal Hansen under the name Cable Services Group (CSG) as a division of the payment processing company First Data Corporation.[3] At the time, First Data was operated by American Express, which acquired a controlling interest in the company in 1980.[4] CSG became a part of the American Express Information Services Company, which was formed in 1989.[5] The CSG group's first large-scale billing statement processing center, which prints and mails bills to consumers, was established in Omaha in 1990.[6]
Hansen left the Cable Services Group one year after it was founded to become CEO of Applied Communications, where he met George Haddix.[3][7] Hansen and Haddix formed CSG Holdings with Morgan Stanley and Trident Investment Group in 1994, which acquired Cable Services Group that year for $137 million.[3][8] In November 1994, Cable Services Group was renamed to CSG Systems International.[7]
CSG was the second largest billing services provider for the US cable television industry by 1994,[9][10] serving 27 percent of cable TV subscribers.[8] However, according to The International Directory of Company Histories, its profit margins were small and the company was "still in need of a turnaround."[7] Broadcasting & Cable said CSG had lost direction and become complacent. Haddix and Hansen implemented changes at the company,[3] which prompted 350 out of 500 employees to leave the firm within a few months.[7]
The new CSG grew quickly.[6][11] The convergence of phone, internet, on-demand movies, and other services created more complex billing arrangements between telecommunications companies and consumers, which led to more extensive use of billing services providers like CSG.[11] Professional services and international clients, which were previously not a significant portion of revenues, grew to 22 percent of revenues by the mid-1990s.[6][7]
Post IPO[edit]
In order to pay off debt and raise funding for acquisitions, CSG held an initial public offering in February 1996, which valued the firm at five-fold its original acquisition price.[7][12] CSG grew from $80 million in annual revenue when it was acquired, to $132.3 million when it went public in 1996 and $171.7 million by 1997.[6]
In the 1990s, Tele-Communications Inc. (TCI) and Time Warner scrapped efforts to create internal billing software and hired CSG International.[11] The 15-year agreement CSG signed with TCI on August 11, 1997[13] made CSG the largest vendor in the industry[6] and was the primary contributor to its growth in the '90s.[13] By 2001, the deal was responsible for 45 percent of CSG's revenue.[14] As part of the deal, CSG also acquired TCI's internally developed software, SummiTrack, for $106 million.[11][13] CSG's services to TCI included billing, customer management, and payment processing for TCI customers.[15] In October 1997, CSG International signed its first deal with a utilities company, mc2.[11]
At the end of 1997, CSG co-founder George Haddix retired, and former EVP Jack Pogge was appointed president and chief operating officer in his place.[16] In 1999, CSG began constructing a new bill processing center in Florida in a deal with local government, which expanded roads and provided other incentives.[17] In 2002, CSG acquired the billing software interests of Lucent Technologies for $260 million.[18][19] The deal was estimated to increase CSG's revenues by 38 percent and its headcount by 65 percent.[20] 200 Lucent employees were laid off as a result of the acquisition.[18] An additional 100–150 CSG employees were laid off later that year in response to poor economic conditions.[21]
Recent history[edit]
AT&T acquired TCI in 2000, inheriting its agreement with CSG.[14] AT&T alleged CSG was not abiding by the contract's terms to provide favorable rates. A legal dispute between the two companies began in 2001 in arbitration court. Before the dispute was resolved, AT&T Broadband was acquired by Comcast, which wanted to use its own billing and customer service vendor. In October 2002, a judge ruled that CSG owed Comcast a $120 million refund and that it had to reduce its prices.[22][23][24] The two companies disagreed over whether the ruling would allow Comcast to halt their agreement before the end of its term.[25] CSG and Comcast reached new agreements or extensions in March 2004[26] and in 2008.[27] In 2014, its work with Comcast was expanded to cover all of its customer support and billing for residential services.[28]
In March 2005, co-founder Neal Hansen retired at the age of 64. Ed Nafus, prior president of the broadband services division, took his place.[29] Nafus was replaced as CEO by Peter Kalan, at the end of 2007.[30] In November 2015, it was announced that Bret Griess would be succeeding Kalan as president and CEO.[31] In August 2020, Brian Shepherd took over as president and CEO.[32]
As of December 31, 2019, CSG operates across more than 120 countries worldwide and has a total of 4,339 employees, an increase of 374 employees compared to the previous year.'[1]
Acquisitions[edit]
Date Company Business Deal size References 1980 CSG parent company First Data acquired by American Express Payments processing [4] 1994 Cable Services Group acquired by CSG Holdings Bill processing for cable TV operators $137 million [3][8] 1996 Bytel Limited Customer management software $4.7 million [6][33] 1997 TCI's SummiTrack Billing software $106 million [13] 1998 US Telecom Advanced Technology Systems Billing and customer service $6 million [7][34] 2001 Athene Software Customer analytics software Not disclosed [35] 2001 PlaNet Consulting e-commerce consulting Not disclosed [36] 2002 Kenan Systems assets from Lucent Technologies Billing and customer service software $260 million [18][19] 2002 Integrated Customer Management Systems (ICMS), an IBM division Customer service software $15 million (estimated) [37] 2005 CSG Global Software & Services division (formerly Kenan) acquired by Comverse Technology Billing and customer service software $251 million [38][39] 2006 Telution Operations software $22 million [40] 2007 Prairie Voice Services Interactive messaging services $39 million [41] 2007 ComTec Bill processing $23.5 million [42] 2008 DataProse Direct mail and bill processing $39 million [43] 2009 Quaero (later divested in December 2013) Marketing services firm $15 million [44][45] 2010 Intec Telecom Billing software $392 million [46] 2012 Ascade Wholesale billing software $19 million [47] 2013 Volubill (certain assets) Policy and billing management software Not disclosed [48] 2018 Business Ink, Co. Strategic business communications $70 million [49] 2018 Forte Payment Systems, Inc. Payment processor $85 million [50] 2020 Tekzenit/Gen Design Studio Strategy, Design Engineering and Technology Enablement $10 million [51] 2021 Quaero 3, LLC Customer Data Platform Not disclosed 2021 Tango Telecom Realtime monetisation and roaming technology Not disclosed [52] 2021 DGIT Systems Quote Order Bill software Not disclosed [53]
Products, software, and services[edit]
CSG provides software and services for managing customer data, analyzing that data, billing, and customer service. For example, customer service representatives may use CSG systems to look up a consumer's records and add a new service, or business analysts may mine customer data for trends.[11] According to the company's website, its primary product areas are digital monetization, revenue and customer management, and customer experience.[54] CSG also prints and mails billing statements to consumers and provides call-center services.[3]
Product history[edit]
CSG originally sold two versions of its billing process outsourcing services. Under new leadership in 1994, it began developing additional software and providing consulting to in-house billing departments.[7][10] During this period, it developed CSG Workforce Express® (now Field Service Management), a suite of software products that manage the dispatch of technicians and other logistics at customer sites. Workforce Express consists of three applications: CSG Workforce Management, CSG TechNet and CSG TechNet CE, which integrate with CSG's databases and billing systems.[7][55] It also developed CSG Care Express, which is for creating online self-service portals for consumers to view and pay their bills online.[7][56]
In the 1990s, CSG introduced the ACSR (Advanced Customer Service Representative) system.[7] An extension to ACSR called ProfitNow! was introduced in 2003. ProfitNow! used a consumer's account data to advise customer service representatives on the likelihood of a caller cancelling their service or buying a new product.[57] It was later turned into an online system with a user interface similar to Microsoft Windows at CSG.net.[7] CSG purchased the Kenan FX software from Lucent Technologies in 2002. Kenan software managed billing and ordering and provided middle-ware to help various customer service and billing products integrate with each other.[58] CSG NextGen was introduced for international markets, with support for multiple languages.[7] In March 2014, CSG added a cybersecurity suite to its product portfolio, under the name CSG Invotas.[59] The company released CSG Ascendon®, a digital platform for communications service providers, in March 2015. The platform uses content monetization and delivery systems without making excessive changes to existing infrastructure.[60] In November 2015, the Invotas unit was spun off into a separate entity.[61] Invotas was acquired by FireEye in a transaction that closed February 1, 2016.[62]
The company released CSG Detect,[63] a software as a service (SaaS) system, in February 2019.[64] The system is aimed at detecting and notifying telecommunications companies real-time of potential fraud in their billing process. In July 2019,[65] the company introduced CSG Field Service Management, a cloud-based advancement of its Workforce Express product suite.[66] CSG Field Service Management is part of the company's Customer Communication Management portfolio, which customers use to send over 1.5 billion messages to their end-users each year. The company announced[67] the availability of its Dispute Reconciliation Management system (DRM) in September 2019.[68] The system provides service providers with the tools and support to automate the reconciliation and dispute process. CSG Dispute Reconciliation Management is a part of the company's digital Wholesale suite of products and systems. The company introduced[69] Ascendon Communications, the industry's first software as a service (SaaS)-delivered, cloud-based business support systems (BSS) system, in October 2019.[70]
In April 2019,[71] CSG announced the opening of a technology lab to adopt blockchain technology across the wholesale business support systems (BSS) industry.[72] In May 2019,[73] the company announced the availability of its Mediation platform as a cloud-based system.[74] In June 2019, CSG and ITW Global Leaders' Forum (GLF) announced a partnership[75] to create an open blockchain ecosystem called the Communications Blockchain Network (CBN).
In March 2020,[76] Forte®, a CSG company, announced its BillPay system including omnichannel accessibility, payer-friendly navigation, biller customization, and advanced tech.[77]
Organization[edit]
CSG parent company, CSG Systems International Inc., is listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange.[36] As of 2020, its largest clients are Comcast and Charter, representing 23 and 20 percent of its revenues respectively. CSG spends approximately 13 percent of its revenue on research and development. Its revenue is about 89 percent from cloud and related services, 5 percent from software, and the remainder for ongoing technical support. 68.6 percent of revenues is from the Americas.[78][11][79]
|
||||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
1
| 47
|
https://www.flad.pt/en/
|
en
|
Homepage FLAD
|
[
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[
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] | null |
[] |
2020-02-20T10:46:46+00:00
|
We promote the development of Portugal, the Portuguese and the Portuguese-descendant communities through the cooperation with the United States of America.
|
en
|
FLAD
|
https://www.flad.pt/en/
|
We promote the development of Portugal, the Portuguese and the Portuguese-descendant communities through the cooperation with the United States of America.
We are a bridge between the two countries, focusing on Science, Education, Culture and Transatlantic Relations.
Do you know the Study in Portugal Network? Every year we help hundreds of American students join Portuguese universities and to get acquainted with our culture.
|
|||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
2
| 86
|
https://www.converzemedia.com/
|
en
|
Leaders In Direct Response, Radio, Digital and TV. We Specialize In Full Circle Advertising To Increase Your ROI
|
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[] | null |
Leaders In Direct Response, Radio, Digital and TV. We Specialize In Full Circle Advertising To Increase Your ROI
| null |
Tedd Barr
Managing Partner
Tedd started his advertising career at Far West Media, a direct response advertising agency, in Long Beach, CA over 18 years ago. Â After running sales for several years and helping successfully grow agency revenues by over 400%, Tedd made the decision to start Pacific Media Group (PMG) in 2004. For over nine years, Tedd oversaw all aspects of the business including sales, media buying, creative, and account management. During this time, he managed many successful campaigns and became an expert in direct response radio, TV, and digital advertising. In March of 2012, he successfully merged PMG with Philip Yancey to form the current Converze Media Group. Since then, Converze has rapidly grown into one of the leading direct response advertising agencies in the United States. Converze has a wide range of clients with substantial expertise in the following verticals: Â financial services, education, medical, legal, home services, and consumer goods. Tedd is currently responsible for running sales along with the day to day operations of the business.
Thereâs a lot of options out there. Some may be too costly, or they fail to track where generated activity came from. We know because weâve tried them!
Thatâs why weâve decided to create our own proprietary solution, aim analytics®.
ROAS (Return On Advertisement Spending) is a KPI (Key Performance Indicator) that is used to determine media effectiveness. It can be calculated for online and offline media campaigns. ROAS can also focus on campaign elements such as Google AdWords Ad Groups or even individual keywords within PPC advertising.
AIM Analytics tracks all marketing channels and provides you with accurate, updated reporting. These reports include traffic numbers, cost per actions and buying data. That way, account managers, media buyers and clients can know just which actionable steps they need to take in order to lower the cost of customer acquisition.
With AIM, you wonât have to worry about hiring an in-house data analyst or guess where generated activity came from. You and your team can focus on how to cut costs and increase your return on investment. The way it should be.
|
|||||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
2
| 69
|
https://www.apax.com/news-views/verint-announces-plan-to-separate-into-two-independent-publicly-traded-companies/
|
en
|
Verint announces plan to separate into two independent publicly traded companies
|
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[] | null |
en
|
/assets/favicons/apple-touch-icon-57x57.png
|
https://www.apax.com/news-views/verint-announces-plan-to-separate-into-two-independent-publicly-traded-companies/
|
4th December 2019
Apax Verint® Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: VRNT) today announced that its Board of Directors has unanimously approved proceeding with a plan to separate Verint into two inde
Verint® Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: VRNT) today announced that its Board of Directors has unanimously approved proceeding with a plan to separate Verint into two independent companies: one of which will consist of its customer engagement business, and one of which will consist of its cyber intelligence business.
Also announces $200 million minority investment by funds advised by Apax Partners in support of Verint’s separation plan; additional $200 million to be invested post separation
New $300 Million Share Buyback Program Over Period Through Closing of Separation
MELVILLE, N.Y., December 4, 2019: Verint® Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: VRNT), today announced that its Board of Directors has unanimously approved proceeding with a plan to separate Verint into two independent companies: one of which will consist of its customer engagement business, and one of which will consist of its cyber intelligence business. Verint expects to complete the separation shortly after the end of Verint’s next fiscal year ending January 31, 2021.
“With our customer engagement business approaching $1 billion in annual revenue and our cyber intelligence business approaching $500 million in annual revenue, we believe the two independent, publicly traded companies will both benefit from the separation and be well positioned to pursue their own strategies, drive opportunities to accelerate growth and extend their market leadership. The separation will make it easier for investors to evaluate and make independent investment decisions in each business. In preparation for the separation, we have taken steps over the last several years to strengthen the two businesses operationally and believe we are now well positioned to execute our separation plan,” said Dan Bodner, Verint CEO.
Separation Details
Verint intends to implement the separation through a pro-rata distribution of common stock of a new entity that will hold the cyber intelligence business and expects the distribution to qualify as tax free to Verint shareholders for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The completion of the transaction is subject to certain customary conditions, including final approval of the Verint Board of Directors, receipt of tax opinions from counsel as well as rulings from the Internal Revenue Service and the Israeli Tax Authority with respect to tax treatment to Verint and its shareholders, and effectiveness of a registration statement to be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The separation is not expected to require a shareholder vote. The separation structure is subject to change based upon various tax and regulatory factors and there can be no assurance that any separation transaction will ultimately occur or, if one does occur, of its terms or timing.
Investment by Funds Advised by Apax Partners
Funds advised by Apax Partners (the “Apax Funds”), a global private equity advisory firm, have agreed to invest up to $400 million in Verint, subject to customary closing conditions including the receipt of required regulatory clearances. The Apax Funds have significant experience in the software sector, including through previous investments in TriZetto, Plex Systems, RealPage, Sophos, Epicor and Exact Software. The investment will be made in the form of convertible preferred stock in two tranches of $200 million each. The first tranche is targeted to close in our first quarter ending April 30, 2020. The second tranche, conditioned on and expected to close shortly following the separation (expected shortly after the end of Verint’s next fiscal year ending January 31, 2021), will be made into Verint, the entity holding the customer engagement business.
Mr. Bodner added, “Apax Partners has a proven track record of creating value by partnering with leading software companies around the world, including significant experience in both carve-outs and cloud transitions. The investment represents a strong vote of confidence in our strategy and future growth opportunities.”
In connection with the closing of the first tranche of the investment, Jason Wright, Partner at Apax Partners, will be appointed to Verint’s Board of Directors. At the closing of the second tranche, the company will add a mutually agreed upon independent Director to Verint’s Board.
Mr. Wright said, “We are excited to partner with Verint and help the Company complete the separation, enabling both businesses to achieve their full potential. Verint’s Customer Engagement business is a market leader and we look forward to working with management to execute its cloud strategy and extend its market leadership.”
Under the investment agreement, the Apax Funds will initially purchase $200 million of Series A convertible preferred stock with an initial conversion price of $53.50, representing a conversion premium of 17% percent over the volume-weighted average price of the Company’s common stock over the 45 day period prior to the signing date. The Series A convertible preferred stock will not participate in the spin-off of the cyber intelligence business but will have its conversion price adjusted and will remain invested in the entity holding the customer engagement business. Shortly following the separation, the Apax Funds will purchase, subject to certain conditions, up to $200 million of Series B convertible preferred stock with an initial conversion price based on the volume-weighted average price of the Company’s common stock over a 20 day period following the separation, subject to a collar on the minimum and maximum enterprise value of the company post separation. Both the Series A and Series B will have an initial dividend rate of 5.2% dropping to 4.0% over time. Assuming both the Series A and the Series B are issued on the expected timeframe and remain outstanding for 8.5 years from their respective dates of issuance, the average dividend rate on the combined investment will be approximately 4.5%. Following the closing of the Series A investment, the Apax Funds’ ownership in Verint on an as-converted basis will be approximately 5%. Assuming completion of the Series B investment and the separation, the Apax Funds’ ownership on an as-converted basis will be between 11.5% and 15.0%.
Additional information may be found in the Form 8-K that will be filed today with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Share Buyback Program
Verint today also announced that our Board of Directors has authorized a new share repurchase program whereby we may repurchase up to $300 million of common stock over the period ending on February 1, 2021 (on or shortly before the planned business separation). Repurchases are expected to be financed with the proceeds of the first tranche of the Apax Funds investment and available cash, including possible borrowings under our revolving credit facility. We may utilize a number of different methods to effect the repurchases, including but not limited to, open market purchases and accelerated share repurchases, and some of the repurchases may be made through Rule 10b5-1 plans. The specific timing, price, and size of purchases will depend on prevailing stock prices, general market and economic conditions, and other considerations, including the amount of cash available in the U.S. and other potential uses of cash. The program may be extended, suspended or discontinued at any time without prior notice and does not obligate us to acquire any particular amount of common stock.
Customer Engagement and Cyber Intelligence Leadership
We believe that both our businesses are leaders in their respective markets and the separation will enable them to achieve even better performance over the long term, as the two companies will have:
separate boards with further differentiated skillsets to support tailored strategic plans;
specific incentive programs more closely aligned with standalone business performance;
capital structures tailored to the unique characteristics of each business; and
enhanced appeal to a broader set of investors suited to the strategic and financial characteristics of each company.
Customer Engagement Business Highlights
Market leader
Approaching $1 billion of annual revenue
Cloud transition opportunity
Cyber Intelligence Business Highlights
Market leader
Approaching $500 million of annual revenue
Software model transition opportunity
Mr. Bodner concluded, “Today’s announcements are consistent with our commitment to creating value for our shareholders. We have built two strong, but increasingly distinct businesses, and we believe that separating these two businesses at this stage of their evolution will allow each to unlock its full potential. Our customer engagement business will continue to focus on helping organizations elevate customer experience while reducing costs and our cyber intelligence business will continue to focus on helping make the world a safer place.”
Jones Day is serving as legal advisor to Verint and Jefferies LLC is acting as financial advisor to Verint.Kirkland & Ellis LLP is serving as legal advisor to Apax Partners.
About Verint Systems Inc.
Verint® (Nasdaq: VRNT) is a global leader in Actionable Intelligence® solutions with a focus on customer engagement optimization and cyber intelligence. Today, over 10,000 organizations in more than 180 countries—including over 85 percent of the Fortune 100—count on intelligence from Verint solutions to make more informed, effective and timely decisions. Learn more about how we’re creating A Smarter World with Actionable Intelligence® at www.verint.com.
About Apax Partners
Apax Partners is a leading global private equity advisory firm. Over its more than 40-year history, Apax Partners has raised and advised funds with aggregate commitments of c.$50 billion. The Apax Funds invest in companies across four global sectors of Tech & Telco, Services, Healthcare and Consumer. These funds provide long-term equity financing to build and strengthen world-class companies. For more information see: www.apax.com.
Cautions About Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding expectations, predictions, views, opportunities, plans, strategies, beliefs, and statements of similar effect relating to Verint Systems Inc. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and they are based on management's expectations that involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and other important factors, any of which could cause our actual results or conditions to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements. Some of the factors that could cause our actual results or conditions to differ materially from current expectations include, among others: uncertainties regarding the impact of general economic conditions in the United States and abroad, particularly in information technology spending and government budgets, on our business; risks associated with our ability to keep pace with technological advances and challenges and evolving industry standards; to adapt to changing market potential from area to area within our markets; and to successfully develop, launch, and drive demand for new, innovative, high-quality products that meet or exceed customer needs, while simultaneously preserving our legacy businesses and migrating away from areas of commoditization; risks due to aggressive competition in all of our markets, including with respect to maintaining revenues, margins, and sufficient levels of investment in our business and operations; risks created by the continued consolidation of our competitors or the introduction of large competitors in our markets with greater resources than we have; risks associated with our ability to successfully compete for, consummate, and implement mergers and acquisitions, including risks associated with valuations, reputational considerations, capital constraints, costs and expenses, maintaining profitability levels, expansion into new areas, management distraction, post-acquisition integration activities, and potential asset impairments; risks relating to our ability to properly manage investments in our business and operations, execute on growth initiatives, and enhance our existing operations and infrastructure, including the proper prioritization and allocation of limited financial and other resources; risks associated with our ability to retain, recruit, and train qualified personnel in regions in which we operate, including in new markets and growth areas we may enter; risks that we may be unable to establish and maintain relationships with key resellers, partners, and systems integrators and risks associated with our reliance on third-party suppliers, partners, or original equipment manufacturers (“OEMs”) for certain components, products, or services, including companies that may compete with us or work with our competitors; risks associated with the mishandling or perceived mishandling of sensitive or confidential information, including information that may belong to our customers or other third parties, and with security vulnerabilities or lapses, including cyber-attacks, information technology system breaches, failures, or disruptions; risks that our products or services, or those of third-party suppliers, partners, or OEMs which we use in or with our offerings or otherwise rely on, including third-party hosting platforms, may contain defects, develop operational problems, or be vulnerable to cyber-attacks; risks associated with our significant international operations, including, among others, in Israel, Europe, and Asia, exposure to regions subject to political or economic instability, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, and challenges associated with a significant portion of our cash being held overseas; risks associated with political factors related to our business or operations, including reputational risks associated with our security solutions and our ability to maintain security clearances where required, as well as risks associated with a significant amount of our business coming from domestic and foreign government customers; risks associated with complex and changing local and foreign regulatory environments in the jurisdictions in which we operate, including, among others, with respect to trade compliance, anti-corruption, information security, data privacy and protection, tax, labor, government contracts, relating to our own operations as well as to the use of our solutions by our customers; challenges associated with selling sophisticated solutions, including with respect to assisting customers in understanding and realizing the benefits of our solutions, and developing, offering, implementing, and maintaining a broad and sophisticated solution portfolio; challenges associated with pursuing larger sales opportunities, including with respect to longer sales cycles, transaction reductions, deferrals, or cancellations during the sales cycle, risk of customer concentration; challenges associated with our ability to accurately forecast when a sales opportunity will convert to an order, or to accurately forecast revenue and expenses, including as a result of our Customer Engagement segment cloud transition and our Cyber Intelligence segment software model transition, and increased volatility of our operating results from period to period; risks that our intellectual property rights may not be adequate to protect our business or assets or that others may make claims on our intellectual property, claim infringement on their intellectual property rights, or claim a violation of their license rights, including relative to free or open source components we may use; risks that our customers delay or cancel orders or are unable to honor contractual commitments due to liquidity issues, challenges in their business, or otherwise; risks that we may experience liquidity or working capital issues and related risks that financing sources may be unavailable to us on reasonable terms or at all; risks associated with significant leverage resulting from our current debt position or our ability to incur additional debt, including with respect to liquidity considerations, covenant limitations and compliance, fluctuations in interest rates, dilution considerations (with respect to our convertible notes), and our ability to maintain our credit ratings; risks arising as a result of contingent or other obligations or liabilities assumed in our acquisition of our former parent company, Comverse Technology, Inc. (“CTI”), or associated with formerly being consolidated with, and part of a consolidated tax group with, CTI, or as a result of the successor to CTI's business operations, Mavenir, Inc., being unwilling or unable to provide us with certain indemnities to which we are entitled; risks relating to the adequacy of our existing infrastructure, systems, processes, policies, procedures, internal controls, and personnel, and our ability to successfully implement and maintain enhancements to the foregoing, for our current and future operations and reporting needs, including related risks of financial statement omissions, misstatements, restatements, or filing delays; risks associated with changing accounting principles or standards, tax laws and regulations, tax rates, and the continuing availability of expected tax benefits; risks associated with market volatility in the prices of our common stock and convertible notes based on our performance, third-party publications or speculation, or other factors and risks associated with actions of activist stockholders; risks associated with the planned issuance of preferred stock to Apax Partners, including with respect to Apax’s significant ownership position and potential that their interests will not be aligned with those of our common stockholders; and risks associated with the planned spin-off of our Cyber Intelligence business, including the possibility that the spin-off transaction may not be completed in the expected timeframe or at all, that it does not achieve the benefits anticipated, or that it negatively impacts our operations or stock price. We assume no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement, except as otherwise required by law. For a detailed discussion of these risk factors, see our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2019, our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended April 30, 2019 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended October 31, 2019, when filed, and other filings we make with the SEC.
VERINT, ACTIONABLE INTELLIGENCE, THE CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT COMPANY, CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT SOLUTIONS, CYBER INTELLIGENCE SOLUTIONS, GI2, FIRSTMILE, OMNIX, WEBINT, LUMINAR, RELIANT, VANTAGE, STAR-GATE, TERROGENCE, SENSECY, and VIGIA are trademarks or registered trademarks of Verint Systems Inc. or its subsidiaries. Verint and other parties may also have trademark rights in other terms used herein.
|
||||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
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FactBench
|
3
| 25
|
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fugitive-comverse-ceo-settles-suit-for-54m/
|
en
|
Fugitive Comverse CEO Settles Suit for $54M
|
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2010-11-23T17:35:37-05:00
|
US Still Seeking to Extradite Executive from Namibia
|
en
|
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fugitive-comverse-ceo-settles-suit-for-54m/
|
Jacob "Kobi" Alexander, the former chairman and CEO of voicemail software maker Comverse Technology Inc. who fled to Namibia in 2006 to avoid prosecution over stock option backdating, has agreed to pay nearly $54 million to settle a civil action by the U.S. Attorney's office.
The settlement was filed Tuesday with the U.S. District Court Eastern District of New York. Alexander has agreed to forfeit more than $47.6 million from two investment accounts allegedly the proceeds from a stock option manipulation scheme that also involved two other former Comverse executives. The funds will go to Comverse, which will use them to settle shareholder suits related to the backdating allegations.
Alexander also will pay a $6 million civil penalty to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
"Alexander fled halfway around the world, but he was not able to escape the financial consequences of his crimes," Brooklyn-based U.S. Attorney Loretta E. Lynch said in a statement.
The civil settlement does not affect Alexander's status as a fugitive, and extradition proceedings are still pending to get him back to the U.S. to stand trial for criminal charges. Namibia does not have an extradition treaty with the U.S., and Alexander has remained in the African nation fighting in court against the prospect of being sent back to the U.S.
In 2006, the SEC and federal prosecutors charged Alexander and other former Comverse executives, all of whom left the company that year, with a scheme to manipulate stock options for profit. The options' grant dates were allegedly falsified to coincide with a low point in the stock's value, thereby boosting the value of the stock option. The SEC alleged that Alexander also created a slush fund of backdated options by causing options to be granted to fictitious employees, and later used these options to recruit and retain key personnel. Regulators said the scheme resulted in Comverse overstating its earnings for more than a decade.
Woodbury, N.Y.-based Comverse settled charges regarding the allegations of improper backdating of stock options and other accounting problems with federal regulators last year. The company, which didn't admit or deny guilt to the Securities and Exchange Commission, wasn't fined.
In June, a federal judge approved a $225 million class-action settlement related to the alleged stock option backdating with the company and several former officers and directors. That agreement included a $60 million recovery from Alexander. The roughly $48 million announced today will make up the bulk of that, said Alexander's attorney, Jeremy Temkin. The $6 million owed to the SEC will bring Alexander's total settlement payout to $66 million.
Temkin said Tuesday that Alexander "is pleased to have resolved the SEC and civil forfeiture actions and to put these matters behind him." He noted that, as with the other settlements, resolving these actions comes "without any admission of fault on his part."
|
||||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
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2
| 74
|
https://www.truework.com/verifications/companies-starting-with-c/
|
en
|
Employment & Salary Verification Intelligence Database
|
[
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Browse all companies on Truework alphabetically. We help thousands of third-party requesters get employee information quickly and securely.
|
en
|
https://www.truework.com/verifications/companies-starting-with-c/
|
Overview Learn how to complete a verification for any employee
Others Verify income and employment in multiple other ways
About Us Learn more about the team securing employee data
Security Read more about our security program and certifications
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||||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
1
| 21
|
https://www.apax.com/news-views/verint-announces-plan-to-separate-into-two-independent-publicly-traded-companies/
|
en
|
Verint announces plan to separate into two independent publicly traded companies
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https://www.apax.com/news-views/verint-announces-plan-to-separate-into-two-independent-publicly-traded-companies/
|
4th December 2019
Apax Verint® Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: VRNT) today announced that its Board of Directors has unanimously approved proceeding with a plan to separate Verint into two inde
Verint® Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: VRNT) today announced that its Board of Directors has unanimously approved proceeding with a plan to separate Verint into two independent companies: one of which will consist of its customer engagement business, and one of which will consist of its cyber intelligence business.
Also announces $200 million minority investment by funds advised by Apax Partners in support of Verint’s separation plan; additional $200 million to be invested post separation
New $300 Million Share Buyback Program Over Period Through Closing of Separation
MELVILLE, N.Y., December 4, 2019: Verint® Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: VRNT), today announced that its Board of Directors has unanimously approved proceeding with a plan to separate Verint into two independent companies: one of which will consist of its customer engagement business, and one of which will consist of its cyber intelligence business. Verint expects to complete the separation shortly after the end of Verint’s next fiscal year ending January 31, 2021.
“With our customer engagement business approaching $1 billion in annual revenue and our cyber intelligence business approaching $500 million in annual revenue, we believe the two independent, publicly traded companies will both benefit from the separation and be well positioned to pursue their own strategies, drive opportunities to accelerate growth and extend their market leadership. The separation will make it easier for investors to evaluate and make independent investment decisions in each business. In preparation for the separation, we have taken steps over the last several years to strengthen the two businesses operationally and believe we are now well positioned to execute our separation plan,” said Dan Bodner, Verint CEO.
Separation Details
Verint intends to implement the separation through a pro-rata distribution of common stock of a new entity that will hold the cyber intelligence business and expects the distribution to qualify as tax free to Verint shareholders for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The completion of the transaction is subject to certain customary conditions, including final approval of the Verint Board of Directors, receipt of tax opinions from counsel as well as rulings from the Internal Revenue Service and the Israeli Tax Authority with respect to tax treatment to Verint and its shareholders, and effectiveness of a registration statement to be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The separation is not expected to require a shareholder vote. The separation structure is subject to change based upon various tax and regulatory factors and there can be no assurance that any separation transaction will ultimately occur or, if one does occur, of its terms or timing.
Investment by Funds Advised by Apax Partners
Funds advised by Apax Partners (the “Apax Funds”), a global private equity advisory firm, have agreed to invest up to $400 million in Verint, subject to customary closing conditions including the receipt of required regulatory clearances. The Apax Funds have significant experience in the software sector, including through previous investments in TriZetto, Plex Systems, RealPage, Sophos, Epicor and Exact Software. The investment will be made in the form of convertible preferred stock in two tranches of $200 million each. The first tranche is targeted to close in our first quarter ending April 30, 2020. The second tranche, conditioned on and expected to close shortly following the separation (expected shortly after the end of Verint’s next fiscal year ending January 31, 2021), will be made into Verint, the entity holding the customer engagement business.
Mr. Bodner added, “Apax Partners has a proven track record of creating value by partnering with leading software companies around the world, including significant experience in both carve-outs and cloud transitions. The investment represents a strong vote of confidence in our strategy and future growth opportunities.”
In connection with the closing of the first tranche of the investment, Jason Wright, Partner at Apax Partners, will be appointed to Verint’s Board of Directors. At the closing of the second tranche, the company will add a mutually agreed upon independent Director to Verint’s Board.
Mr. Wright said, “We are excited to partner with Verint and help the Company complete the separation, enabling both businesses to achieve their full potential. Verint’s Customer Engagement business is a market leader and we look forward to working with management to execute its cloud strategy and extend its market leadership.”
Under the investment agreement, the Apax Funds will initially purchase $200 million of Series A convertible preferred stock with an initial conversion price of $53.50, representing a conversion premium of 17% percent over the volume-weighted average price of the Company’s common stock over the 45 day period prior to the signing date. The Series A convertible preferred stock will not participate in the spin-off of the cyber intelligence business but will have its conversion price adjusted and will remain invested in the entity holding the customer engagement business. Shortly following the separation, the Apax Funds will purchase, subject to certain conditions, up to $200 million of Series B convertible preferred stock with an initial conversion price based on the volume-weighted average price of the Company’s common stock over a 20 day period following the separation, subject to a collar on the minimum and maximum enterprise value of the company post separation. Both the Series A and Series B will have an initial dividend rate of 5.2% dropping to 4.0% over time. Assuming both the Series A and the Series B are issued on the expected timeframe and remain outstanding for 8.5 years from their respective dates of issuance, the average dividend rate on the combined investment will be approximately 4.5%. Following the closing of the Series A investment, the Apax Funds’ ownership in Verint on an as-converted basis will be approximately 5%. Assuming completion of the Series B investment and the separation, the Apax Funds’ ownership on an as-converted basis will be between 11.5% and 15.0%.
Additional information may be found in the Form 8-K that will be filed today with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Share Buyback Program
Verint today also announced that our Board of Directors has authorized a new share repurchase program whereby we may repurchase up to $300 million of common stock over the period ending on February 1, 2021 (on or shortly before the planned business separation). Repurchases are expected to be financed with the proceeds of the first tranche of the Apax Funds investment and available cash, including possible borrowings under our revolving credit facility. We may utilize a number of different methods to effect the repurchases, including but not limited to, open market purchases and accelerated share repurchases, and some of the repurchases may be made through Rule 10b5-1 plans. The specific timing, price, and size of purchases will depend on prevailing stock prices, general market and economic conditions, and other considerations, including the amount of cash available in the U.S. and other potential uses of cash. The program may be extended, suspended or discontinued at any time without prior notice and does not obligate us to acquire any particular amount of common stock.
Customer Engagement and Cyber Intelligence Leadership
We believe that both our businesses are leaders in their respective markets and the separation will enable them to achieve even better performance over the long term, as the two companies will have:
separate boards with further differentiated skillsets to support tailored strategic plans;
specific incentive programs more closely aligned with standalone business performance;
capital structures tailored to the unique characteristics of each business; and
enhanced appeal to a broader set of investors suited to the strategic and financial characteristics of each company.
Customer Engagement Business Highlights
Market leader
Approaching $1 billion of annual revenue
Cloud transition opportunity
Cyber Intelligence Business Highlights
Market leader
Approaching $500 million of annual revenue
Software model transition opportunity
Mr. Bodner concluded, “Today’s announcements are consistent with our commitment to creating value for our shareholders. We have built two strong, but increasingly distinct businesses, and we believe that separating these two businesses at this stage of their evolution will allow each to unlock its full potential. Our customer engagement business will continue to focus on helping organizations elevate customer experience while reducing costs and our cyber intelligence business will continue to focus on helping make the world a safer place.”
Jones Day is serving as legal advisor to Verint and Jefferies LLC is acting as financial advisor to Verint.Kirkland & Ellis LLP is serving as legal advisor to Apax Partners.
About Verint Systems Inc.
Verint® (Nasdaq: VRNT) is a global leader in Actionable Intelligence® solutions with a focus on customer engagement optimization and cyber intelligence. Today, over 10,000 organizations in more than 180 countries—including over 85 percent of the Fortune 100—count on intelligence from Verint solutions to make more informed, effective and timely decisions. Learn more about how we’re creating A Smarter World with Actionable Intelligence® at www.verint.com.
About Apax Partners
Apax Partners is a leading global private equity advisory firm. Over its more than 40-year history, Apax Partners has raised and advised funds with aggregate commitments of c.$50 billion. The Apax Funds invest in companies across four global sectors of Tech & Telco, Services, Healthcare and Consumer. These funds provide long-term equity financing to build and strengthen world-class companies. For more information see: www.apax.com.
Cautions About Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding expectations, predictions, views, opportunities, plans, strategies, beliefs, and statements of similar effect relating to Verint Systems Inc. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and they are based on management's expectations that involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and other important factors, any of which could cause our actual results or conditions to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements. Some of the factors that could cause our actual results or conditions to differ materially from current expectations include, among others: uncertainties regarding the impact of general economic conditions in the United States and abroad, particularly in information technology spending and government budgets, on our business; risks associated with our ability to keep pace with technological advances and challenges and evolving industry standards; to adapt to changing market potential from area to area within our markets; and to successfully develop, launch, and drive demand for new, innovative, high-quality products that meet or exceed customer needs, while simultaneously preserving our legacy businesses and migrating away from areas of commoditization; risks due to aggressive competition in all of our markets, including with respect to maintaining revenues, margins, and sufficient levels of investment in our business and operations; risks created by the continued consolidation of our competitors or the introduction of large competitors in our markets with greater resources than we have; risks associated with our ability to successfully compete for, consummate, and implement mergers and acquisitions, including risks associated with valuations, reputational considerations, capital constraints, costs and expenses, maintaining profitability levels, expansion into new areas, management distraction, post-acquisition integration activities, and potential asset impairments; risks relating to our ability to properly manage investments in our business and operations, execute on growth initiatives, and enhance our existing operations and infrastructure, including the proper prioritization and allocation of limited financial and other resources; risks associated with our ability to retain, recruit, and train qualified personnel in regions in which we operate, including in new markets and growth areas we may enter; risks that we may be unable to establish and maintain relationships with key resellers, partners, and systems integrators and risks associated with our reliance on third-party suppliers, partners, or original equipment manufacturers (“OEMs”) for certain components, products, or services, including companies that may compete with us or work with our competitors; risks associated with the mishandling or perceived mishandling of sensitive or confidential information, including information that may belong to our customers or other third parties, and with security vulnerabilities or lapses, including cyber-attacks, information technology system breaches, failures, or disruptions; risks that our products or services, or those of third-party suppliers, partners, or OEMs which we use in or with our offerings or otherwise rely on, including third-party hosting platforms, may contain defects, develop operational problems, or be vulnerable to cyber-attacks; risks associated with our significant international operations, including, among others, in Israel, Europe, and Asia, exposure to regions subject to political or economic instability, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, and challenges associated with a significant portion of our cash being held overseas; risks associated with political factors related to our business or operations, including reputational risks associated with our security solutions and our ability to maintain security clearances where required, as well as risks associated with a significant amount of our business coming from domestic and foreign government customers; risks associated with complex and changing local and foreign regulatory environments in the jurisdictions in which we operate, including, among others, with respect to trade compliance, anti-corruption, information security, data privacy and protection, tax, labor, government contracts, relating to our own operations as well as to the use of our solutions by our customers; challenges associated with selling sophisticated solutions, including with respect to assisting customers in understanding and realizing the benefits of our solutions, and developing, offering, implementing, and maintaining a broad and sophisticated solution portfolio; challenges associated with pursuing larger sales opportunities, including with respect to longer sales cycles, transaction reductions, deferrals, or cancellations during the sales cycle, risk of customer concentration; challenges associated with our ability to accurately forecast when a sales opportunity will convert to an order, or to accurately forecast revenue and expenses, including as a result of our Customer Engagement segment cloud transition and our Cyber Intelligence segment software model transition, and increased volatility of our operating results from period to period; risks that our intellectual property rights may not be adequate to protect our business or assets or that others may make claims on our intellectual property, claim infringement on their intellectual property rights, or claim a violation of their license rights, including relative to free or open source components we may use; risks that our customers delay or cancel orders or are unable to honor contractual commitments due to liquidity issues, challenges in their business, or otherwise; risks that we may experience liquidity or working capital issues and related risks that financing sources may be unavailable to us on reasonable terms or at all; risks associated with significant leverage resulting from our current debt position or our ability to incur additional debt, including with respect to liquidity considerations, covenant limitations and compliance, fluctuations in interest rates, dilution considerations (with respect to our convertible notes), and our ability to maintain our credit ratings; risks arising as a result of contingent or other obligations or liabilities assumed in our acquisition of our former parent company, Comverse Technology, Inc. (“CTI”), or associated with formerly being consolidated with, and part of a consolidated tax group with, CTI, or as a result of the successor to CTI's business operations, Mavenir, Inc., being unwilling or unable to provide us with certain indemnities to which we are entitled; risks relating to the adequacy of our existing infrastructure, systems, processes, policies, procedures, internal controls, and personnel, and our ability to successfully implement and maintain enhancements to the foregoing, for our current and future operations and reporting needs, including related risks of financial statement omissions, misstatements, restatements, or filing delays; risks associated with changing accounting principles or standards, tax laws and regulations, tax rates, and the continuing availability of expected tax benefits; risks associated with market volatility in the prices of our common stock and convertible notes based on our performance, third-party publications or speculation, or other factors and risks associated with actions of activist stockholders; risks associated with the planned issuance of preferred stock to Apax Partners, including with respect to Apax’s significant ownership position and potential that their interests will not be aligned with those of our common stockholders; and risks associated with the planned spin-off of our Cyber Intelligence business, including the possibility that the spin-off transaction may not be completed in the expected timeframe or at all, that it does not achieve the benefits anticipated, or that it negatively impacts our operations or stock price. We assume no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement, except as otherwise required by law. For a detailed discussion of these risk factors, see our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2019, our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended April 30, 2019 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended October 31, 2019, when filed, and other filings we make with the SEC.
VERINT, ACTIONABLE INTELLIGENCE, THE CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT COMPANY, CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT SOLUTIONS, CYBER INTELLIGENCE SOLUTIONS, GI2, FIRSTMILE, OMNIX, WEBINT, LUMINAR, RELIANT, VANTAGE, STAR-GATE, TERROGENCE, SENSECY, and VIGIA are trademarks or registered trademarks of Verint Systems Inc. or its subsidiaries. Verint and other parties may also have trademark rights in other terms used herein.
|
||||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
2
| 23
|
https://www.newsday.com/business/comverse-investors-demand-new-leadership-r98714
|
en
|
Comverse investors demand new leadership
|
https://cdn.newsday.com/ace/c:Y2Q2YWNhY2QtYmVhNi00:ODY4ODdk/landscape/1280
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https://cdn.newsday.com/ace/c:Y2Q2YWNhY2QtYmVhNi00:ODY4ODdk/landscape/1280
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] |
[] |
[] |
[
"Local industry",
"Technology",
"Business"
] | null |
[
"Joseph Mallia"
] |
2012-04-17T22:11:00+00:00
|
en
|
/img/newsday/favicon.ico
|
Newsday
|
https://www.newsday.com/business/comverse-investors-demand-new-leadership-r98714
|
A hedge fund that owns 4.1 million shares -- about five percent -- of Comverse Technology Inc. this week made public a statement saying a majority of the company's board of directors should be replaced because it has made costly mistakes.
The hedge fund, Cadian Capital Management Llc, said it delivered a letter Monday to Comverse, a Manhattan company with a majority ownership of Melville-based Verint Systems Inc. The letter said mismanagement, poor hiring decisions and improper strategic decisions concerning subsidiary spinoffs had cost Comverse shareholders more than $2 billion in potential value.
Referring to its Verint subsidiary, the hedge fund said Comverse's operations as a holding company harmed "a quality asset held in strategic limbo in a market with substantial opportunities for revenue growth and margin expansion."
Verint makes software that allows businesses and government agencies to sift through vast amounts of data from telephone calls and surveillance cameras and provide insight on potential problems.
Paul Baker, vice president for communications at Comverse, said Tuesday the company did not wish to comment.
Cadian, of Manhattan, said that in the past year, the board has pursued "several misguided and / or ill-executed strategies that have continued to prevent the company from realizing value for shareholders," including a failure to hire and retain "world-class senior management."
Comverse Technology, or CTI, is now structured as a holding company. Its other major component, other than Verint, is a wholly owned subsidiary, Comverse Inc. -- which is expected to be spun off later this year into a stand-alone, publicly traded enterprise. In that spinoff, CTI said, its shareholders will receive distributions of the new company's stock.
The Comverse Inc. unit makes software for telecom service providers, enabling them to merge billing and customer management operations.
|
|||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
1
| 76
|
https://www.cfo.com/news/the-spring-loaded-options-trap/676263/
|
en
|
The Spring-loaded Options Trap
|
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[
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] | null |
[
"CFO Editorial Staff"
] |
2006-09-01T00:00:00
|
CFO.com provides essential analysis and expert advice for Chief Financial Officers to tackle organizational challenges, manage major risks, drive organizational value, and maximize their personal career potential.
|
en
|
/favicon.ico?v=2
|
CFO
|
https://www.cfo.com/news/the-spring-loaded-options-trap/676263/
|
Options timing is clearly the cause du jour of federal regulators — and the terror of executives. After announcing investigations into dozens of companies this past summer, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice filed charges against former executives at Brocade Communications Systems and Comverse Technology, sparking what most expect to be an ongoing volley (see On the Record).
While investigators continue to focus on backdated options, companies may well be nervous about regulators’ interest in related practices known as spring-loading (timing grants to come ahead of good news) and bullet-dodging (offering them after bad news), both of which aim to capture presumed lows in stock prices for the options’ strike prices. Last November, Analog Devices spent $3 million to settle spring-loading charges with the SEC. Cyberonics is still under investigation for issuing options to top officers following Food and Drug Administration approval of a new product but before the market opened. Many others, including Home Depot and Merrill Lynch, have been tainted by The Wall Street Journal’s recent revelations that abnormally large numbers of options were issued soon after the tragedies of September 11.
Such practices, which some say were widely used at volatile technology companies, are not technically illegal, provided the company’s compensation committee was not deceived in any way. “It’s a pure governance issue rather than the violation of any law,” says Michael Sirkin, a partner at Proskauer Rose and co-chair of the law firm’s new stock-option task force. (In most cases, investigations related to spring-loading center on whether companies ran afoul of disclosure rules.)
In fact, SEC commissioner Paul Atkins even promoted such tactics as a way for cash-poor companies to get more bang for their buck with options. “It’s only a paper gain and it still has to be earned,” Atkins told CFO.
Yet, few others are advocating options timing these days. “It’s a cloudy ethical issue — a very gray area — so we don’t do it,” says J.D. Sherman, CFO of Akamai Technologies Inc.
Governance experts agree. Building in quick paper gains “seems to cut against the very notion of incentive compensation,” says Pat McGurn, executive vice president of Institutional Investor Services. Not to mention that, strictly speaking, options given under such conditions would be nearly impossible to fairly value for reporting purposes. “Having additional information causes the Black-Scholes model, along with most others, to break down,” says Stacy Powell, national practice leader for CCA Strategies’s equity compensation consulting practice. The models work on the presumption that all sides have equal information, she explains.
In August, the SEC issued new rules on executive-compensation reporting that require the disclosure of the rationale behind options grants. Many companies are also moving to make grants at specific times each year, to avoid the appearance of opportunistic timing. — Alix Nyberg Stuart
Checkups on Providers Miss the Mark
SAS-70 audits assess the internal controls, in particular the data-security controls, of outsourcing providers. These checks have become a regular part of Section 404 compliance. The problem is, they cost a lot, and “it isn’t clear that they are all that effective,” says Jonathan G. Gossels, president of information security firm SystemExperts.
Part of the issue is that SAS-70 audits are not standardized; each accounting firm performs them differently. “If I were a CFO, I would want to know that my outsourcers have been measured against an objective standard, not one the auditor made up,” says Gossels. Some audits, he says, look only at existing policies, not best practices. For example, if a company does not have a policy to prevent new data servers from being deployed with their default passwords, there is no guarantee that the audit will uncover it. Another problem is that the audits don’t necessarily test every one of the outsourcing provider’s facilities.
Larry Runge, CFO of dbaDirect, a data-infrastructure management firm, says the concerns are misguided. While he agrees that client firms need to ask about audit criteria, he is comfortable with the level of assurance the audit provides. More to the point, he says, “I don’t see another alternative.”
But Gossels has another suggestion: abandon the SAS-70 audit in favor of a “more comprehensive” international standard, such as ISO 27002. Rather than allow negotiation on procedures, ISO 27002 sets specific standards that must be met to earn what Gossels considers a meaningful seal of approval. — Rob Garver
States Go Their Own Way
With a minimum-wage hike dead in Congress, individual states are likely to continue raising the pay floor on their own, creating a patchwork of laws and inconsistencies for those who run businesses in multiple states.
Maryland, Rhode Island, Michigan, Arkansas, Maine, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina have all enacted new wage minimums this year. On July 31, Massachusetts passed a bill raising its minimum to $7.50 in 2007 and $8 in 2008. California is expected to raise its wage later this year. Ballot initiatives to raise the minimum will go before voters in November in Arizona, Missouri, Montana, and Nevada. In most states, the minimum-wage laws go into effect only if the state’s minimum wage is higher than the federal minimum.
In June, the U.S. Senate failed to enact a bill that would have raised the current federal rate of $5.15 an hour to $7.25 an hour over the next three years. (The federal hourly minimum wage has stood at $5.15 since 1997.)
“For those companies that pay minimum wages, working with a patchwork of different statutes and regulations creates headaches,” says Paul Kelly, senior vice president for government affairs at the Retail Industry Leaders Association. Companies must also contend with different rates for tipped versus nontipped workers and different thresholds for who gets paid the minimum wage, says Tom Foulkes of the National Restaurant Association.
“The uniform federal system is much easier,” says Foulkes, whose association’s members hire many entry-level workers. Foulkes predicts that a federal minimum-wage hike could prompt a slowdown in state action on the issue.
For businesses that hire minimum-wage workers, the big question is whether federal inaction is pushing some states to set a higher wage than they would otherwise. “Is the lack of a federal increase creating pressure in certain states? I think the answer is yes,” says Rob Green, vice president for government and political affairs at the National Retail Federation. “But would a federal increase take the pressure off in some states? I’m not convinced that it would.” — Allan Richter
Bulldog Accounting?
Corporate accounting scandals may be fading from the front pages, but the nonprofit sector is coming under more scrutiny.
In July, Yale University announced that the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Defense, and the National Science Foundation subpoenaed documents relating to how the school allocated research expenses and how it reported faculty work devoted to grants. The subpoenaed documents relate to 47 grants and contracts totaling about $45 million and spanning a decade, says Tom Conroy, a Yale spokesperson.
Part of the motivation behind the Yale inquiry may be the federal government flexing its muscle, says David Crawford, a former auditor with the University of Texas who now runs his own risk-management firm and closely tracks university-compliance issues. “When they [investigate] Yale, everybody sits up and takes notice,” he says.
Debra Zumwalt, vice president and general counsel at Stanford University, says that because accounting at universities and other nonprofits can be more complex than at for-profit companies, irregularities are more likely to arise from honest mistakes. Nonprofits must not only track expenditures from a multitude of received funds, she explains, but they must also ensure that all spending is earmarked according to a fund’s criteria.
Like for-profit companies, many nonprofit organizations are currently examining accounting controls, and many are adopting Sarbanes-Oxley. — A.R.
What’s Your Financial Style?
There are almost as many initiatives to make executives better leaders as there are executives. Some theories focus on personality, others on skill. A recent entry into the mix proposes a connection between how executives inherently view money and the way they make management decisions.
E. Ted Prince, a former CEO with 20 years’ experience and author of The 3 Financial Styles of Very Successful Leaders (McGraw-Hill, 2005), has been studying the relationship between executive behavior and corporate performance since 2002. He contends that managers possess innate financial traits that make up their “financial signature.” Some people, like Wal-Mart’s Sam Walton, are natural discounters — they’re thrifty and focus on low-value, low-margin opportunities. Others, like Apple’s Steve Jobs, have venture-capitalist tendencies — they look for high-risk, high-reward opportunities requiring lots of capital.
Identifying your fundamental financial style is the secret to achieving success, claims Prince. Understanding your financial signature tells you what your natural response will be when confronted with situations involving risk/reward and cost/benefit, he says.
The classification is innate and fixed, says Prince, so putting a natural risk-taker into a corporate environment that calls for conservative management can be a recipe for disaster. “All the MBAs from the best business schools in the world cannot offset the impact of unconscious financial drivers,” argues Rob Kaiser, a partner at management consulting firm Kaplan DeVries, in a recent article for Personnel Psychology. Instead, explains Prince, executives need to pick companies with a mission and a culture that fit their financial style. (For another view of decision-making, see Insight.)
There is some hope for those whose style clashes with their company’s needs. According to the author, once executives are conscious of their intrinsic financial style, they can resist those tendencies and make decisions that benefit the company. In other words, while executives’ views are inherent, with some work, behavior can change. — Joseph McCafferty
Don’t Even Mention It
Trying to boost your stock price with a spin-off, stock buyback, or debt-financed acquisition, or by entertaining a leveraged-buyout offer? You may have to contend with lower credit ratings sooner than you thought.
With corporate-bond issues by investment-grade companies up 72 percent in the first half of 2006, credit-ratings agencies say they may lower ratings upon the announcement of such an event.
“Often the final rating isn’t [issued] until the transaction closes. But in some cases, where the motivation is clearly pressure from shareholders,” the rating will drop immediately, says John Olert, managing director at Fitch Ratings. He says there is no need to wait when it’s pretty clear that the goal is to reward shareholders. A recent Fitch survey found that such moves were the top concern of 78 large bond investors.
In July, the major agencies immediately put HCA on review for potential downgrade after it accepted a $33 billion buyout offer from major LBO firms. Kinder Morgan received the same treatment back in May upon mere receipt of an LBO bid, even though by August no decision had been made to accept the bid. The Tribune Co. was slashed to junk status when it announced in May that it would use $2 billion in debt to repurchase shares, even though such buybacks can take months or even years to complete.
Pamela Stumpp, Moody’s Investor Services managing director, says that slightly more than 75 percent of this year’s so-called fallen angels, or companies that have been downgraded from investment to junk, are associated with M&A transactions or stock buybacks, creating the need for earlier warning signs for bondholders.
In late July, Moody’s put out a request for comment on specific guidelines for circumstances under which it would downgrade a company upon announcement of a credit-eroding event, instead of just putting it on watch. Stumpp says the move is timely because “stock prices are fairly flat, and many companies are considering what they can do to change capital structures.” — A.N.S.
IRS Seeks Truth in Veritas Deal
Symantec Corp. develops software that battles computer viruses. But these days, the company spends time battling what it considers to be another pest: the Internal Revenue Service.
In June, Symantec filed a petition with the U.S. Tax Court to dispute more than $1 billion in back taxes and penalties that the IRS believes the company owes. The petition labeled the IRS’s claim “arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable.”
The eye-popping tax bill stems from the transfer-pricing agreements in place between Veritas U.S., which Symantec acquired in 2005, and its Irish subsidiary, Veritas Software International Ltd. The IRS says the amount of income attributed to Veritas U.S. as a result of a technology-licensing agreement with the Irish subsidiary was too low for tax years 2000 and 2001. At the same time, the IRS says Veritas allocated more of the costs of developing software than it should have, boosting expenses at Veritas while lowering its income. (In June, Symantec settled a similar case for fiscal years 2003 and 2004 for $36 million; the IRS wanted $100 million.) The outstanding case is one of the largest transfer-pricing tax disputes ever.
The software company argues that Veritas worked with its outside accountants, Ernst & Young, to develop its licensing and cost-sharing arrangements. In 2004, Symantec approached the IRS in hopes of reaching what’s known as an advance pricing agreement (APA), which would have allowed that the transfer prices the taxpayer was using were comparable to what two unrelated parties would have negotiated. In 2005, the IRS rejected the request. (The IRS and Symantec declined further comment on the dispute.)
Normally, APAs are done prospectively, says Carolyn Fanaroff, counsel with Greenberg Traurig in Washington, D.C. However, taxpayers requesting an APA can also ask for a rollback, which would cover prior years’ transfer-pricing issues.
At this point, it’s impossible to predict how the battle between Symantec and the IRS will be resolved. What is clear is that more tax disputes will arise over transfer pricing. As more U.S. companies have established operations outside the United States, the IRS has taken a closer look at transfer-pricing agreements and is currently revising the rules stating how cross-border services transactions are taxed. — Karen M. Kroll
Continuing Gains for Domestic Partners
More than half of Fortune 500 companies now provide benefits that cover domestic partners of employees. According to a survey by the Human Rights Campaign, as of June 1 of this year, 253 of those companies provide such benefits, up from 246 in 2005. 3M, ADP, and Clear Channel added the benefit in the past year. The survey also found that 85 percent of the Fortune 500 now include sexual orientation in their nondiscrimination policies.
Booking Trips the Old-fashioned Way
Not long ago, Randy Royer, the treasurer of Mesirow Financial Holdings, got caught in an ice storm in Portland, Ore. Because he had booked his trip online, he spent hours on the phone with airlines, trying to get back home to Chicago. In the end, he drove to Seattle (a two-hour trip that took six hours in the storm), where he hopped a red-eye to Washington D.C., and then another flight to Chicago. “When you’re in a situation like that, calling someone who can look at options and work around the problem is really helpful,” he says.
More business travelers are finding that out. Despite the popularity of online booking sites like Expedia, Orbitz, and Travelocity, travel agents are making a comeback. Glen Stewart, president of Gray’s Travel Management in Northbrook, Ill., says more business travelers are skipping the mouse and picking up the phone to book their next trip. “In the past year and a half, we have noticed that more people want to talk to real people about their trips,” he says. Gray’s handles about 4,000 calls a month from booking customers.
For simple trips, online travel arrangements may still be the faster and cheaper way to go, but for more-complex trips, speaking to a person may be more cost effective. Agents can make sure customers pay the cheapest fares available, which sometimes means calling up an airline to get the best deal. They can also help travelers receive first-class upgrades if they are eligible, change itineraries without the extra fees that most online sites charge (especially during times of heightened security), and pinpoint the closest hotels. In addition, says Suzanne Fletcher, president of the National Business Travel Association, agents also quickly handle international faring. “It’s a science,” she says, “and they’re pros at it.”
Usually, travel agents are part of a larger travel-management program that gives employees access to an online site for booking simple trips and live travel agents if needed. Accessing agents can sometimes require an added fee of around $10, which most in-house travel managers are happy to approve if they think the agent can help save the traveler money by finding the cheapest way to go. — Laura DeMars
Deep Pockets, Getting Deeper
U.S. companies continue to hoard record levels of cash. And over the next 12 months, most don’t plan on changing that practice, according to a survey released in July by the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP) and Credit Suisse Asset Management. Nearly half (49 percent) of the treasurers and other executives surveyed say they expect their companies to maintain current cash balances over the next 12 months. Another 27 percent say they will increase their cash reserves. Jeff Glenzer, director of treasury services at the AFP, says cash stockpiling suggests a lack of investment opportunities. “It can be seen as a barometer of how corporations view the economic climate,” he says. The survey also finds that many companies are lax about creating an investment policy for cash and that they don’t diversify their cash holdings.
Verbatim
“I hadn’t known anyone who tried to manage his own death in such a conscious fashion…. What can I say? I was an accountant…. The same traits that made me someone who might flourish in the world of finance and accounting also made me someone who did not know how to do anything unplanned — dying included.”
|
||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
2
| 35
|
https://www.jpost.com/jerusalem-report/the-high-cost-of-flight-485423
|
en
|
An Israel businessman's journey from hi-tech visionary to convicted felon
|
https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_407,w_690/373858
|
https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_407,w_690/373858
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[
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[
"SHLOMO MAITAL"
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2017-04-28T00:30:00+00:00
|
Kobi Alexander, founder of the once market-leading company Comverse, was sentenced to 30 months in prison by a US judge in February.
|
en
|
The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com
|
https://www.jpost.com/jerusalem-report/the-high-cost-of-flight-485423
|
Kobi Alexander, founder of the once market-leading company Comverse, was sentenced to 30 months in prison by a US judge in February.
By SHLOMO MAITAL
US DISTRICT Judge Nicholas Garaufis stared sternly at the defendant dressed in brown prison garb, in the dock of a Brooklyn courtroom, and said, “I really don’t understand how someone as brilliant and accomplished and focused and respected as you could be so incredibly, abjectly foolish to make some of the decisions you made.” The 64-year-old defendant, Jacob “Kobi” Alexander, an Israeli hi-tech visionary and founder of the once market-leading company Comverse, replied, “I’m truly sorry for everything I have done wrong. I deeply regret running away instead of dealing with the justice system like I should have. All I ask is, when you sentence me today, you pay attention to the good in addition to the bad… For the majority of my life, I lived honestly and worked very hard.” On February 23, Judge Garaufis sentenced Alexander to 30 months in prison for securities fraud involving backdating of options. Alexander will serve his sentence at a Pennsylvania prison, though he may ask to serve part of it in Israel. The sentence was a bit more than the two years Alexander’s lawyers sought but far less than the 10-year maximum the law specifies. He is eligible for a one-third reduction for good behavior. The sentence brings to an end a decade- long saga. In late June 2006, Alexander left the US for a vacation in Israel. His lawyers had arranged with US authorities that he would return to face indictment on July 31 for securities fraud related to the backdating of options for himself and some senior employees from 1998 to 2001. HOWEVER, RATHER than face trial, he fled with his wife and children to the desert nation of Namibia, on Africa’s southwest coast, from where he felt he could not be extradited. (He fled Israel because Israel and the US have an extradition treaty.) Namibia is a huge arid nation, mostly desert, 40 times the size of Israel with just two million people. It was first colonized by Germany, then ruled by South Africa, achieving full independence only in 1990. Alexander and his family spent more than a decade in exile, in Windhoek, Namibia, and his wife and children stood by him the entire time. He voluntarily returned to the US in August 2016 and was at once arrested and jailed. At the time, he asked Garaufis to release him on a $25 million bail bond but the judge refused so Alexander has been incarcerated since. Why did Garaufis call Alexander “brilliant” and “accomplished”? It was an understatement. In 1982, Alexander, then an investment banker, joined with engineer Boaz Misholi and Alexander’s brother-in-law Yechiam Yemini, a Columbia University computer science professor, to launch Efrat Future Technologies, the name of which later was changed to Comverse Technology ‒ Comverse being a fusion of the words “communication” and “versatility.” The company became a market leader in voicemail hardware and software sold to telecom companies. It was the first Israeli company to be included in the prestigious Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, and did a successful initial public offering of stock on NASDAQ in 1986. Alexander became the company’s CEO and chairman in 1987, when he was only 35. As mobile-phone use boomed, Comverse’s revenues soared, passing $1 billion in the late 1990s. Comverse dominated voicemail management and sold a popular short-message service-center product. Its headquarters were in the US, while R&D and manufacturing were done in Israel. At one point, Comverse was one of Israel’s largest employers of software engineers. It benefited from numerous grants from the Office of Chief Scientist. At the Technion Institute of Management, I recall working with Comverse on management development nearly 15 years ago. The daily newspapers Haaretz and The Jerusalem Post called Comverse a “flagship” company, and Bloomberg News called Alexander “the wizard of Israel’s technology boom.” I remember thinking, at the time, how well Comverse was run and led. Then came the options-backdating scandal. And it all fell apart. What does “backdating options” mean? Many hi-tech companies offer senior employees stock options – the right to buy the company’s shares at the price at which the shares trade on the day the options contract is signed. When the stock price rises, the workers can make a fortune, exercising their options by buying the stock at the lower price and selling it high. Companies do this because it does not require them to lay out scarce cash directly. Sometimes, though, when the company’s stock price falls, those options lose value or even become worthless. Such options are called “out of the money” or “under water” in jargon. This can be a blow to employee morale, turning them from millionaires to paupers nearly overnight. One solution has been to backdate the options – turn back the hands of time, to a date years earlier when the share price was much lower, to make the options more valuable. This is, in fact, legal provided the company reveals all the terms and conditions transparently and properly records the cost in its financial reports. If a company sells an employee 100 shares at $5 and the share’s market price is $10, it is giving up $500 because it could have sold the shares for $1,000. This is an expense and must be reported. A study by Erik Lie of the University of Iowa’s Tippie School of Business found that more than 2,000 companies used options backdating to reward senior executives between 1996 and 2002. So why is Alexander going to jail for doing something that is legal? US prosecutors said Alexander backdated dates for options between 1998 and 2001 to make them more valuable but concealed this action. Concealment is what makes it illegal, because this inflates earnings. The law requires companies to take a financial charge for raising the value of options, and to report it. Alexander, as head of Comverse, apparently failed to do this ‒ the transaction was hidden. If you incur an expense, and backdating options does incur an expense, it must appear in the quarterly income statement. If it does not, it’s fraud. It is cheating and misleading the shareholders. To be legal, backdating options has to be clearly communicated to the company shareholders, accurately reflected in the financial statements, and clearly taken into account in tax returns. Alexander, according to the indictment, did not fulfill those terms. STEVE JOBS received backdated stock options; in 2001, he won the right to buy 7.5 million Apple shares backdated to a price of $18.30 when the current price was $21.10. The taxable income of about $20m. was not reported. Jobs returned the options without exercising them, and the Securities Exchange Commission said, in 2007, it would not file charges against Jobs, though it did charge two former Apple executives for their roles in backdating, even though Apple claimed the options deal was approved by a Board of Directors meeting that, in fact, never took place. What was the result of Alexander’s flight? A month after Alexander fled to Namibia, he was charged with securities fraud, along with two other Comverse executives ‒ William Sorin, Comverse’s general counsel, and David Kreinberg, its finance chief. Sorin pleaded guilty and got a year in jail. Kreinberg pleaded guilty and was spared prison, probably because of the information he provided. Did Alexander pay compensation? He did. While in Namibia, Alexander paid $60m. to Comverse, in 2009, as well as $6m. in penalties to the SEC to settle civil lawsuits against him. He also gave large sums to Namibia educational institutions. Alexander and his family are far from poverty. Observers believe that he has retained some of his millions, even after generous philanthropy in Namibia. What happened to Comverse? Partly as a result of the options backdating, Comverse has ceased to exist. The law required Comverse to redo all its financial reports dating back to when the securities fraud occurred. This was costly, distracting and cast a pall on Comverse’s share price, and Comverse was delisted from the Nasdaq exchange because its stock price plummeted below the minimum. The 2008 financial crisis hurt Comverse, leading to largescale layoffs. But mostly, I believe, it lacked the leadership Alexander had provided. In 2012 and 2013, Comverse sold off all its holdings and ceased to exist. Two independent companies, Xuri and Verint Systems, carry on the company’s best-known product lines. After Alexander serves his time, he will be expelled from the US and will return to Israel. Garaufis’s tongue-lashing of Alexander and sentence contrast sharply with what President Donald Trump’s chief strategist Steve Bannon, a far-right ideologue and former Wall Street tycoon, observed in 2014 about errant bank executives: “Think about it. Not one criminal charge has ever been brought to any bank executive associated with the 2008 crisis.” As a strange sequel to this rather tragic story, the business daily Globes reported in 2006 that, according to ISSTA, a publicly traded tourist agency, “the Kobi Alexander affair has aroused Israelis’ interest in visiting Namibia.” Thanks to Kobi, perhaps Namibians can now say, “We’re on the map.” The writer is senior research fellow at the S. Neaman Institute, Technion and blogs at www.timnovate.wordpress
|
|||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
3
| 96
|
https://www.zippia.com/nagra-opentv-careers-33769/history/
|
en
|
OpenTV History: Founding, Timeline, and Milestones
|
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[
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[] |
2020-08-27T00:00:00-08:00
|
A complete timeline of OpenTV's History from founding to present including key milestones and major events.
|
en
|
/ui-router/images/favicon.ico
|
https://www.zippia.com/nagra-opentv-careers-33769/history/
|
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of OpenTV, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about OpenTV. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at OpenTV. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by OpenTV. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of OpenTV and its employees or that of Zippia.
OpenTV may also be known as or be related to OpenTV, OpenTV Corp and OpenTV Inc.
|
|||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
2
| 62
|
https://www.icl-group.com/about-us/governance/
|
en
|
ICL Group: Management, Board Members and Commitment to Good Governance
|
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2020-12-29T17:20:10+00:00
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Meet the ICL leaderhip: Management team and members of the board. Learn about our commitment to to practicing good corporate governance
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en
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ICL
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https://www.icl-group.com/about-us/governance/
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Mr. Raviv Zoller has been serving as ICL´s President and CEO since 2018. Prior to joining ICL, Mr. Zoller served as the CEO of I.D.I. Insurance Company Ltd. (“Bituach Yashir”), the pioneer in Israel of direct insurance, which is listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. In 1999, he founded Ness Technologies Inc., Israel’s largest IT Services Co., which began trading on the NASDAQ in 2004, where he served as its President and CEO until 2007. In the summer of 2023 Mr. Zoller was appointed as Vice Chairman and Head of the Financial Committee of IFA (International Fertilizers Association). He also served as voluntary chairman of the Ethiopian National Project (ENP), a non-profit organization, since 2012. Mr. Zoller holds a B.A. degree in Economics and Accounting from Tel Aviv University and is a qualified CPA.
Mr. Raviv Zoller has been serving as ICL´s President and CEO since 2018. Prior to joining ICL, Mr. Zoller served as the CEO of I.D.I. Insurance Company Ltd. (“Bituach Yashir”), the pioneer in Israel of direct insurance, which is listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. In 1999, he founded Ness Technologies Inc., Israel’s largest IT Services Co., which began trading on the NASDAQ in 2004, where he served as its President and CEO until 2007. In the summer of 2023 Mr. Zoller was appointed as Vice Chairman and Head of the Financial Committee of IFA (International Fertilizers Association). He also served as voluntary chairman of the Ethiopian National Project (ENP), a non-profit organization, since 2012. Mr. Zoller holds a B.A. degree in Economics and Accounting from Tel Aviv University and is a qualified CPA.
Mr. Aviram Lahav joined ICL in 2021. He brings over 20 years of senior executive experience, both as CEO and CFO roles in multiple geographies. Prior to joining ICL, Mr. Lahav served at Adama Group from 2010 to 2021 where he held various senior management positions; he served as Deputy CEO and CFO of Adama Ltd., as CEO and CFO of Adama Agricultural Solutions Ltd., and as CFO of Adama Group. Prior to that, Mr. Lahav served as CEO of Synergy Cables Ltd. from 2009 to 2010; as CFO, COO, and CEO at Delta Galil Industries Ltd. from 1997 to 2008; and CFO of MCA Inc. Group from 1990-1993, and CEO of Eurodollar and Europcar rental companies from 1993-1997. In 2000 he received the Award of Israel’s CFO of the year. Mr. Lahav attended Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program, he is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), and holds a BA in Economics and Finance from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He also holds a Practical Engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Tel Aviv.
Mr. Aviram Lahav joined ICL in 2021. He brings over 20 years of senior executive experience, both as CEO and CFO roles in multiple geographies. Prior to joining ICL, Mr. Lahav served at Adama Group from 2010 to 2021 where he held various senior management positions; he served as Deputy CEO and CFO of Adama Ltd., as CEO and CFO of Adama Agricultural Solutions Ltd., and as CFO of Adama Group. Prior to that, Mr. Lahav served as CEO of Synergy Cables Ltd. from 2009 to 2010; as CFO, COO, and CEO at Delta Galil Industries Ltd. from 1997 to 2008; and CFO of MCA Inc. Group from 1990-1993, and CEO of Eurodollar and Europcar rental companies from 1993-1997. In 2000 he received the Award of Israel’s CFO of the year. Mr. Lahav attended Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program, he is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), and holds a BA in Economics and Finance from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He also holds a Practical Engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Tel Aviv.
Mr. Elad Aharonson has been serving as President of ICL’s Growing Solutions since 2021. Prior to joining ICL, Mr. Aharonson served at Elbit Systems in 2004 and held various senior management positions relating to UAS; he served as Executive Vice President and General Manager -for ISTAR Division, from 2015 to 2021. From 2011 to 2015, he served as Executive Vice President and General Manager – for UAS Division. Prior thereto, ,from 2009 to 2011, he also served as Vice President – for UAV Systems.
Mr. Aharonson served as an officer in the IDF holding command positions in the Artillery Branch and in the Ground Forces’ UAV unit. Mr. Aharonson holds a Law Degree (LL.B.) and a BBA from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.
Mr. Elad Aharonson has been serving as President of ICL’s Growing Solutions since 2021. Prior to joining ICL, Mr. Aharonson served at Elbit Systems in 2004 and held various senior management positions relating to UAS; he served as Executive Vice President and General Manager -for ISTAR Division, from 2015 to 2021. From 2011 to 2015, he served as Executive Vice President and General Manager – for UAS Division. Prior thereto, ,from 2009 to 2011, he also served as Vice President – for UAV Systems.
Mr. Aharonson served as an officer in the IDF holding command positions in the Artillery Branch and in the Ground Forces’ UAV unit. Mr. Aharonson holds a Law Degree (LL.B.) and a BBA from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.
Mr. Philip Brown is an expert in the Specialty Minerals and Food Ingredient industry bringing with him over 30 years of experience. He joined ICL in 2006 and has served in various leading positions in ICL’s Phosphate Business, including SVP Sales and Marketing, SVP Global Operations, and VP Operations and Supply Chain. He currently serves as the President of ICL’s Phosphate Specialties Solutions, and continues to serve as Head of ICL Americas HQ. Prior to joining ICL he was Operations Manager at CP Kelco from 1997 to 2006 and served 13 years and gained broad chemical industry experience in two global companies: Celanese (NYSE: CE) and Monsanto Company (NYSE:MON). Mr. Brown holds a BS and MS in Engineering from Texas A&M University. He currently also serves on the Board of Directors for the American Chemistry Council (ACC).
Mr. Philip Brown is an expert in the Specialty Minerals and Food Ingredient industry bringing with him over 30 years of experience. He joined ICL in 2006 and has served in various leading positions in ICL’s Phosphate Business, including SVP Sales and Marketing, SVP Global Operations, and VP Operations and Supply Chain. He currently serves as the President of ICL’s Phosphate Specialties Solutions, and continues to serve as Head of ICL Americas HQ. Prior to joining ICL he was Operations Manager at CP Kelco from 1997 to 2006 and served 13 years and gained broad chemical industry experience in two global companies: Celanese (NYSE: CE) and Monsanto Company (NYSE:MON). Mr. Brown holds a BS and MS in Engineering from Texas A&M University. He currently also serves on the Board of Directors for the American Chemistry Council (ACC).
Mr. Yaniv Kabalek has been serving as President, Industrial Products since September 2022. Since 2001, he has served in several leadership positions at ICL; he served as Senior VP, Flame Retardants, Business Develop. & Advocacy from 2019-2022. He served as Senior Vice President, ICL-IP Regional Sales China/Asia & ICL Asia HQ (located in China) from 2017-2019. From 2014-2017, he served as Vice President, ICL-IP Regional Sales China/Asia (located in HK). From 2012-2014, he served as Head of Global Marketing Bromine & Isotanks. From 2007-2012, he served as ICL-IP Global Treasury Manager, and from 2001-2007, he served as a financial analyst with ICL. Mr. Kabalek served in the IDF as commander of a headquarters company with the rank of major. He holds a BA in Economics and an MA in Business Administration, both from Ben Gurion University.
Mr. Yaniv Kabalek has been serving as President, Industrial Products since September 2022. Since 2001, he has served in several leadership positions at ICL; he served as Senior VP, Flame Retardants, Business Develop. & Advocacy from 2019-2022. He served as Senior Vice President, ICL-IP Regional Sales China/Asia & ICL Asia HQ (located in China) from 2017-2019. From 2014-2017, he served as Vice President, ICL-IP Regional Sales China/Asia (located in HK). From 2012-2014, he served as Head of Global Marketing Bromine & Isotanks. From 2007-2012, he served as ICL-IP Global Treasury Manager, and from 2001-2007, he served as a financial analyst with ICL. Mr. Kabalek served in the IDF as commander of a headquarters company with the rank of major. He holds a BA in Economics and an MA in Business Administration, both from Ben Gurion University.
Mr. Meir Mergi brings with him over 30 years of experience from various leading positions across ICL’s different divisions. He joined ICL in 1994 and served till 2014 in ICL’s Magnesium Division in a variety of leading roles including CEO, SVP Operations, Process Engineer, and Plant Manager. From 2014-2017 he served as SVP of Global Operations of PP, which included global management of ICL’s plants in the food, phosphate salts, and flame retardant industries.
From 2017-2021 he served as SVP of Dead Sea Works Operation, responsible for production, HR, EHS, R&D, OE and Capex. Since 2021 Mr. Mergi has been serving as President of ICL’s Potash Division. He holds a BA in Materials Engineering and a MBA from Ben Gurion University.
Mr. Meir Mergi brings with him over 30 years of experience from various leading positions across ICL’s different divisions. He joined ICL in 1994 and served till 2014 in ICL’s Magnesium Division in a variety of leading roles including CEO, SVP Operations, Process Engineer, and Plant Manager. From 2014-2017 he served as SVP of Global Operations of PP, which included global management of ICL’s plants in the food, phosphate salts, and flame retardant industries.
From 2017-2021 he served as SVP of Dead Sea Works Operation, responsible for production, HR, EHS, R&D, OE and Capex. Since 2021 Mr. Mergi has been serving as President of ICL’s Potash Division. He holds a BA in Materials Engineering and a MBA from Ben Gurion University.
Dr. Anantha Desikan has been serving as Executive Vice President and Chief Research, Development & Innovation Officer of ICL since 2018. Prior thereto, Dr. Desikan served as Senior Vice President of ICL Industrial Products’ Flame Retardants business, as well as several other management and technology management positions at ICL including President, ICL-IP America, and VP of Global Phosphorous R&D. Prior to joining ICL in 2007, Dr. Desikan held technology management roles at Supresta and Akzo Nobel. He holds a Ph.D. and M.S in Chemical Engineering from Clarkson University, Potsdam, New York, and a BS in Chemical Engineering from Coimbatore Institute of Technology, Madras University, India.
Dr. Anantha Desikan has been serving as Executive Vice President and Chief Research, Development & Innovation Officer of ICL since 2018. Prior thereto, Dr. Desikan served as Senior Vice President of ICL Industrial Products’ Flame Retardants business, as well as several other management and technology management positions at ICL including President, ICL-IP America, and VP of Global Phosphorous R&D. Prior to joining ICL in 2007, Dr. Desikan held technology management roles at Supresta and Akzo Nobel. He holds a Ph.D. and M.S in Chemical Engineering from Clarkson University, Potsdam, New York, and a BS in Chemical Engineering from Coimbatore Institute of Technology, Madras University, India.
Noam Goldstein has been serving as Executive Vice President, Operational Excellence, Innovation & Energy since 2022. Noam joined ICL in 1986 and served in various leading positions in the Potash business segment, including President of the Potash Division, Vice President of Business Development, CFO in Europe, Vice President of Infrastructure, Senior Vice President of Operations at ICL Dead Sea, and as Executive Vice President Potash and Magnesium. He also serves as chair of the environmental committee and as a board member at Israel´s Manufacturing Association. Noam Goldstein holds a B.A. in Economics and Business Administration from the Hebrew University and an M.A. in Economics from Ben Gurion University. He is also a graduate of the Heschel Sustainability Leadership Fellowship Program
Noam Goldstein has been serving as Executive Vice President, Operational Excellence, Innovation & Energy since 2022. Noam joined ICL in 1986 and served in various leading positions in the Potash business segment, including President of the Potash Division, Vice President of Business Development, CFO in Europe, Vice President of Infrastructure, Senior Vice President of Operations at ICL Dead Sea, and as Executive Vice President Potash and Magnesium. He also serves as chair of the environmental committee and as a board member at Israel´s Manufacturing Association. Noam Goldstein holds a B.A. in Economics and Business Administration from the Hebrew University and an M.A. in Economics from Ben Gurion University. He is also a graduate of the Heschel Sustainability Leadership Fellowship Program
Mr. Uri Perelman joined ICL in December 2023. He brings more than 15 years of experience and expertise in global corporate development, M&A, partnerships and overall corporate strategy. Prior to joining ICL, Mr. Perelman held corporate development leadership roles at Similarweb (NYSE: SMWB) where he served as Chief Corporate Development Officer and at NICE Inc. (NASDAQ:NICE) where he was the Head of M&A, Partners, and Corporate Development and led dozens of acquisitions, partnerships, and other non-organic activities worldwide. Prior to NICE, Uri was part of the corporate development team at Orange (NYSE: ORAN) where he led the global commercial department and partnerships worldwide and before that at Everest Funds, a global hedge fund specializing in activist investing and special situations. Mr. Perelman holds an MBA and a BA from Tel Aviv University and is a graduate of Berkeley Haas Executive Management program.
Mr. Uri Perelman joined ICL in December 2023. He brings more than 15 years of experience and expertise in global corporate development, M&A, partnerships and overall corporate strategy. Prior to joining ICL, Mr. Perelman held corporate development leadership roles at Similarweb (NYSE: SMWB) where he served as Chief Corporate Development Officer and at NICE Inc. (NASDAQ:NICE) where he was the Head of M&A, Partners, and Corporate Development and led dozens of acquisitions, partnerships, and other non-organic activities worldwide. Prior to NICE, Uri was part of the corporate development team at Orange (NYSE: ORAN) where he led the global commercial department and partnerships worldwide and before that at Everest Funds, a global hedge fund specializing in activist investing and special situations. Mr. Perelman holds an MBA and a BA from Tel Aviv University and is a graduate of Berkeley Haas Executive Management program.
Maya Grinfeld serves as the VP of Global Marketing & Communications at ICL. She joined ICL in September 2019, bringing with her over 20 years of experience in global business, marketing communication, and brand building from global leading publicly listed and privately held companies. Maya’s unique approach to marketing coupled by her strong strategic planning, brand positioning & digital marketing allows her to oversee ICL’s global marketing activities. Prior roles include VP of Marketing of a leading home design group company-Negev Group from 2017-2019; Head of the International Marketing at Caesarstone Ltd. (NASDAQ: CSTE) from 2006-2017. In addition Mrs. Grinfeld served as Marketing Manager at Inclarity from 2000-2005 and as Head Of Operations in El Al Israel Airlines (OTC: ELAL/ TA: ELAL) from 1997-2000. Mrs. Grinfeld holds a MBA from University of Haifa and a LLB from London Metropolitan University.
Maya Grinfeld serves as the VP of Global Marketing & Communications at ICL. She joined ICL in September 2019, bringing with her over 20 years of experience in global business, marketing communication, and brand building from global leading publicly listed and privately held companies. Maya’s unique approach to marketing coupled by her strong strategic planning, brand positioning & digital marketing allows her to oversee ICL’s global marketing activities. Prior roles include VP of Marketing of a leading home design group company-Negev Group from 2017-2019; Head of the International Marketing at Caesarstone Ltd. (NASDAQ: CSTE) from 2006-2017. In addition Mrs. Grinfeld served as Marketing Manager at Inclarity from 2000-2005 and as Head Of Operations in El Al Israel Airlines (OTC: ELAL/ TA: ELAL) from 1997-2000. Mrs. Grinfeld holds a MBA from University of Haifa and a LLB from London Metropolitan University.
Mr. Doppelt, CEO of Israel Corp. Ltd. Previously served as CEO of Kenon Holdings Ltd., a global company (NYSE: KEN), and from March 2014 to September 2017 served as Executive Chairman of IC Power Ltd., a power generation company. Prior thereto, Mr. Doppelt was the founder and CEO of the Ofer Group’s private equity fund where he was involved in numerous investments in the private equity and technology sectors. He has been the Chief Executive Officer of XT Investments (formerly known as XT Capital and Ofer Hi-Tech) since 2001. He has actively led several public offerings of equity and debt offerings in the US and Europe and he has extensive operational and global business experience with growth companies. Mr. Doppelt also served as Chairman of OPC Energy Ltd. (TASE: OPC) as well as Director of Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. Mr. Doppelt holds a BA in Economics and Management from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, and an MBA from Haifa University.
Mr. Doppelt, CEO of Israel Corp. Ltd. Previously served as CEO of Kenon Holdings Ltd., a global company (NYSE: KEN), and from March 2014 to September 2017 served as Executive Chairman of IC Power Ltd., a power generation company. Prior thereto, Mr. Doppelt was the founder and CEO of the Ofer Group’s private equity fund where he was involved in numerous investments in the private equity and technology sectors. He has been the Chief Executive Officer of XT Investments (formerly known as XT Capital and Ofer Hi-Tech) since 2001. He has actively led several public offerings of equity and debt offerings in the US and Europe and he has extensive operational and global business experience with growth companies. Mr. Doppelt also served as Chairman of OPC Energy Ltd. (TASE: OPC) as well as Director of Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. Mr. Doppelt holds a BA in Economics and Management from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, and an MBA from Haifa University.
Mr. Kaufman has been serving as Director since 2014 as well as Chairman of Israel Corp. since 2016. Mr. Kaufman is currently the CEO of One Globe Business Advisory Ltd. Until July 2021 he served as the CEO of Quantum Pacific (UK) LLP. Prior to joining Quantum Pacific in 2008 as CFO, he held a number of senior corporate finance positions at Amdocs (NYSE: DOX), and prior thereto, served in a number of consultancy positions at KPMG. Mr. Kaufman is a Certified Public Accountant in Israel, and holds a BA in Accounting and Economics from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (with distinction), and an MBA in Finance from Tel Aviv University
Mr. Kaufman has been serving as Director since 2014 as well as Chairman of Israel Corp. since 2016. Mr. Kaufman is currently the CEO of One Globe Business Advisory Ltd. Until July 2021 he served as the CEO of Quantum Pacific (UK) LLP. Prior to joining Quantum Pacific in 2008 as CFO, he held a number of senior corporate finance positions at Amdocs (NYSE: DOX), and prior thereto, served in a number of consultancy positions at KPMG. Mr. Kaufman is a Certified Public Accountant in Israel, and holds a BA in Accounting and Economics from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (with distinction), and an MBA in Finance from Tel Aviv University
Ms. Tzipi Ozer-Armon has been serving as Director since 2020. Ms. Ozer-Armon serves as the CEO of Lumenis, she joined the company in May 2012. During her tenure, Ms. Ozer-Armon led Lumenis through a comprehensive growth and profitability turnaround, as well as an IPO on the NASDAQ in 2014, and a successful acquisition process in 2015. Prior to joining Lumenis, Ms. Ozer-Armon headed the Japanese market activities of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA), a business with a turnover of more than $800M. Prior to that, Ms. Ozer-Armon served as Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at SanDisk (Nasdaq: SNDK) with multi-billion dollars sales’. She also served as VP and General Manager of MSystems (Nasdaq: FLSH), and as VP of Corporate Development at Comverse (Nasdaq: CMVT). Ms. Ozer-Armon’s impressive career also includes four years at ATKearney, a Global Management Consulting company based in London, UK. Ms. Ozer-Armon holds a BA magna cum laude in Economics from Tel Aviv University, an MBA majoring in Finance and Marketing, and she is an AMP graduate of Harvard Business School.
Ms. Tzipi Ozer-Armon has been serving as Director since 2020. Ms. Ozer-Armon serves as the CEO of Lumenis, she joined the company in May 2012. During her tenure, Ms. Ozer-Armon led Lumenis through a comprehensive growth and profitability turnaround, as well as an IPO on the NASDAQ in 2014, and a successful acquisition process in 2015. Prior to joining Lumenis, Ms. Ozer-Armon headed the Japanese market activities of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA), a business with a turnover of more than $800M. Prior to that, Ms. Ozer-Armon served as Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at SanDisk (Nasdaq: SNDK) with multi-billion dollars sales’. She also served as VP and General Manager of MSystems (Nasdaq: FLSH), and as VP of Corporate Development at Comverse (Nasdaq: CMVT). Ms. Ozer-Armon’s impressive career also includes four years at ATKearney, a Global Management Consulting company based in London, UK. Ms. Ozer-Armon holds a BA magna cum laude in Economics from Tel Aviv University, an MBA majoring in Finance and Marketing, and she is an AMP graduate of Harvard Business School.
Mr. Aminoach has been serving as a Director since 2017. Mr. Aminoach is a certified public accountant in Israel, and holds a BA in Accounting and Economics (academic honors, Dean’s honor list) and an MBA in business administration, both from Tel-Aviv University. Until recently, Mr. Aminoach served as founding partner of Shtainmetz Aminoach & Co., Certified Public Accountants. Prior to that, Mr. Aminoach held the military rank of Brigadier General (res.), in his capacity as a member of the IDF General Staff Forum, head of the Budget Department at the Ministry of Defense, Chief Financial Advisor to the Chief of Staff of the IDF and head of the IDF’s Budgetary Array. Mr. Aminoach has also previously served as Director on the Board of Ofer Brothers Investments Ltd., and as Director and Chairman of the audit committee at Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. (part of the Israel Corporation Group). Mr. Aminoach also served as a Member of the Board of Trustees of the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem.
Mr. Aminoach has been serving as a Director since 2017. Mr. Aminoach is a certified public accountant in Israel, and holds a BA in Accounting and Economics (academic honors, Dean’s honor list) and an MBA in business administration, both from Tel-Aviv University. Until recently, Mr. Aminoach served as founding partner of Shtainmetz Aminoach & Co., Certified Public Accountants. Prior to that, Mr. Aminoach held the military rank of Brigadier General (res.), in his capacity as a member of the IDF General Staff Forum, head of the Budget Department at the Ministry of Defense, Chief Financial Advisor to the Chief of Staff of the IDF and head of the IDF’s Budgetary Array. Mr. Aminoach has also previously served as Director on the Board of Ofer Brothers Investments Ltd., and as Director and Chairman of the audit committee at Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. (part of the Israel Corporation Group). Mr. Aminoach also served as a Member of the Board of Trustees of the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem.
Mr. Reitblatt has been serving as a Director since 2017. Mr. Reitblatt is a certified public accountant, and holds a BA in accounting and economics from Tel Aviv University and an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley. Until recently, Mr. Reitblatt served as CEO and Chairman of the Board of Super-Pharm (Israel) Ltd. Mr. Reitblatt has also previously served, among other things, as Chairman of the Board of LifeStyle Ltd. and member of the board of Office Depot Israel Ltd.
Mr. Reitblatt has been serving as a Director since 2017. Mr. Reitblatt is a certified public accountant, and holds a BA in accounting and economics from Tel Aviv University and an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley. Until recently, Mr. Reitblatt served as CEO and Chairman of the Board of Super-Pharm (Israel) Ltd. Mr. Reitblatt has also previously served, among other things, as Chairman of the Board of LifeStyle Ltd. and member of the board of Office Depot Israel Ltd.
CFO of Israel Corporation
Mr. Sagi Kabla has been serving as a Director since 2016, and is also the CFO of Israel Corporation. Mr. Kabla previously served as Director of Bazan Group and as senior Director, business development, strategy and IR in Israel Corporation. Prior to joining Israel Corporation, Mr. Kabla held various positions at KPMG Corporate Finance. Mr. Kabla is a qualified CPA in Israel and holds a BA in Accounting and Economics from Bar-Ilan University and an MBA (Finance) from the College of Management Studies.
CFO of Israel Corporation
Mr. Sagi Kabla has been serving as a Director since 2016, and is also the CFO of Israel Corporation. Mr. Kabla previously served as Director of Bazan Group and as senior Director, business development, strategy and IR in Israel Corporation. Prior to joining Israel Corporation, Mr. Kabla held various positions at KPMG Corporate Finance. Mr. Kabla is a qualified CPA in Israel and holds a BA in Accounting and Economics from Bar-Ilan University and an MBA (Finance) from the College of Management Studies.
Mr. Gadi Lesin has been serving as Director since 2021. He also currently serves as Director of ORIAN SH.M Ltd. From 2009 to 2018 Mr. Lesin served as the President and CEO of Strauss Group, an international food and beverage company that has collaborations with Danone, PepsiCo, and Haier. Since joining the Strauss Group in 1993, Mr. Lesin served in various senior leadership positions, including as the CEO of Strauss Israel, CEO of Sabra USA, CEO of Strauss Dairies, and CEO of the Sales and Distribution Department. Mr. Lesin also served, among other things, from 2014 to 2015 as the Chairman of the Council of the Manufacturers Association of Israel. From 2013 to 2014 he served as a member of the Interface Round Table Forum headed by the Israeli Prime Minister, and from 2008 to 2013 served as the Chairman of the Israeli Food Industries Association. Mr. Lesin also served as an Officer in an elite air force unit in the IDF. Mr. Lesin holds a BA in Business Management from the Tel Aviv College of Management, and an MBA from Ben Gurion University, and is also a graduate of the CEO workshop of Harvard Business School.
Mr. Gadi Lesin has been serving as Director since 2021. He also currently serves as Director of ORIAN SH.M Ltd. From 2009 to 2018 Mr. Lesin served as the President and CEO of Strauss Group, an international food and beverage company that has collaborations with Danone, PepsiCo, and Haier. Since joining the Strauss Group in 1993, Mr. Lesin served in various senior leadership positions, including as the CEO of Strauss Israel, CEO of Sabra USA, CEO of Strauss Dairies, and CEO of the Sales and Distribution Department. Mr. Lesin also served, among other things, from 2014 to 2015 as the Chairman of the Council of the Manufacturers Association of Israel. From 2013 to 2014 he served as a member of the Interface Round Table Forum headed by the Israeli Prime Minister, and from 2008 to 2013 served as the Chairman of the Israeli Food Industries Association. Mr. Lesin also served as an Officer in an elite air force unit in the IDF. Mr. Lesin holds a BA in Business Management from the Tel Aviv College of Management, and an MBA from Ben Gurion University, and is also a graduate of the CEO workshop of Harvard Business School.
Dr. Miriam Haran currently serves as Chairperson of Israel Resource Efficiency Center (IREC) and as Chairperson of the Weitz Center for Sustainable Development, and as a board member of M.A.I (Electrical and Electronic Waste Recycling). She also serves as Chairperson of the Public Safety Committee for Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office. Dr. Haran previously served as Director General of Israel’s Ministry of Environmental Protection, as well as Head of Ono Academic College’s MBA Program for Environmental Management. Dr. Haran served as an external director of ICL between 2010-2018. Dr. Haran holds a BSc in Natural Sciences from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a PhD in Organic Chemistry from Brandeis University.
Dr. Miriam Haran currently serves as Chairperson of Israel Resource Efficiency Center (IREC) and as Chairperson of the Weitz Center for Sustainable Development, and as a board member of M.A.I (Electrical and Electronic Waste Recycling). She also serves as Chairperson of the Public Safety Committee for Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office. Dr. Haran previously served as Director General of Israel’s Ministry of Environmental Protection, as well as Head of Ono Academic College’s MBA Program for Environmental Management. Dr. Haran served as an external director of ICL between 2010-2018. Dr. Haran holds a BSc in Natural Sciences from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a PhD in Organic Chemistry from Brandeis University.
Ms. Gruber currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer of Netafim Ltd., a precision irrigation solutions company. Prior to joining Netafim Ms. Gruber held Chief Financial Officer positions in various publicly traded companies including, Nice Systems Ltd. from 2007 to 2015, and Alvarion Ltd. from 1999 to 2007. Ms. Gruber also served as CFO in several private companies including Clal Industries from 2015 to 2017
Ms. Gruber currently serves as an external director or independent director of several public companies, including Nova Measuring Instruments Ltd, Tufin
Software Technologies Ltd, Cognyte Ltd. and Cellbrite Ltd. Ms. Gruber is a certified public accountant and holds a BA degree in Accounting and Economics from Tel Aviv University.
Ms. Gruber currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer of Netafim Ltd., a precision irrigation solutions company. Prior to joining Netafim Ms. Gruber held Chief Financial Officer positions in various publicly traded companies including, Nice Systems Ltd. from 2007 to 2015, and Alvarion Ltd. from 1999 to 2007. Ms. Gruber also served as CFO in several private companies including Clal Industries from 2015 to 2017
Ms. Gruber currently serves as an external director or independent director of several public companies, including Nova Measuring Instruments Ltd, Tufin
Software Technologies Ltd, Cognyte Ltd. and Cellbrite Ltd. Ms. Gruber is a certified public accountant and holds a BA degree in Accounting and Economics from Tel Aviv University.
Michal Silverberg has been serving as Director since July 2022. She also currently serves as a Managing Director at the Novartis Venture Fund (“NVF”) since 2017. Prior to joining NVF and from 2014, Ms. Silverberg served as a Senior Partner at Takeda Ventures and, prior to that and from 2007, Ms. Silverberg worked at Novo Nordisk in roles of increasing responsibility, including as Senior Director Business Development and New Product Commercialization, serving as a member of the BioPharm leadership team. Since 1998, Ms. Silverberg has held positions in various sectors of the life science industry, including in the Office of the Chief Scientist of Israel (the incubator program), venture capital (Ofer Brothers Hi Tech investing group) and global pharmaceutical and biotech companies, including various positions at MGVS Ltd., an Israeli biotech company, and at OSI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in a business development role. Ms. Silverberg currently serves as a director in several private companies. Ms. Silverberg holds a B.A. degree in economics and business management from Haifa University, Israel, an M.B.A. degree from Tel-Aviv University, Israel, and a M.A. degree in Biotechnology from Columbia University, New York.
Michal Silverberg has been serving as Director since July 2022. She also currently serves as a Managing Director at the Novartis Venture Fund (“NVF”) since 2017. Prior to joining NVF and from 2014, Ms. Silverberg served as a Senior Partner at Takeda Ventures and, prior to that and from 2007, Ms. Silverberg worked at Novo Nordisk in roles of increasing responsibility, including as Senior Director Business Development and New Product Commercialization, serving as a member of the BioPharm leadership team. Since 1998, Ms. Silverberg has held positions in various sectors of the life science industry, including in the Office of the Chief Scientist of Israel (the incubator program), venture capital (Ofer Brothers Hi Tech investing group) and global pharmaceutical and biotech companies, including various positions at MGVS Ltd., an Israeli biotech company, and at OSI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in a business development role. Ms. Silverberg currently serves as a director in several private companies. Ms. Silverberg holds a B.A. degree in economics and business management from Haifa University, Israel, an M.B.A. degree from Tel-Aviv University, Israel, and a M.A. degree in Biotechnology from Columbia University, New York.
Mr. Shlomo has been serving as Director since January 2024. He also serves as a Director of Ashdod Refinery Ltd. (TASE:ARF) since August 2023, and as the Chairman of the Haim Avshalom Institute since May 2023. Mr. Shlomo has over 20 years of experience in various leading positions in both the public and private sectors, including providing consulting services to Israeli energy, infrastructure, and telecommunication companies, as well as serving as the Israeli Government Secretary from June 2021 until January 2023. Mr. Shlomo holds an LLB degree in law from the Israeli Academic Center for Law and Business
Mr. Shlomo has been serving as Director since January 2024. He also serves as a Director of Ashdod Refinery Ltd. (TASE:ARF) since August 2023, and as the Chairman of the Haim Avshalom Institute since May 2023. Mr. Shlomo has over 20 years of experience in various leading positions in both the public and private sectors, including providing consulting services to Israeli energy, infrastructure, and telecommunication companies, as well as serving as the Israeli Government Secretary from June 2021 until January 2023. Mr. Shlomo holds an LLB degree in law from the Israeli Academic Center for Law and Business
|
|||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
1
| 37
|
https://www.justice.gov/archive/usao/nye/pr/pressrel_2006.html
|
en
|
Eastern District of New York
|
[
"https://www.justice.gov/archive/usao/images/headDOJ_seal.jpg",
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"https://www.justice.gov/archive/usao/images/footer_right.jpg"
] |
[] |
[] |
[
""
] | null |
[] | null | null | |||||||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
2
| 5
|
https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-1000657451
|
en
|
Comverse returns, small time
|
[
"https://images.globes.co.il/globes/en/globes_eng_logo.svg",
"https://images.globes.co.il/images/NLimages/share_en.png",
"https://images.globes.co.il/images/convert_author.gif",
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"https://images.globes.co.il/images/NLimages/shakuf.gif",
"https://images.globes.co.il/images/convert_author.gif"
] |
[] |
[] |
[
""
] | null |
[
"Ron Steinblatt"
] |
2011-06-23T16:49:00
|
Comverse Technology has met the reporting timetable that will enable it to relist on Nasdaq, but the first quarter numbers will not enthuse investors.
|
en
|
https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-1000657451
|
Comverse Technology Inc. (Pink Sheets: CMVT) released its first quarter results, for the three months to April, yesterday. It thus met the timetable required for re-listing on Nasdaq. However, the numbers themselves, though showing improvement, are no great cause for celebration.
Comverse Technology is a holding company with subsidiaries in various areas of software. These are Starhome, Verint Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: VRNT) (52%), and Comverse CNS, which is responsible for the group's billing and value added services business.
Verint, which develops and sells video and voice recording systems, released its first quarter results earlier this month, reporting a loss of $3.6 million on a GAAP basis, so that the focus in Comverse's release is on the performance of Comverse CNS.
Comverse CNS had revenue of $163.2 million in the quarter, representing a decline of 7.3% in comparison with the corresponding quarter last year. Sales of software solutions fell 11.8%, to $91.3 million, while revenue from services and maintenance contracts was fairly flat, at $71.9 million.
The breakdown of software solutions sales shows that while billing activity grew, the value added services division suffered a fall in sales compared with the corresponding quarter. Billing revenue rose 11.7% to $43.3 million, but revenue from value added services fell 25.8% to $48 million.
Comverse CNS posted an operating loss of $37.7 million in the first quarter, 30.6% less than the operating loss in the first quarter of 2010. The first quarter is generally considered weak.
On a GAAP basis, Comverse Technology lost $59.2 million in the first quarter, 27.7% less than the loss it posted in the first quarter of 2010. On a non-GAAP basis, the first quarter 2011 loss was $6.2 million ($0.03 per share), 79.8% less than the loss of $30.7 million ($0.15 per share) in the first quarter of 2010.
At the end of April this year, Comverse Technology had net cash of $380.3 million, down from $457.6 million at the end of January. $51.6 million of the decline in cash "related to professional fees, restructurings, repayment of borrowings, special retention bonuses, a litigation settlement and separation agreements with certain former officers," among them former CEO Andre Dahan, who left in March. In May, the company paid out $30 million in cash to settle a class action brought by shareholders.
Of the cash balance, restricted cash aggregated $69.0 million, compared with $67.9 million at the end of January. The balance excludes auction rate securities (ARS). At the end of April, Comverse Technology had $94.2 million aggregate principal amount of ARS valued at $72.4 million.
RELATED ARTICLES
Since the beginning of the year, Comverse Technology's share price has risen 4.5%. It is currently traded on the Pink Sheets, with a market cap of $1.54 billion.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 23, 2011
|
||||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
1
| 95
|
https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/Isaiah%252028%253A16
|
en
|
Bible Gateway
|
[] |
[] |
[] |
[
""
] | null |
[] | null |
en
|
/favicon.ico?35af750d
|
https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/Isaiah%2028%3A16
|
Therefore thus saith the Lord God: “Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; he that believeth shall not make haste.
therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner-stone of sure foundation: he that believeth shall not be in haste.
Therefore the Lord God says this, “Listen carefully, I am laying in Zion a Stone, a tested Stone, A precious Cornerstone for the [secure] foundation, firmly placed. He who believes [who trusts in, relies on, and adheres to that Stone] will not be disturbed or give way [in sudden panic].
Therefore thus says the Lord God, Behold, I am laying in Zion for a foundation a Stone, a tested Stone, a precious Cornerstone of sure foundation; he who believes (trusts in, relies on, and adheres to that Stone) will not be ashamed or give way or hasten away [in sudden panic].
¶ Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
Therefore the Lord God said: “Look, I have laid a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will be unshakable.
Therefore, the Lord God says: Look! I’m laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, a valuable cornerstone, a sure foundation: the one who trusts won’t tremble.
therefore here is what Adonai Elohim says: “Look, I am laying in Tziyon a tested stone, a costly cornerstone, a firm foundation-stone; he who trusts will not rush here and there.
And so the Lord says, “I'm laying a firm foundation for the city of Zion. It's a valuable cornerstone proven to be trustworthy; no one who trusts it will ever be disappointed.
Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I lay for foundation in Zion a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner-stone, a sure foundation: he that trusteth shall not make haste.
Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Behold I will lay a stone in the foundations of Sion, a tried stone, a corner stone, a precious stone, founded in the foundation. He that believeth, let him not hasten.
Because of these things, the Lord God says, “I will put a rock—a cornerstone—in the ground in Zion. This will be a very precious stone. Everything will be built on this very important rock. Anyone who trusts in that rock will not be disappointed.
So the Almighty Lord says this: ‘Look! I am putting a special stone in Zion. It is a valuable stone, because it makes a strong foundation at the corner of my building. Anyone who trusts in that foundation will never be disappointed.
Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: Look, I am laying a stone in Zion as a foundation, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone to provide a sure foundation. Whoever believes will not be put to shame.
therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’
therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’
Because of these things, this is what the Lord God says: “I will ·put [lay; establish] a stone in the ground in ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple], a tested stone. ·Everything will be built on this important and precious rock [L …a precious cornerstone for a firm foundation]. Anyone who trusts in it will never ·be disappointed [or panic; waver; be shaken; Rom. 9:33; 1 Pet. 2:6].
Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will lay in Zion a stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. He that believeth, shall not make haste.
This is what the Almighty Lord says: I am going to lay a rock in Zion, a rock that has been tested, a precious cornerstone, a solid foundation. Whoever believes ⌞in him⌟ will not worry.
This, now, is what the Sovereign Lord says: “I am placing in Zion a foundation that is firm and strong. In it I am putting a solid cornerstone on which are written the words, ‘Faith that is firm is also patient.’
Therefore the Lord God said: “Look, I have laid a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will be unshakable.
Because of these things, this is what the Lord God says: “I will put a stone in the ground in Jerusalem. This will be a tested stone. Everything will be built on this important and precious rock. Anyone who trusts in it will never be disappointed.
therefore this is what the Lord God says: “Look! I am laying a foundation stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation: Whoever believes firmly will not act hastily.
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believes shall not make haste.
Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
Therefore thus says Lord Yahweh, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed.
Therefore the Lord Yahweh says this: “Look! I am laying a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a founded foundation: ‘The one who trusts will not panic.’
But the Lord God says, “See, I am placing a Foundation Stone in Zion—a firm, tested, precious Cornerstone that is safe to build on. He who believes need never run away again.
But the Master, God, has something to say to this: “Watch closely. I’m laying a foundation in Zion, a solid granite foundation, squared and true. And this is the meaning of the stone: a trusting life won’t topple. I’ll make justice the measuring stick and righteousness the plumb line for the building. A hailstorm will knock down the shantytown of lies, and a flash flood will wash out the rubble.
Therefore, thus says the Lord God: See, I lay in Zion a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, firmly placed; he who believes shall not act hastily.
This is what Adonay Yahweh says: I am going to lay a rock in Zion, a rock that has been tested, a precious cornerstone, a solid foundation. Whoever believes in him will not worry.
Therefore, thus says the Lord God: See, I am laying a stone in Zion, a stone that has been tested, A precious cornerstone as a sure foundation; whoever puts faith in it will not waver.
Therefore this is what the Lord God says: “Behold, I am laying a stone in Zion, a tested stone, A precious cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. The one who believes in it will not be disturbed.
Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed.
Therefore, the Lord God has this to say to you in response: Behold, I am laying a stone in Zion, a stone that has been tested, a precious cornerstone as a firm foundation; those who place their trust in it will not falter.
Because of these things, this is what the Lord God says: “I will put a stone in the ground in Jerusalem, a tested stone. Everything will be built on this important and precious rock. Anyone who trusts in it will never be disappointed.
Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord, says: “Look, I am laying a stone in Zion, an approved stone, set in place as a precious cornerstone for the foundation. The one who maintains his faith will not panic.
So the Lord and King speaks. He says, “Look! I am laying a stone in Zion. It is a stone that has been tested. It is the most important stone for a firm foundation. The one who depends on that stone will never be shaken.
So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic.
So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic.
Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; Whoever believes will not act hastily.
So the Lord God says, “See, I lay in Jerusalem a Stone of great worth to build upon, a tested Stone. Anyone who puts his trust in Him will not be afraid of what will happen.
Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem, a firm and tested stone. It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on. Whoever believes need never be shaken.
therefore thus says the Lord God, See, I am laying in Zion a foundation stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation: ‘One who trusts will not panic.’
therefore thus says the Lord God, See, I am laying in Zion a foundation stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation: ‘One who trusts will not panic.’
therefore thus says the Lord God, See, I am laying in Zion a foundation stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation: “One who trusts will not panic.”
therefore thus says the Lord God, “See, I am laying in Zion a foundation stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation: ‘One who trusts will not panic.’
Therefore thus saith Adonoi Hashem, Hineni, I lay in Tziyon for a foundation an even (stone), an even bochan (a tried stone), a pinnat yikrat (precious cornerstone), a sure foundation; the ma’amin (believer) shall not panic.
therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am laying in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘He who believes will not be in haste.’
therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am laying in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘He who believes will not be in haste.’
Therefore thus says Adonai Elohim: ‘Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, a costly cornerstone, a firm foundation— whoever trusts will not flee in haste.
So the Lord, the Eternal, has this to say: Eternal One: See here, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone— a cornerstone, chosen and precious—for a firm foundation. Whoever trusts in it will never be disgraced.
Therefore the Lord Yahweh says, “Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone of a sure foundation. He who believes shall not act hastily.
Therefore the Lord God saith these things, Lo! I shall send in the foundaments of Zion a cornerstone precious, proved, founded in the foundament; he that believeth, shall not hasten. (And so the Lord God saith these things, Lo! I shall put in the foundation of Zion a precious cornerstone, proved, and laid in the foundation; he who believeth shall not be in haste, but shall be patient, or shall be steadfast.)
Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah: `Lo, I am laying a foundation in Zion, A stone -- a tried stone, a corner stone precious, a settled foundation, He who is believing doth not make haste.
|
||||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
3
| 63
|
https://techcrunch.com/2009/10/06/sony-ericsson-partners-with-comverse-for-visual-voicemail/
|
en
|
Sony Ericsson partners with Comverse for visual voicemail
|
http://old.mobilecrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/comverse-vv-se-191x300.jpg
|
http://old.mobilecrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/comverse-vv-se-191x300.jpg
|
[
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"https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/pesa.jpg?w=1024",
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"https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/fallout-4.jpg?w=1024",
"https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/crowdstrike-windows-airplane-glitch-v1.jpg?w=1024",
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"https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-2162660378.jpg?w=1024",
"https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/crowdstrike-windows-airplane-glitch-v1.jpg?w=1024",
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"https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/GettyImages-655824660.jpeg?w=1024",
"https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/crowdstrike-windows-glitch-v2.jpg?w=1024",
"https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-583739676.jpeg?w=1024",
"https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/crowdstrike-proposal.jpg?w=1024",
"https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/crowdstrike-windows-glitch-v1.jpg?w=1024",
"https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/sphere-crowdstrike-outage.jpg?w=1024",
"https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Post_Header_DisruptDealDays_1920x1080.png?w=1024",
"https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/GettyImages-646462292.jpg?w=1024",
"https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/j-michael-cline-fandango.jpg?w=1024"
] |
[] |
[] |
[
""
] | null |
[] |
2009-10-06T00:00:00
|
Earlier this morning Comverse announced a new partnership with Sony Ericsson to bring visual voicemail to future SE handsets. Ever since a certain mobile
|
en
|
TechCrunch
|
https://techcrunch.com/2009/10/06/sony-ericsson-partners-with-comverse-for-visual-voicemail/
|
Earlier this morning Comverse announced a new partnership with Sony Ericsson to bring visual voicemail to future SE handsets. Ever since a certain mobile device (hint: starts with “i” and ends with “phone”) hit the mobilesphere, consumers have been clamoring for visual voicemail on other cell phones / carriers. Slowly, but surely, the incredibly convenient feature has begun to spring up.
But don’t just take our word for it. According to the press release:
Noticeably absent from the release was any info regarding availability or the mention of any specific devices. Guess we’ll all just have to keep our eyes peeled. No matter…hooray for visual voicemail!
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comverse_Technology
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comverse_Technology
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American-Israeli technology company (1982–2013)
This article is about the overall Comverse corporate entity that existed from 1982 to 2013. For the former subsidiary's independent company from 2013 to 2017, see Xura. For that company's acquisition and subsequent history from 2017 on, see Mavenir.
Comverse Technology, Inc., often referred to as simply Comverse, was a technology company located in Woodbury, New York in the United States, that developed and marketed telecommunications software. The company focused on providing value-added services to telecommunication service providers, in particular to mobile network operators. Comverse Technology had several wholly or partly owned subsidiaries. The name "Comverse" is a fusion of the words "communication" and "versatility".
The company was founded in 1982, and went public on the Nasdaq Stock Market in 1986. Led by co-founder and CEO Jacob "Kobi" Alexander, the company originally specialized in centralized hardware/software systems for voice and fax messaging and sold them to telecommunications companies and other large enterprises. Much of its funding came from Israeli government subsidies and tax credits provided to research and development for hi-tech firms. By the mid-1990s, one of its most successful products allowed legal authorities and intelligence agencies to record and store data collected from intercepted communications. Starting in the late 1990s, Comverse's voice messaging software became its main product and the company grew rapidly with the surge in mobile phone use, passing the $1 billion mark in revenues. It established a formidable position in the worldwide mobile voicemail management market and sold a popular short message service center (SMSC) product. While headquartered in the US, most of the company's research and development was done in Israel; Comverse became one of the more visible success stories in Israel's hi-tech industry. It was one of Israel's largest employers of software engineers, was closely followed in the nation's business press, and was the first Israeli-associated company to join the S&P 500 index.
In 2006, Comverse was involved in an options backdating scandal. Alexander and two other top executives were charged in the US with multiple counts of conspiracy, fraud, money laundering and making false filings. Alexander fled the country to Namibia where he fought extensively against extradition. The scandal proved difficult for Comverse Technology to recover from; the company was delisted from Nasdaq, removed from the S&P 500, and spent the next several years consumed by the costly need to restate its financial reports for several years. Additionally affected by the financial crisis of 2008 and on and changes in the mobile phone market, the company underwent several rounds of large-scale layoffs and sold off parts of its business. By 2011 the company began a turnaround.
During 2012 and 2013, Comverse Technology divested itself of all its holdings and ceased to exist. The two independent companies that carried on its most well-known product lines were a newly independent Comverse, Inc. and Verint Systems. After further mergers Comverse, Inc. became Xura in 2015 and then Mavenir in 2017, while part of the Comverse business went to Amdocs in 2015.
Comverse Technology had multiple subsidiaries, many of which are still in business. Their activities at the time of their belonging to Comverse Technology were:
Comverse, also known as Comverse Network Systems or Comverse CNS, was a provider of software and systems enabling value-added services for voice, messaging, mobile Internet and mobile advertising; converged billing and active customer management. Comverse's solutions supported flexible deployment models, including in-network, hosted and managed services, and could run on circuit-switched, IP, IMS, and converged network environments. Comverse's customer base spanned more than 130 countries and covered over 500 communication service providers serving more than two billion subscribers.[1][non-primary source needed] It typically provided some 70 percent of Comverse Technology's overall revenue.[2] Comverse had 100 local offices in 40 countries, with its corporate headquarters located in Wakefield, Massachusetts, in the United States.
Verint Systems (which, from 1999 to 2002, was known as Comverse Infosys[3][4]) was a provider of solutions for analysis of intercepted communications, digital video-focused security and surveillance, and analytics and business intelligence for the enterprise.[5] Their products were aimed at enabling government and enterprises to make sense of the vast information they collected to meet performance and security goals. Verint solutions were used by more than 10,000 organizations in 150 countries.[6] Verint was headquartered in Melville, New York, with offices worldwide and 2500 employees around the globe. By 2011, Verint was 52 percent owned by Comverse Technology.[7]
Ulticom provided signaling solutions for wireless, wireline, and Internet communications.[2][5] Ulticom's products were used by telecommunication equipment and service providers worldwide to deploy mobility, location, payment, switching, and messaging services. Ulticom was headquartered in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, with additional offices in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Comverse acquired Ulticom in 1996 and sold it in 2010.[8][9]
Startel sold integrated voice, data and networking solutions for use in call centers worldwide.[2] It was originally an independent company that was acquired by Comverse Technology in 1992.[10] Startel was sold to financier Bill Robertshaw in the late 2000s and then became employee-owned in 2011.[11]
Starhome provided roaming services for mobile network operators.[2] The Starhome portfolio included international roaming services and core network solutions across various technologies, including intelligent networks and next-generation networks. It was fully owned by Comverse Technology[9] until being sold to Fortissimo Capital in 2012 for $54 million.[12]
ComSor was a venture capital operation, created as a subsidiary in partnership with Soros Fund Management, that invested in start-up companies directly and was active in the late 1990s and early 2000s.[13][14]
The company's origins date to 1982 (or 1983, sources differ), when three Israelis, aspiring investment banker Jacob "Kobi" Alexander of Shearson Loeb Rhoades, engineer Boaz Misholi, and Alexander brother-in-law and Columbia University computer science professor Yechiam Yemini, got together and founded an Israeli start-up company, Efrat Future Technologies Ltd.[15][16][17][18] In a meeting in New York, Misholi had the idea of building a business around centralized hardware systems to support voice and fax messaging and selling them to telecommunications companies and other large enterprises, who could then resell the voice and fax services to their customers.[15] The three quickly returned to Israel and started the company, with the goal of securing Israeli government grants to fund the research and development work.[15]
The early years of the company were difficult; in 1984, they founded Comverse in the United States, which became the parent company of Efrat.[15] The name "Comverse" was chosen as a fusion of the words "communication" and "versatility".[19]
In 1986 Comverse went public on the Nasdaq Stock Market with a $20 million valuation; the company used the money so gained as its final round of funding.[15][16] The three founders had trouble working with each other, and Yemini divorced Alexander's sister; in 1987, Alexander was left with sole control of the company after the other two pulled out.[17] The company was a penny stock on the edge of collapse.[20]
Under his lead, Alexander was credited with turning around Comverse's fortunes.[20] In 1989, the Ascom Group made a $6 million direct investment in the company.[21] In 1990, Comverse won a potentially $10 million contract, its largest yet, to deliver computers running voicemail and fax applications on West German cellular networks, beating out far larger corporations in the process.[22] Deutsche Telekom became one of the company's biggest early customers.[19] By 1991, the company had annual sales of $17 million and was selling a combined voice and fax mailbox system.[23] Many of its early successes came from avoiding the huge telecommunications companies in the U.S. and instead focusing on selling to small- and medium-sized companies in the wireless market in Europe.[19] The company also sought a variety of other markets, including developing countries such as Mexico and China for its Trilogue virtual telephone service.[24][25] Gradually its product emphasis shifted more from hardware to software.[15]
While headquartered in the U.S., nearly all its manufacturing was done in Israel, where it was able to substantially benefit from government subsidies and tax credits provided to research and development for hi-tech firms and industries by the Office of the Chief Scientist in the Ministry of Trade and Industry and by the Israel-U.S. Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation.[13][25][26] Many other Israeli companies were built by the same model, including another top software company, Mercury Interactive.[27][28] During the 1990s, Comverse received at least 69 research and development grants from the OCS program.[15]
In 1993, the company reported a 341 percent rise in profits[29] on revenues in the $64 million range and was named a "Company to Watch" by Fortune magazine.[25] However its stock plunged for a while in 1994 after a disappointing earnings report.[30]
By 1995, Comverse was best known for its AudioDisk product, which was sold to overseas clients and allowed legal authorities and intelligence agencies to record and store data collected from wiretaps.[31][32] Half the company's revenues at that point were from AudioDisk, and market analysts were recommending Comverse's stock.[31]
Comverse became a market leader in voice messaging software and boomed during the late 1990s with the surge in mobile phone use.[17] Much of its market focus was on wireless operators and overseas companies,[33] and it gained a formidable position in the worldwide mobile voicemail management market.[16] The growth coincided with SMS text messages becoming popular; the first big application for SMS was as a notification mechanism to tell a wireless subscriber that voicemail were stored in a voicemail box.[5] Comverse expanded this application into a full-blown short message service center (SMSC), which receives, buffers, processes, and dispatches all SMS messages throughout a mobile network.[34] Comverse branded and productised this as the Intelligent Short Message Service Center, or ISMSC.[5][35] Typical of telecomm software, it ran on Unix-based platforms, such as UnixWare and later Linux.[36] Comverse's ISMSC found success as a lower-price solution for lower-traffic networks, where it competed with Logica's Telepath solution.[5] Other companies in the SMSC space included CMG and Openwave.[34] ISMSC found considerable market penetration, exemplified by all six of Hong Kong's wireless carriers using it.[35]
Comverse also became a participant in forming international wireless standards, such as in 2001 for the Speech Application Language Tags (SALT) markup language for XML to add voice capabilities to web-based applications.[37][38] Additional industry standards groups in which Comverse has been active include the Open Mobile Alliance and TM Forum.[39][40]
In addition to growing organically, Comverse Technology began acquiring other companies in both Israel and the U.S.[15][32] It acquired Dale, Gesek, McWilliams, & Sheridan, later known as DGM&S Telecom, in 1996 and renamed it Ulticom in 1999.[8] Comverse Technology acquired one of its key rivals, Boston Technology, for $843 million in stock in 1997.[33] The acquisition gave Comverse entree into the large U.S. telecommunications market[19] and meant Comverse would be supplying voice messaging systems to 12 of the world's top 20 carriers, and left it the third-largest supplier after Lucent and Northern Telecom.[33] In 1999, as it saw record earnings, Comverse formed two wholly owned subsidiaries, Comverse Network Systems and Comverse Infosys, representing the telecommunications services platforms and products and the digital monitoring and recording products, respectively.[3] By 2000, its revenues were $1.2 billion and it had global operations.[15][20] It continued to aggressively acquire small companies to fill out its technologies, as exemplified by the purchase of Loronix, Gaya Software, and Exalink, all within a 30-day period in 2000.[41] The company's stock price rose from around $10 in late 1998 to over $120 in early 2001.[17] The company was able to raise money several times on Nasdaq, including once for its Ulticom subsidiary[9] and once (at a valuation of $600 million) shortly before the Dot-com bubble burst.[16]
Comverse was one of the most prominent success stories in Israel's hi-tech industry, with both Haaretz and The Jerusalem Post referring to it as a flagship of that industry.[16][28][42] As CEO, Alexander was sought out for meetings in Tel Aviv by world leaders such as Chinese President Jiang Zemin.[17] He became known, as Bloomberg News later stated, as "the wizard of Israel's technology boom"; his oft-stated goal was for Comverse to do for Israel what Nokia had done for Finland.[17] Comverse was one of the largest employers of software engineers in Israel and its stock was widely held among the Israeli investing public; as a consequence, the successes and failures of Comverse were always followed closely in the country's financial press.[13] (Amdocs and Mercury Interactive were two other prominent Israeli companies in the enterprise software sector that were also closely followed.[43])
The company was also quintessentially Israeli in how it was run, with Comverse CEO Ze'ev Bregman in particular favoring a loose, relaxed system in which he knew all the employees and lines of management reporting were frequently bypassed.[44] When Comverse Technology joined the S&P 500 index in 1999, it was the first Israeli-associated company ever to do so.[13][45] It set the same mark when it joined the NASDAQ-100 index.[13]
The early 2000s recession led to some struggles for Comverse Technology,[13] with the global economic downturn leading to publicly announced profit warnings[46] and a plunge in the stock price in July 2001.[35] Over 3,000 jobs were cut during the period as part of several restructuring efforts.[47][48][49][50][51] The company still made some acquisitions, such as buying the instant messaging specialist Odigo for $20 million in 2002, after having previously purchased a 12 percent stake in it in 2001.[52][53] The image of Comverse Technology as Israel's blue-chip hi-tech stock suffered, and led to a slide in several other large Israeli technology firms.[35] Comverse's management was criticized by analysts for having issued over-optimistic forecasts,[35] although many other Israeli firms in the industry did even worse or failed completely during this period.[54] In addition, the European market for mobile voicemail management was already saturated by 2002[16] and the prepaid wireless market was in decline.[35] In 2002, Comverse Infosys changed its name to Verint,[55] partly to separate its more thriving business from Comverse's struggles,[46] and staged a modestly successful IPO of a minority portion of its stock.[56] By 2002, Comverse Technology had more than 5,000 employees across nearly 40 countries;[13] due to the partial spinoffs and economic difficulties, revenues were down to $735 million.[15]
In December 2001, Fox News reported that wiretapping equipment provided by Comverse Infosys to the U.S. government for electronic eavesdropping may have been vulnerable, as these systems allegedly had a back door through which the wiretaps could be intercepted by unauthorized parties.[57] Fox News reporter Carl Cameron said there was no reason to believe the Israeli government was implicated, but that "a classified top-secret investigation is underway".[57] A March 2002 story by Le Monde recapped the Fox report and concluded: "Comverse is suspected of having introduced into its systems of the 'catch gates' in order to 'intercept, record and store' these wire-taps. This hardware would render the 'listener' himself 'listened to'."[58] Fox News did not pursue the allegations, and in the years since, there have been no legal or commercial actions of any type taken against Comverse by the FBI or any other branch of the US Government related to data access and security issues. While no real evidence has been presented against Comverse or Verint, the allegations have become a favorite topic of conspiracy theorists.[59]
By 2005, the company had $959 million in sales and employed over 5,000 people, of whom about half were located in Israel.[17] That country held most of the research and development workers, many of whom occupied the company's seven buildings on HaBarzel in the Ramat HaHayal district of Tel Aviv, while business and marketing operations were stationed in the company's Woodbury, New York headquarters.[17]
In 2006, Comverse Technology was involved in an options backdating scandal. In May of that year, company founder and CEO Jacob Alexander stepped down from his position.[60] Alexander, finance chief David Kreinberg, and former senior general counsel William Sorin (both of whom had also stepped down) were charged in July 2006 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York with multiple counts of conspiracy, fraud, money laundering and making false filings to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), all related to alleged options backdating or other actions related to stock options between 1998 and 2006.[60][61][62] The accusations against the three included the backdating of options to when Comverse stock had been trading at low prices, the use of fake names of option holders, and the creation of secret funds in which to hold the illicit gains.[61][63] The SEC also filed civil charges against the three, for filing false annual and quarterly financial reports and proxy statements from 1991 to 2005.[62]
By then, Alexander had fled the country and was classified a wanted fugitive in August 2006 by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation. On 27 September 2006, he was arrested in Namibia after hiding in Windhoek with his family, where he had bought a house at a country club. If extradited to the US and convicted, he faced 25 years in prison.[60][61]
He was released on bail and engaged in a long battle to avoid extradition to the US[64] (in Namibia neither money laundering nor options backdating is a crime).[65] Upon leaving the US he had transferred some $64 million to Israel, with most of that ending up in Namibia; another $50 million was blocked by the US government, which overall sought the forfeiture of $138 million of Alexander's assets.[66] In April 2010, Alexander won a victory in the Supreme Court of Namibia that allowed him to continue to live and work there until the extradition request was ruled upon.[65] In November 2010, Alexander agreed to pay the U.S. government $53.6 million to settle the SEC's case against him,[64] with those monies being targeted to settle assorted lawsuits against Comverse by shareholders.[63]
Of the other two executives, William Sorin pleaded guilty to criminal charges and was sentenced to a year in prison in 2007.[63] David Kreinberg cooperated with prosecutors, repaid $2.4 million to the SEC, and in 2011 was sentenced to the "time served" of the minimal period he had originally been in custody.[63] While over a hundred companies were investigated or charged with options backdating, Comverse was one of the most visible and was labeled by a pair of financial writers a "poster child for stock option fraud."[65]
Recovery from the scandal was difficult.[16][42] The three charged executives, who had stayed on as consultants, were fired without severance pay, and the company said it would pursue legal action against them.[62] The board of directors was expanded from five to ten, with all new ones being Americans rather than Israelis.[7] A new CEO, Andre Dahan, came on board in April 2007[2][67] but the ongoing management crisis prevented the company from engaging in new innovation or entering new business areas.[16] Despite the 2006-2007 economic climate being one of growth, layoffs occurred in mid-2007.[68][69] Research analysts began speculating that the company might break up.[69]
Because of the accounting issues from the option backdating, Comverse Technology was unable to file full or timely financial reports with the SEC.[16] Its stock was delisted from the Nasdaq Stock Market on 1 February 2007,[2] and removed from the S&P 500 and NASDAQ-100 at the same time. The stock then traded on the Pink Sheets.[16] In 2009, the SEC settled its case with Comverse Technology; the company would not be subject to penalty fines over the backdating matter, but would accept a permanent injunction against itself regarding any future violations of law regarding publicly traded companies.[65][70] A settlement in a similar case against Ulticom was also reached.[65] The failure to file timely financial reports put the company at risk of having its stock registration revoked; a process deciding this, involving the SEC and an Administrative Law Judge, was still active of 2011.[71]
The financial crisis of 2008 and on caused further difficulties for Comverse Technology, with new layoffs occurring in October 2008,[72] March 2009,[73] and August 2009.[70] The company reportedly lost considerable money in 2009,[74] and the moves were typical of other hi-tech companies caught in the bad economic environment.[72][73] Some of Comverse's products were still viewed highly; a Yankee Group survey ranked them first in the world in their type of billing services,[73] and they were the worldwide market-share leaders in providing multimedia message service centers to wireless carriers.[75] However, the rise in popularity of smartphones and of sending e-mail eroded the carrier market for some of Comverse's products and services.[74] By 2009, the company's upper management was now largely American rather than Israeli, Dahan was under internal criticism, and there were frequent clashes regarding company culture.[44]
In early 2010, Comverse Technology planned to release an annual report with full financial statements and return to being fully listed on Nasdaq, but anticipated more layoffs.[74] One piece of positive news in July 2010 was an $80 million investment by well-known entrepreneur George Soros.[76] However, the financial reports were not published and a public announcement was made in August 2010 that the company was short on cash and planning more layoffs.[42] A precipitous drop of the stock price caused the market valuation of the company to fall below $1 billion, and the continued failure to file financial reports put the company at risk of having its stock being delisted completely.[76] CEO Dahan said simply, "These are challenging times."[76] By August 2010, analysts were stating that Comverse Technology might have to break up by selling off its subsidiaries and spin off Comverse's own business units.[16] Running low on cash, Comverse Technology engaged Goldman Sachs to explore such possibilities, with several large, well-known technology companies potentially interested in Comverse and some private equity firms possibly interested in Verint.[9][77] The company had some 4,000 employees, and continued having about half of them employed in Israel[78] and most of the rest in the US and France.[73] The continuing financial reporting problems had cost the company some $500 million in accountants' fees and related costs since 2006 and was the largest drain on its cash position.[42][78] The fact that senior management awarded itself bonuses in a time of various rounds of layoffs left employees feeling outraged.[78] Comverse's restructuring also affected its 2006-acquired NetCentrex business unit in France, with layoffs or a shutdown possible.[79] In October 2010, Comverse Technology agreed to sell its two-thirds ownership of its Ulticom subsidiary to a U.S. private equity firm for $90 million;[9] the deal closed in December 2010. The company also sold part of its holdings in Verint, netting $80 million, and sold for $27 million land in the hi-tech area of Ra'anana, north of Tel Aviv, where it had been planning to build a new headquarters.[7]
In October 2010, Comverse Technology finally published its restated financial reports for fiscal years 2005 through 2008.[80] (The company's fiscal year N ran from February of year N to January of N+1.) They revealed that the company lost about $1 billion during that period.[7][80] In February 2011, the company announced that due to this effort, its report for fiscal 2009 would be delayed, and also that it was restructuring into four independent business units and focusing much of its emphasis on billing systems for mobile carriers.[81] Layoffs also resumed, with more possibly in the offing.[81][82]
In March 2011, revenues for fiscal 2009 were announced at $1.58 billion, down from $1.72 billion two years previously,[67] with an overall loss of $273.3 million. Dahan stepped down as CEO.[67] During his tenure, Comverse Technology stock fell 68 percent in price and 2,000–2,500 employees were laid off; he made more than $20 million during that time and gained payments of some $5 million upon his departure.[7][67][83] Overall, his stint as leader of the company was not regarded positively by some in the Israeli business press.[83]
The new CEO was Charles Burdick, who had been non-executive chairman of the company.[67] Burdick became the first American to head the company.[7]
In April 2011, the company agreed to a $2.8 million settlement with the U.S. government over violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act that had taken place between 2003 and 2005.[84] Payments of $536,000 had been made to the Hellenic Telecommunications Organization in order to obtain purchase orders and had been inaccurately reported as sales commissions in Comverse's accounting.[84]
During the first half of 2011, analysts such as Oppenheimer & Co., J.P. Morgan and Barclays said that with its accounting problems largely behind it, some restructuring done, and an improving cash balance and some revenue growth, Comverse Technology was well-positioned for ongoing operations or a possible sale.[85][86][87] Zacks Investment Research predicted the company would again show a profit for fiscal year 2011.[88] Comverse itself had gained tens of millions in new business, was hiring again in modest numbers, and was at about 4,000 employees, including some on an outsourcing basis.[89]
In June 2011, results for fiscal 2010 were announced, finally bringing the company current with its annual audited reporting.[90] Revenues rose to $1.63 billion while the company's net loss was halved to $132.3 million, and the cash position was now stated as being sufficient to meet foreseeable needs.[90] Another positive sign for its recovery came when it was re-listed on NASDAQ in September 2011.[91] In April 2012, results for fiscal 2011 were announced; revenues remained flat at $1.59 billion while the company's net loss decreased again, to $58.7 million.[92]
In August 2012, a series of transactions were announced that would end Comverse Technology as a functioning entity, by making Comverse Network Systems an independent company once again known simply as Comverse, allowing Verint Systems to buy back Comverse Technology's majority stake, and selling off the other subsidiaries.[12][93] Burdick said, "[The Verint] agreement, along with the planned spin-off of [Comverse Network Systems], will result in a tax efficient distribution to our shareholders and direct ownership in two independent, well-capitalized publicly-traded companies."[93] Philippe Tartavull was named as the CEO of the newly independent Comverse. Results for fiscal year 2012 for the restructured Comverse, Inc. demonstrated a return to profitability, with a net income of $5.1 million.[94]
These restructuring transactions were completed on 4 February 2013 and represented the effective liquidation of the Comverse Technology holding entity.[12][95]
Further actions followed the end of Comverse Technology. During June 2015 Comverse divested its BSS business to Amdocs.[96] In September 2015 after a merger this new Comverse entity changed its name to Xura,[97] then after a further series of acquisitions and mergers in February 2017 it became part of Mavenir.[98]
Over the years, Comverse Technology won a number of awards within its industry, including:
2002 – Technology Marketing Corporation's Product of the Year (for Verint's Ultra IntelliMiner)[99]
2004 – CMP Media's Product of the Year (for Verint's Ultra Intelligent Recording)[100]
2004 – CDMA Development Group's Innovative Solutions Award (for Comverse's Multimedia Messaging Service Center)[101]
2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 – Frost and Sullivan's Telecom BSS Vendor of the Year award (for Comverse's business support systems in the Asia Pacific region)[1][102]
2007 – International Engineering Consortium's Best VoIP Product or Service Award (for Comverse's Converged IPCentrex solution)[103]
2007 – Technology Marketing Corporation's IMS Leadership Award (for Comverse's Converged Messaging Solution)[104]
2007 – International Engineering Consortium's InfoVision Awards for Best New Product (for Comverse's Converged Billing Suite)[105]
2007 – Technology Marketing Corporation's Internet Telephony Excellence Award (for Comverse's MyCall Converged Communications product)[106]
2009, 2010 – Technology Marketing Corporation's Internet Telephony BSS/OSS Excellence Award (for Comverse's ONE Billing & Active Customer Management package)[107][108]
2010 – Virgo Publishing's Excellence Award for Best Cost Management Implementation (for Comverse's Business Support System product)[109]
Breznitz, Dan (2007). Innovation and the State: Political Choice and Strategies for Growth in Israel, Taiwan, and Ireland (Revised ed.). New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-12018-9.
Commander, Simon (2005). The Software Industry in Emerging Markets. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing. ISBN 1-84542-247-3.
Longueuil, Donald (2003). Wireless Messaging Demystified. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 0-07-138629-7.
Sarna, David E. Y.; Malik, Andrew (2010). History of Greed: Financial Fraud from Tulip Mania to Bernie Madoff. John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-60180-8.
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Online Bible Commentary
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BibleRef.com is an online Bible commentary that focuses on helping people to understand God's Word. Our goal is to be a Bible commentary that is comprehensive and easy-to-understand.
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BibleRef.com
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https://www.bibleref.com/index.html
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An Online Bible Commentary
You Can Understand.
Welcome to BibleRef.com, the free online Bible study site. Our goal is to provide easy-to-understand discussion of the Scriptures, without relying on jargon or slogans. Here, you can find book-by-book, chapter-by-chapter, and verse-by-verse commentary on the entire Bible (eventually). At the same time, youâll find links to related passages and biblical themes. These connections will help to show how the Scriptures fit together.
BibleRef.com is guided by three major principles: Biblical Authority, Accessibility, and Discipleship. In short, we believe that the Bible is the most critical resource in the life of a Christian. We believe that each person has the ability, and responsibility, to understand the Scriptures. And, we believe in promoting a whole-person commitment to Christianity, including thoughts, deeds, and actions.
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FactBench
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2
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https://auto-talks.com/company/about-us/
|
en
|
Autotalks Delivers the Highest Standard in V2X Technology
|
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2021-07-05T07:43:18+00:00
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Autotalks is a fabless semiconductor company devoted to vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications for manned and autonomous vehicles. Founded in 2008.
|
en
|
Autotalks -
|
https://auto-talks.com/company/about-us/
|
Hagai has spent over 20 years driving cutting edge technologies from definition to profitable business. Before joining Autotalks, Hagai served as VP R&D at EZchip. Previously, Hagai served in various executive positions at Ceragon Networks. In his last role as the Executive VP of Products Business Line, he was responsible for the bottom line success of a complete mobile backhaul business product line, with annual revenues of $350M. During this period Ceragon became the largest independent supplier of wireless backhaul solutions.
Prior to Ceragon, Hagai served 7 years at the Electronic Research Department, a top research and development unit of the Israeli Defense Forces. Hagai holds a B.Sc. and M.Sc. (cum laude) in Electrical Engineering from the Tel Aviv University.
Onn Haran brings to Autotalks over 20 years of experience in the communication industry. Prior to founding Autotalks, Onn was the CTO of Passave, the technology and market leader in Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH) access solutions, founded in 2001 and acquired by PMC Sierra in 2006. Onn became a Fellow at PMC Sierra following acquisition.
Previously, Onn was the architect of Texas Instruments’ Bluetooth solution, and managed the ASIC R&D unit of the Israel Defense Forces. He has made significant contributions to standardizations, most notably, Bluetooth, IEEE802.3ah (EPON) and ITU g.984 (GPON), and has multiple patents in the field of communications. Onn holds a B.Sc. (cum laude) from the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, and an M.Sc. in electrical engineering from Tel-Aviv University
Nir brings more than 15 years of experience in operational and financial leadership, and a proven track record in equity and debt financing as well as M&A activities.
Before joining Autotalks, Nir served in various executive finance positions at VGen (acquired by Newport), SolarEdge (NASDAQ: SEDG) and Passave (acquired by PMC Sierra).
Nir is a Certified Public Accountant in Israel, holds a B.A. in Accounting and Economy from the Haifa University.
Amos Freund brings to Autotalks over 15 years of experience in the semiconductor industry and in VLSI design.
Amos played a pivotal role in the development of the CRATON and PLUTON chipsets and the PANGAEA platform. Prior to joining Autotalks, Amos was a VLSI team leader at Passave and at PMC-Sierra where he led the development of highly innovative FTTx chipsets.
Amos started his career as VLSI engineer and later as chip integrator at Motorola Semiconductor (Freescale), and was a key contributor to the development of the PowerQUICC communications processor.
Alberto Burger brings over 25 years of experience in the Semiconductors industry in the field of Operations, Engineering, Quality and Reliability Management for Fabs and Fabless companies. Prior to joining Autotalks, Mr. Burger served as VP of Foundry Management in DSP Group and was responsible for Product and Test Engineering, leading all manufacturing and engineering activities. Mr. Burger served as VP of Operations at Prime Sense, where he was responsible for the engineering and manufacturing activities of the “Kinect” chip for Microsoft. At M-Systems, Mr. Burger built the operations group and infrastructure for the mobile division, and following M-Systems acquisition by SanDisk, he managed the Corporate Quality and Reliability Group. Mr Burger also held managerial positions at National Semiconductor / Tower Semiconductor and in Semiconductor Devices (SCD). Mr. Burger earned his Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Technion – Institute of Technology in Haifa, Israel.
Ram brings to Autotalks over 10 years of experience in Business Development, Marketing and R&D of cutting-edge technological products.
Prior to Autotalks, Ram served in executive positions in Israeli innovative start-ups including co-founding Kupoya (acquired by ACTU-CCI.COM). Prior to leading Kupoya, Ram led a large-scale Israel Defence Prize winning project, for an elite technological unit of the Israeli Defence Forces.
Ram holds a B.Sc. and M.Sc. (both Magna Cum Laude) in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the Ben-Gurion University.
Lee brings to Autotalks 20 years of diverse and vast experience in Human Resources.
Over the years, Lee acted as a key adviser and business partner in a variety of global high-tech companies, focusing on HR, including recruitment, employees’ development, performance management, change management processes, leadership development and internal communication.
Prior to Autotalks, Lee spent eight years at Ceragon Networks, as HRBP and Global Organization Development Manager, managing global HR processes and providing on-going consulting and support to the company’s management.
Before Ceragon, Lee spent seven years at Comverse, serving in various HR positions, including Global Internal Mobility Manager.
Lee holds BA in Social Theater from Tel Aviv University and a certificate of Groups Moderator from Kibbutzim College.
Leo joined Autotalks in 2009 and as the VP Product he is responsible for the Product group, roadmap and technical collaborations with customers. For the past 11 years, Leo held multiple System Engineering and Product Management roles, defining system requirements and leading customer project activities.
Prior to Autotalks, Leo served for 6.5 years as a design engineer and a team leader in the Electronic Research Department, a top research and development unit of the Israeli Defense Forces.
Leo holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Tel-Aviv University.
Yuval brings to Autotalks over 20 years of experience in Business Development Product, Marketing, and R&D of cutting-edge technologies. Prior to Autotalks, Yuval worked in several semiconductors companies such as Motorola Semi-Conductor (Freescale) and lead several activities such as the product, marketing and business in the wireless division at Wintegra that was acquired by PMC Sierra in 2010. Before joining Autotalks, Yuval served as a co-founder and lead the business development and product of WeavingThings, an IOT PAAS start-up.
Yuval holds a B.Sc in Electrical Computer Engineering from the Technion Institute and an MBA from the IDC Herzliya institutes.
A pioneer in Israel’s venture capital sector, Gemini Israel Funds has grown to become one of the country’s leading early stage VC firms. The company was founded in 1993 and now manages $700M in five funds, with investments focused on communications technologies, enterprise software, the Internet, consumer electronics, semiconductor and other hardware.
Gemini’s team comprises investment professionals with engineering backgrounds and operational experience at leading technology companies and start-ups, including as successful entrepreneurs. This experience is invaluable in enabling Gemini to assist its portfolio companies, which also have access to the firm’s network of international investors and corporate partners.
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correct_foundationPlace_00083
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FactBench
|
2
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https://www.encyclopedia.com/books/politics-and-business-magazines/verint-systems-inc
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en
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Verint Systems Inc.
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Verint Systems Inc.
330 S. Service RoadMelville, New York 11747U.S.A.Telephone: (631) 962-9600Fax: (631) (62-9300Web site: https://www.verint.com Source for information on Verint Systems Inc.: International Directory of Company Histories dictionary.
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330 S. Service Road
Melville, New York 11747
U.S.A.
Telephone: (631) 962-9600
Fax: (631) (62-9300
Web site: http://www.verint.com
Public Company
Incorporated: 1994 as Interactive Information Systems Corporation
Employees: 1,200
Sales: $249.8 million (2005)
Stock Exchanges: NASDAQ
Ticker Symbol: VRNT
NAIC: 541512 Computer Systems Design Services
Melville, New York-based Verint Systems Inc. portrays itself as a provider of analytic software-based solutions for both law enforcement and the business community. In essence the company sells software that helps customers to collect, store, and sift through voice, video, fax, e-mail, Internet, and data transmissions for security purposes—to turn raw data into "actionable intelligence." Verint's Star-Gate product line is aimed at communications service providers such as wired and cellular telephone companies and Internet service providers, and is used to set up a communications intercept for law enforcement organizations and other government agencies as authorized. The Reliant and Vantage products are sold to law enforcement and government agencies, used to collect, store, and analyze intercepted communications. Verint's Network Video Solutions business segment is represented by the Nextiva platform and suite of software applications, which identifies unusual activity and then sends notification to security personnel for review. Finally Verint offers contact center business intelligence solutions through the Ultra product line, used by call centers to record and analyze customer interactions with call center employees, whether they be by phone, e-mail, online chat, or co-browsing sessions on the Internet. Verint maintains operations across the United States and Canada, as well as in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and the Pacific Rim. Verint is a public company, listed on the NASDAQ.
Chairman Launching Business Career: 1980s
Verint grew out of Comverse Technology, a company founded by Verint's chairman, Kobi Alexander, in 1984. Born in Israel, he graduated with honors from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, receiving a degree in economics. After serving in the Israeli military and intelligence services, he moved to New York to continue his education, earning an M.B.A. at night while working as a full-time investment banker at Shearson Lehman during the day. An aspiring entrepreneur, Alexander was quick to seize a chance to strike out on his own. In 1982 he met Israeli engineer Boaz Misholi, who had had an idea for a voice and fax messaging system that was far more advanced than anything available at the time. Alexander quit his job and moved back to Israel to take advantage of government subsidies for high-tech start-ups, and together with Misholi founded Efrat Future Technology Ltd. to develop the messaging system, aided in large measure by Alexander's brother-in-law, Yechiam Yemini, who became Efrat's chief scientist. When the product was just about ready for the market, the three men returned to New York in 1984 to set up a U.S. company, based in Woodbury, New York, called Comverse, which was coined to play off the words "communication" and "versatility."
Comverse became Efrat's parent and went public in 1986 with Misholi initially acting as chief executive. After he left in 1988, Alexander stepped in to lead the company. There was no doubt that Comverse offered an innovative product, perhaps the first to integrate voice, fax, and call processing into a single unit, but it also had to contend with such giant competitors as AT&T. As a result, Alexander focused on international markets, especially Europe, and enjoyed great success with the Trilogue product, which allowed cell phone callers who failed to reach a party to leave a message in a mailbox. Trilogue could also serve as virtual telephone service for individuals without phone service—especially people in undeveloped countries where the telecommunications infrastructure was rudimentary—they could rent an electronic mailbox and use a public telephone to retrieve messages.
Alexander was also eager to develop new niche products, encouraging employees to pursue ideas, which if they showed promise formed the basis of a new business unit. In the late 1980s Comverse began working on a product that would one day lead to the creation of Verint. It was called AudioDisk, a digital surveillance product intended to be used by police and intelligence agencies in the recording and storing of wiretap material. AudioDisk offered vast improvements over the old reel-to-reel tape recording systems. Not only could the product monitor hundreds of telephone and fax machine lines simultaneously, the information could be stored in "jukeboxes" and was available immediately. Moreover, instant search functions replaced the tedious chore of winding and rewinding tape to locate a key passage of an intercepted communication. Aside from law enforcement and intelligence agencies, AudioDisk also found customers in the private sector, as companies used the Ultra product, launched in April 1996, for internal uses, such as monitoring incoming calls and the activities of call center representatives.
AudioDisk: Early 1990s
Comverse began marketing AudioDisk in the early 1990s. Sales were strong and accounted for half of Comverse's revenues in 1993. Because of the discreet nature of the product, AudioDisk was not as well known as Trilogue, and in February 1994 that entire surveillance business was broken off and housed in a new subsidiary called Interactive Information Systems Corporation. Two years later, the company changed its name to Comverse Information Systems Corporation. In 1999 Comverse Technology reorganized its operations, which were now split into two divisions. Comverse Information Systems merged with Comverse InfoMedia Systems to create Comverse Infosys. In addition, some Efrat assets were also included in the new division.
Because Comverse Infosys did business with the U.S. Department of Defense, which used the intercept products in a classified manner, the unit had to be insulated from foreign ownership. As a result, control of the unit—other than the right to sell or liquidate the business—was placed in the hands of three U.S. citizens possessing the required security clearances, as specified in a proxy agreement sign with the Department of Defense in January 1999, superseded by another such agreement in 2001. Acting as the government's security committee, these three individuals oversaw Verint's efforts to prevent unauthorized disclosure or export of controlled information, and provided an annual report to the Department of Defense, which also conducted periodic inspections to make sure Verint was in compliance with the proxy agreement.
While Comverse Information Systems quietly sold its AudioDisk systems under the new Reliant (launched in August 1999) and Star-Gate (launched in May 2000) names, Comverse Technology's other division, Comverse Network Systems Inc., was thriving with its wireless voice messaging systems, spurred by the tremendous popularity of cell phones in the late 1990s. But with nearly three-quarters of its $1.2 billion in revenues coming from the sale of Mobile mailboxes, and the cell phone market reaching saturation, Comverse Technology was in danger of having too many eggs in one basket, voice mail. As a result, management began to aggressively pursue acquisitions in order to add promising technologies in the hopes of developing new products and achieving some diversity. In the process it also added assets to Comverse Infosys. Acquired in July 2000 was Loronix Information Systems, Inc., a company that developed software-based digital video recording, networking, and live Internet video streaming technology. From Loronix came a digital video monitoring system that was used by government agencies, such as the U.S. Department of the Treasury, as well as commercial customers including Mohegan Sun Casino and FedEx.
Comverse Technology completed several other acquisitions, prompting management in 2001 to reorganize the company again, this time splitting it into five divisions, one of which remained Comverse Infosys. In many respects Comverse Infosys did not fit in with the rest of the company, given that it sold to an entirely different market than the telecommunications companies that bought Comverse's voice and data messaging services. It was not surprising, therefore, that management would begin looking for a way to split off the security unit.
Demand in Wake of 9/11 Attacks
An opportunity arose following the terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001, when the need for all manner of security products increased dramatically. Although the demand for initial public offerings was weak due to a struggling economy and depressed stock market, Alexander felt the time was right to sell shares of Comverse Infosys in a "carveout" arrangement that would leave Comverse Technology with a majority stake in the company while unlocking shareholder value. Thus, in February 2002, Comverse Infosys was renamed Verint Systems, Inc. and prepared to be taken public. Media assets housed under Comverse Media Holding Inc. were sold back to the parent company, while at the same time Verint, through Lorinix, beefed up its video surveillance business with the acquisition of the digital video recording business of Lanex, LLC. Alexander assumed the chairmanship of Verint, while Dan Bodner served as president and CEO, positions he had held since Comverse Technology established Interactive Information Systems in 1994. An electrical engineer with degrees from the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology and Tel Aviv University, he joined Comverse in 1987.
Company Perspectives:
Today, over 1000 organizations in more than 50 countries deploy Verint's actionable intelligence solutions as an integral part of their security and business intelligence initiatives.
One drawback to the offering, however, was Verint's lack of profitability. Like many high-tech companies it spent a great deal of money on research and development and needed time for sales to catch up with investments. Although the unit was narrowing its losses, it still lost $4.6 million on $131.2 million in revenues in 2002, which ended on January 31 of that year. When the stock offering, led by Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., was finally made in May 2002, investors focused on the financials rather than Verint's prospects, and as a result the company was only able to price its shares at the low end of the $16 to $18 a share range touted by the underwriters and the company. In addition, the shares quickly lost $1.51 on the first day of trading on the NASDAQ, making it the secondworst launch of a stock in 2002. After a week the stock lost about a third of its value.
Before the year was out, however, Verint changed some minds on Wall Street, as the increased demand for surveillance products in the fight against terrorism finally began to factor in Verint's favor. The company's stock regained lost ground and began creeping upward. Then, an industry newsletter in late December 2002 predicted higher demand for Verint's dataanalysis programs, leading to a bump of about 20 percent to well over $21. The company used some of its higher-price stock in a $10 million deal to purchase Montreal-based SmartSight Networks Inc. in May 2003, in keeping with a strategy to acquire companies possessing complementary technologies that would broaden Verint's product offerings. SmartSight produced Internet Protocol-based systems for wireless video transmission, the addition of which permitted the Verint digital video system to cover remote locations of large complexes, such as airports, oil refineries, ports, or military bases, as well as borders and critical infrastructure including power systems and pipelines. The Verint video surveillance system software would then track motion and identify unusual activity, prompting security personnel with an on-screen message or audible alarm.
When Verint made a secondary stock offering in June 2003, it was met with a far more enthusiastic response from investors. The company priced five million shares at $23 per share, raising more than $100 million for Verint and about $3.5 million for insiders whose 150,000 shares were part of the offering. After recording sales of $157.8 million and net income of $10.1 million in 2003, Verint saw revenues improve to $192.8 million and net income to $18 million in 2004. More strategic acquisitions followed in 2004. Verint bought the government surveillance business of ECtel Ltd., a subsidiary of Israeli company ECI Telecom. Like Verint, ECtel was involved in the monitoring of telephone calls, e-mail, and Internet usage. The addition of ECtel was helpful in moving Verint into new markets, expanding on its North American and European base of customers, which accounted for 85 percent of all sales, to gain a presence in the Middle East and South America. Later in 2004 Verint added to its technology by acquiring RPO Sicherheitssysteme GmbH, a German company that developed mobile video security products used in mass-transit systems, which were likely to receive greater attention given terrorist mass transit bombings in Spain and London.
Sales continued to build, approaching $250 million in 2005, while net income improved to $19 million. Given the state of the world and the need for advanced security systems, there was every reason to believe that Verint was well positioned to enjoy sustained growth for the foreseeable future.
Principal Subsidiaries
Verint Technology Inc.; Lorinx Information Systems, Inc.
Principal Competitors
ADC Telecommunications, Inc.; ECtel Ltd.; NICE Systems Inc.
Key Dates:
1984:
Comverse Technology is founded.
1990:
Comverse begins selling AudioDisk wiretapping product.
1994:
Subsidiary Interactive Information Systems is created for AudioDisk product.
1996:
Interactive Information Systems is renamed Com-verse Information Systems Corporation.
1999:
Comverse Information Systems is renamed Com-verse Infosys, Inc.
2002:
Comverse Infosys is taken public as Verint Systems, Inc.
Further Reading
Duffy, Maureen Nevin, "Voice Recording Technology Takes Off," Wall Street & Technology, November 1995, p. 14.
"Entrepreneur of the Year Finalists: Kobi Alexander," Long Island Business News, June 15, 2001, p. C6.
Hennessey, Raymond, and Kara Scannell, "Wiretapping, Apparel Firms Brave an IPO," Wall Street Journal, May 16, 2002, p. C4.
Howell, Donna, "Surveillance Software Maker Finds Focus," Investor's Business Daily, March 12, 2003, p. A08.
Labate, John, "Companies to Watch: Comverse Technology," Fortune, May 17, 1993, p. 102.
Schachter, Ken, "Comverse Tech Eyes IPO of Spyware Unit," Long Island Business News, March 29, 2002, p. A5.
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correct_foundationPlace_00083
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FactBench
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1
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https://en-academic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/1357252
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en
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Comverse Technology
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Comverse Technology, Inc. Type Public (NASDAQ: 
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https://en-academic.com/favicon.ico
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Academic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias
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https://en-academic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/1357252
|
Comverse Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: CMVT), originally founded in Israel, is a technology company located in Woodbury, New York in the United States, that develops and markets telecommunications software. The company focuses on providing value-added services to telecommunication service providers, in particular to mobile network operators. Comverse Technology has several wholly or partly owned subsidiaries. The name "Comverse" is a fusion of the words "communication" and "versatility".
Founded in 1982, the company went public on the Nasdaq Stock Market in 1986. Led by co-founder and CEO Jacob "Kobi" Alexander, the company originally specialized in centralized hardware systems for voice and fax messaging and sold them to telecommunications companies and other large enterprises. Much of its funding came from Israeli government subsidies and tax credits provided to research and development for hi-tech firms. By the mid-1990s, one of its most successful products allowed legal authorities and intelligence agencies to record and store data collected from intercepted communications. Starting in the late 1990s, Comverse's voice messaging software became its main product and the company grew rapidly with the surge in mobile phone use, passing the $1 billion mark in revenues. It established a formidable position in the worldwide mobile voicemail management market and sold a popular short message service center product. While headquartered in the US, most of the company's research and development has been done in Israel; Comverse became one of the more visible success stories in Israel's hi-tech industry. It has been one of Israel's largest employers of software engineers, was closely followed in the nation's business press, and was the first Israeli-associated company to join the S&P 500 index.
In 2006, Comverse was involved in an options backdating scandal. Alexander and two other top executives were charged in the US with multiple counts of conspiracy, fraud, money laundering and making false filings. Alexander fled the country to Namibia where he has been fighting extradition ever since. The scandal proved difficult for Comverse Technology to recover from; the company was delisted from Nasdaq, removed from the S&P 500, and spent the next several years consumed by the costly need to restate its financial reports for several years. Additionally affected by the financial crisis of 2008 and on and changes in the mobile phone market, the company underwent several rounds of large-scale layoffs and sold off parts of its business. By 2011 there were signs that the company was poised for a turnaround.
Contents
1 Subsidiaries
2 History
2.1 Origins
2.2 Early successes
2.3 Growth with wireless
2.4 Options backdating and improper accounting
2.5 Continuing difficulties
2.6 Hopes for recovery
3 Industry recognition
4 Bibliography
5 References
6 External links
Subsidiaries
Comverse Technology has, or has had, multiple subsidiaries:
Comverse, also known as Comverse Network Systems or Comverse CNS, is a provider of software and systems enabling value-added services for voice, messaging, mobile Internet and mobile advertising; converged billing and active customer management; and IP communications. Comverse's solutions support flexible deployment models, including in-network, hosted and managed services, and can run on circuit-switched, IP, IMS, and converged network environments. Comverse's customer base spans more than 130 countries and covers over 500 communication service providers serving more than two billion subscribers.[1] It has typically provided some 70 percent of Comverse Technology's overall revenue.[2] Comverse has 100 local offices in 40 countries, with its corporate headquarters located in Wakefield, Massachusetts in the US.
Verint Systems (which, from 1999 to 2002, was known as Comverse Infosys[3][4]) is a provider of solutions for analysis of intercepted communications, digital video-focused security and surveillance, and analytics and business intelligence for the enterprise.[5] Their products are aimed to enable government and enterprises to make sense of the vast information they collect to meet performance and security goals. Verint solutions are used by more than 10,000 organizations in 150 countries.[6] Verint is headquartered in Melville, New York, with offices worldwide and 2500 employees around the globe. By 2011, Verint was 52 percent owned by Comverse Technology.[7]
Ulticom provides signaling solutions for wireless, wireline, and Internet communications.[2][5] Ulticom's products are used by telecommunication equipment and service providers worldwide to deploy mobility, location, payment, switching, and messaging services. Ulticom is headquartered in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, with additional offices in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Comverse acquired Ulticom in 1996 and sold it in 2010.[8][9]
Startel sells integrated voice, data and networking solutions for use in call centers worldwide.[2] It was originally an independent company that was acquired by Comverse Technology in 1992.[10]
Starhome provides roaming services for mobile network operators.[2] The Starhome portfolio includes international roaming services and core network solutions across various technologies, including IN and Next Generation Networks. It is fully owned by Comverse Technology.[9]
ComSor was a venture capital operation, created as a subsidiary in partnership with Soros Fund Management, that invested in start-up companies directly and was active in the late 1990s and early 2000s.[11][12]
History
Origins
The company's origins date to 1982 (or 1983, sources differ), when three Israelis, aspiring investment banker Jacob "Kobi" Alexander of Shearson Loeb Rhoades, engineer Boaz Misholi, and Alexander brother-in-law and Columbia University computer science professor Yechiam Yemini, got together and founded an Israeli start-up company, Efrat Future Technologies Ltd.[13][14][15][16] In a meeting in New York, Misholi had the idea of building a business around centralized hardware systems to support voice and fax messaging and selling them to telecommunications companies and other large enterprises, who could then resell the voice and fax services to their customers.[13] The three quickly returned to Israeli and started the company, with the goal of securing Israeli government grants to fund the research and development work.[13]
The early years of the company were difficult; in 1984, they founded Comverse in the United States, which became the parent company of Efrat.[13] The name "Comverse" was chosen as a fusion of the words "communication" and "versatility".[17]
In 1986 Comverse went public on the Nasdaq Stock Market with a $20 million valuation; the company used the money so gained as its final round of funding.[13][14] The three founders had trouble working with each other, and Yemini divorced Alexander's sister; in 1987, Alexander was left with sole control of the company after the other two pulled out.[15] The company was a penny stock on the edge of collapse.[18]
Early successes
Under his lead, Alexander was credited with turning around Comverse's fortunes.[18] In 1989, the Ascom Group made a $6 million direct investment in the company.[19] In 1990, Comverse won a potentially $10 million contract, its largest yet, to deliver computers running voicemail and fax applications on West German cellular networks, beating out far larger corporations in the process.[20] Deutsche Telekom became one of the company's biggest early customers.[17] By 1991, the company had annual sales of $17 million and was selling a combined voice and fax mailbox system.[21] Many of its early successes came from avoiding the huge telecommunications companies in the U.S. and instead focusing on selling to small- and medium-sized companies in the wireless market in Europe.[17] The company also sought a variety of other markets, including developing countries such as Mexico and China for its Trilogue virtual telephone service.[22][23] Gradually its product emphasis shifted more from hardware to software.[13]
While headquartered in the U.S., nearly all its manufacturing was done in Israel, where it was able to substantially benefit from government subsidies and tax credits provided to research and development for hi-tech firms and industries by the Office of the Chief Scientist in the Ministry of Trade and Industry and by the Israel-U.S. Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation.[11][23][24] Many other Israeli companies were built by the same model, including another top software company, Mercury Interactive.[25][26] During the 1990s, Comverse received at least 69 research and development grants from the OCS program.[13]
In 1993, the company reported a 341 percent rise in profits[27] on revenues in the $64 million range and was named a "Company to Watch" by Fortune magazine.[23] However its stock plunged for a while in 1994 after a disappointing earnings report.[28]
By 1995, Comverse was best known for its AudioDisk product, which was sold to overseas clients and allowed legal authorities and intelligence agencies to record and store data collected from wiretaps.[29][30] Half the company's revenues at that point were from AudioDisk, and market analysts were recommending Comverse's stock.[29]
Growth with wireless
Comverse became a market leader in voice messaging software and boomed during the late 1990s with the surge in mobile phone use.[15] Much of its market focus was on wireless operators and overseas companies,[31] and it gained a formidable position in the worldwide mobile voicemail management market.[14] The growth coincided with SMS text messages becoming popular; the first big application for SMS was as a notification mechanism to tell a wireless subscriber that voicemail were stored in a voicemail box.[5] Comverse expanded this application into a full-blown short message service center (SMSC), which receives, buffers, processes, and dispatches all SMS messages throughout a mobile network.[32] Comverse branded and productised this as the Intelligent Short Message Service Center, or ISMSC.[5][33] Typical of telecomm software, it ran on Unix-based platforms, such as UnixWare and later Linux.[34] Comverse's ISMSC found success as a lower-price solution for lower-traffic networks, where it competed with Logica's Telepath solution.[5] Other companies in the SMSC space included CMG and Openwave.[32] ISMSC found considerable market penetration, exemplified by all six of Hong Kong's wireless carriers using it.[33]
Comverse also became a participant in forming international wireless standards, such as in 2001 for the Speech Application Language Tags (SALT) markup language for XML to add voice capabilities to web-based applications.[35][36] Additional industry standards groups in which Comverse has been active include the Open Mobile Alliance and TM Forum.[37][38]
In addition to growing organically, Comverse Technology began acquiring other companies in both Israel and the U.S.[13][30] It acquired Dale, Gesek, McWilliams, & Sheridan, later known as DGM&S Telecom, in 1996 and renamed it Ulticom in 1999.[8] Comverse Technology acquired one of its key rivals, Boston Technology, for $843 million in stock in 1997.[31] The acquisition gave Comverse entree into the large U.S. telecommunications market[17] and meant Comverse would be supplying voice messaging systems to 12 of the world's top 20 carriers, and left it the third-largest supplier after Lucent and Northern Telecom.[31] In 1999, as it saw record earnings, Comverse formed two wholly owned subsidiaries, Comverse Network Systems and Comverse Infosys, representing the telecommunications services platforms and products and the digital monitoring and recording products, respectively.[3] By 2000, its revenues were $1.2 billion and it had global operations.[13][18] It continued to aggressively acquire small companies to fill out its technologies, as exemplified by the purchase of Loronix, Gaya Software, and Exalink, all within a 30-day period in 2000.[39] The company's stock price rose from around $10 in late 1998 to over $120 in early 2001.[15] The company was able to raise money several times on Nasdaq, including once for its Ulticom subsidiary[9] and once (at a valuation of $600 million) shortly before the Dot-com bubble burst.[14]
Comverse was one of the most prominent and profitable success stories in Israel's hi-tech industry, with both Haaretz and The Jerusalem Post referring to it as a flagship of that industry.[14][26][40] As CEO, Alexander was sought out for meetings in Tel Aviv by world leaders such as Chinese President Jiang Zemin.[15] He became known, as Bloomberg News later stated, as "the wizard of Israel's technology boom"; his oft-stated goal was for Comverse to do for Israel what Nokia had done for Finland.[15] Comverse was one of the largest employers of software engineers in Israel and its stock was widely held among the Israeli investing public; as a consequence, the successes and failures of Comverse were always followed closely in the country's financial press.[11] (Amdocs and Mercury Interactive were two other prominent Israeli companies in the enterprise software sector that were also closely followed.[41])
The company was also quintessentially Israeli in how it was run, with Comverse CEO Ze'ev Bregman in particular favoring a loose, relaxed system in which he knew all the employees and lines of management reporting were frequently bypassed.[42] When Comverse Technology joined the S&P 500 index in 1999, it was the first Israeli-associated company ever to do so.[11][43] It set the same mark when it joined the NASDAQ-100 index.[11]
The early 2000s recession led to some struggles for Comverse Technology,[11] with the global economic downturn leading to publicly announced profit warnings[44] and a plunge in the stock price in July 2001.[33] Over 3,000 jobs were cut during the period as part of several restructuring efforts.[45][46][47][48][49] The company still made some acquisitions, such as buying the instant messaging specialist Odigo for $20 million in 2002, after having previously purchased a 12 percent stake in it in 2001.[50][51] The image of Comverse Technology as Israel's blue-chip hi-tech stock suffered, and led to a slide in several other large Israeli technology firms.[33] Comverse's management was criticized by analysts for having issued over-optimistic forecasts,[33] although many other Israeli firms in the industry did even worse or failed completely during this period.[11] In addition, the European market for mobile voicemail management was already saturated by 2002[14] and the prepaid wireless market was in decline.[33] In 2002, Comverse Infosys changed its name to Verint,[52] partly to separate its more thriving business from Comverse's struggles,[44] and staged a modestly successful IPO of a minority portion of its stock.[53] By 2002, Comverse Technology had more than 5,000 employees across nearly 40 countries;[11] due to the partial spinoffs and economic difficulties, revenues were down to $735 million.[13]
In December 2001, a Fox News report raised the concern that wiretapping equipment provided by Comverse Infosys to the U.S. government for electronic eavesdropping may have been vulnerable, as these systems allegedly had a back door through which the wiretaps could be intercepted by unauthorized parties.[54] Fox News reporter Carl Cameron said there was no reason to believe the Israeli government was implicated, but that "a classified top-secret investigation is underway".[54] A March 2002 story by Le Monde recapped the Fox report and concluded: "Comverse is suspected of having introduced into its systems of the 'catch gates' in order to 'intercept, record and store' these wire-taps. This hardware would render the 'listener' himself 'listened to'."[55] Fox News did not pursue the allegations, and in the years since, there have been no legal or commercial actions of any type taken against Comverse by the FBI or any other branch of the US Government related to data access and security issues. While no real evidence has been presented against Comverse or Verint, the allegations have become a favorite topic of conspiracy theorists.[56]
By 2005, the company had $959 million in sales and employed over 5,000 people, of whom about half were located in Israel.[15] That country held most of the research and development workers, many of whom occupied the company's seven buildings on HaBarzel in the Ramat HaHayal district of Tel Aviv, while business and marketing operations were stationed in the company's Woodbury, New York headquarters.[15]
Options backdating and improper accounting
In 2006, Comverse Technology was involved in an options backdating scandal. In May of that year, company founder and CEO Jacob Alexander stepped down from his position.[57] Alexander, finance chief David Kreinberg, and former senior general counsel William Sorin (both of whom had also stepped down) were charged in July 2006 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York with multiple counts of conspiracy, fraud, money laundering and making false filings to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), all related to alleged options backdating or other actions related to stock options between 1998 and 2006.[57][58][59] The accusations against the three included the backdating of options to when Comverse stock had been trading at low prices, the use of fake names of option holders, and the creation of secret funds in which to hold the illicit gains.[58][60] The SEC also filed civil charges against the three, for filing false annual and quarterly financial reports and proxy statements from 1991 to 2005.[59]
By then, Alexander had already fled the country and was classified a wanted fugitive in August 2006 by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation. On 27 September 2006, he was arrested in Namibia after hiding in Windhoek with his family, where he had bought a house at a country club. If extradited to the US and convicted, he faced 25 years in prison.[57][58]
He was released on bail and subsequently engaged in a long, and so far successful, battle to avoid extradition to the US[61] (in Namibia neither money laundering nor options backdating is a crime).[62] Upon leaving the US he had transferred some $64 million to Israel, with most of that ending up in Namibia; another $50 million was blocked by the US government, which overall sought the forfeiture of $138 million of Alexander's assets.[63] In April 2010, Alexander won a victory in the Supreme Court of Namibia that allowed him to continue to live and work in that country until the extradition request is finally ruled upon.[62] In November 2010, Alexander agreed to pay the U.S. government $53.6 million to settle the SEC's case against him,[61] with those monies being targeted to settle assorted lawsuits against Comverse by shareholders.[60]
Of the other two executives, William Sorin pleaded guilty to criminal charges and was sentenced to a year in prison in 2007.[60] David Kreinberg cooperated with prosecutors, repaid $2.4 million to the SEC, and in 2011 was sentenced to the "time served" of the minimal period he had originally been in custody.[60] While over a hundred companies were investigated or charged with options backdating, Comverse was one of the most known cases, and in the words of a pair of financial writers, "Comverse was the poster child for stock option fraud."[62]
Continuing difficulties
The scandal proved difficult for Comverse Technology to recover from.[14][40] The three charged executives, who had stayed on as consultants, were fired without severance pay, and the company said it would pursue legal action against them.[59] The board of directors was expanded from five to ten, with all of the new ones being Americans rather than Israelis.[7] A new CEO, Andre Dahan, came on board in April 2007[2][64] but the ongoing management crisis prevented the company from engaging in new innovation or entering new business areas.[14] Despite the 2006-2007 economic climate being one of growth, layoffs occurred in mid-2007.[65][66] Research analysts began speculating that the company might break up.[66]
Because of the accounting issues from the option backdating, Comverse Technology was unable to file full or timely financial reports with the SEC.[14] Its stock was delisted from the Nasdaq Stock Market on 1 February 2007,[2] and removed from the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 at the same time. The stock now trades on the Pink Sheets.[14] In 2009, the SEC settled its case with Comverse Technology; the company would not be subject to penalty fines over the backdating matter, but would accept a permanent injunction against itself regarding any future violations of law regarding publicly traded companies.[62][67] A settlement in a similar case against Ulticom was also reached.[62] The failure to file timely financial reports put the company at risk of having its stock registration revoked; a process deciding this, involving the SEC and an Administrative Law Judge, is still active of 2011.[68]
The financial crisis of 2008 and on caused further difficulties for Comverse Technology, with new layoffs occurring in October 2008,[69] March 2009,[70] and August 2009.[67] The company reportedly lost considerable money in 2009,[71] and the moves were typical of other hi-tech companies caught in the bad economic environment.[69][70] Some of Comverse's products were still viewed highly; a Yankee Group survey ranked them first in the world in their type of billing services,[70] and they were the worldwide market-share leaders in providing multimedia message service centers to wireless carriers.[72] However, the rise in popularity of smartphones and of sending e-mail eroded the carrier market for some of Comverse's products and services.[71] By 2009, the company's upper management was now largely American rather than Israeli, Dahan was under internal criticism, and there were frequent clashes regarding company culture.[42]
By early 2010, Comverse Technology was planning to finally release an annual report with full financial statements and return to being fully listed on Nasdaq, but still was anticipating more layoffs.[71] One piece of positive news in July 2010 was an $80 million investment by well-known entrepreneur George Soros.[73] However, the promised financial reports did not come, and an August 2010 public announcement that the company was short on cash and planning more layoffs and was subject to its stock being completely delisted caused a precipitous drop in the stock's price, with the market valuation of the company falling below $1 billion.[40][73] CEO Dahan said simply, "These are challenging times."[73] By August 2010, analysts were stating that Comverse Technology might have to break up by selling off its subsidiaries and spin off Comverse's own business units.[14] Running low on cash, Comverse Technology engaged Goldman Sachs to explore such possibilities, with several large, well-known technology companies potentially interested in Comverse and some private equity firms possibly interested in Verint.[9][74] The company had some 4,000 employees, and continued having about half of them employed in Israel[75] and most of the rest in the US and France.[70] The continuing financial reporting problems had cost the company some $500 million in accountants' fees and related costs since 2006 and was the largest drain on its cash position.[40][75] The fact that senior management awarded itself bonuses in a time of various rounds of layoffs left employees feeling outraged.[75] Comverse's restructuring also affected its 2006-acquired NetCentrex business unit in France, with layoffs or a shutdown possible.[76] In October 2010, Comverse Technology agreed to sell its two-thirds ownership of its Ulticom subsidiary to a U.S. private equity firm for $90 million;[9] the deal closed in December 2010. The company also sold part of its holdings in Verint, netting $80 billion, and sold for $27 million land in the hi-tech area of Ra'anana, north of Tel Aviv, where it had been planning to build a new headquarters.[7]
In October 2010, Comverse Technology finally published its restated financial reports for fiscal years 2005 through 2008.[77] (The company's fiscal year N runs from February of year N to January of N+1.) They revealed that the company lost about $1 billion during that period.[7][77] In February 2011, the company announced that due to this effort, its report for fiscal 2009 would be delayed, and also that it was restructuring into four independent business units and focusing much of its emphasis on billing systems for mobile carriers.[78] Layoffs also resumed, with more possibly in the offing.[78][79]
In March 2011, revenues for fiscal 2009 were announced at $1.58 billion, down from $1.72 billion two years previously,[64] with an overall loss of $273.3 million. Dahan stepped down as CEO.[64] During his tenure, Comverse Technology stock fell 68 percent in price and 2,000–2,500 employees were laid off; he made more than $20 million during that time and gained payments of some $5 million upon his departure.[7][64][80] Overall, his stint as leader of the company was not regarded positively by some in the Israeli business press.[80]
The new CEO was Charles Burdick, who had been non-executive chairman of the company.[64] Burdick became the first American to head the company.[7]
In April 2011, the company agreed to a $2.8 million settlement with the U.S. government over violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act that had taken place between 2003 and 2005.[81] Payments of $536,000 had been made to the Hellenic Telecommunications Organization in order to obtain purchase orders and had been inaccurately reported as sales commissions in Comverse's accounting.[81]
Hopes for recovery
During the first half of 2011, analysts such as Oppenheimer & Co., J.P. Morgan and Barclays said that with its accounting problems largely behind it, some restructuring done, and an improving cash balance and some revenue growth, Comverse Technology was well-positioned for ongoing operations or a possible sale.[82][83][84] Zacks Investment Research predicted the company would again show a profit for fiscal year 2011.[85] Comverse itself had gained tens of millions in new business, was hiring again in modest numbers, and was at about 4,000 employees, including some on an outsourcing basis.[86]
In June 2011, results for fiscal 2010 were announced, finally bringing the company current with its annual audited reporting.[87] Revenues rose to $1.63 billion while the company's net loss was halved to $132.3 million, and the cash position was now stated as being sufficient to meet foreseeable needs.[87] Another positive sign for its recovery came when it was re-listed on NASDAQ in September 2011.[88]
Industry recognition
Over the years, Comverse Technology has won a number of awards within its industry, including:
2002 – Technology Marketing Corporation's Product of the Year (for Verint's Ultra IntelliMiner)[89]
2004 – CMP Media's Product of the Year (for Verint's Ultra Intelligent Recording)[90]
2004 – CDMA Development Group's Innovative Solutions Award (for Comverse's Multimedia Messaging Service Center)[91]
2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 – Frost and Sullivan's Telecom BSS Vendor of the Year award (for Comverse's business support systems in the Asia Pacific region)[1][92]
2007 – International Engineering Consortium's Best VoIP Product or Service Award (for Comverse's Converged IPCentrex solution)[93]
2007 – Technology Marketing Corporation's IMS Leadership Award (for Comverse's Converged Messaging Solution)[94]
2007 – International Engineering Consortium's InfoVision Awards for Best New Product (for Comverse's Converged Billing Suite)[95]
2007 – Technology Marketing Corporation's Internet Telephony Excellence Award (for Comverse's MyCall Converged Communications product)[96]
2009, 2010 – Technology Marketing Corporation's Internet Telephony BSS/OSS Excellence Award (for Comverse's ONE Billing & Active Customer Management package)[97][98]
2010 – Virgo Publishing's Excellence Award for Best Cost Management Implementation (for Comverse's Business Support System product)[99]
Bibliography
Breznitz, Dan (2007). Innovation and the State: Political Choice and Strategies for Growth in Israel, Taiwan, and Ireland (Revised ed.). New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 0300120184.
Commander, Simon (2005). The Software Industry in Emerging Markets. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing. ISBN 1-84542-247-3.
Longueuil, Donald (2003). Wireless Messaging Demystified. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 0-07-138629-7.
Sarna, David E. Y.; Malik, Andrew (2010). History of Greed: Financial Fraud from Tulip Mania to Bernie Madoff. John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 0470601809.
References
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FactBench
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https://www.law.com/international-edition/2010/01/06/former-comverse-gc-to-pay-out-1m-in-backdating-scandal/
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Former Comverse GC to pay out $1m in backdating scandal
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2010-01-06T00:00:00
|
The former general counsel of Comverse Technology has been ordered to pay $1m (£625000) to partially fund a class action settlement stemming from alleged stock option backdating reports Corporate Counsel.
William Sorin has already spent a year in prison for his role in stock option backdating at the company making him the first corporate executive to serve time for options-related crimes.
|
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Law.com International
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https://www.law.com/international-edition/2010/01/06/former-comverse-gc-to-pay-out-1m-in-backdating-scandal/
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https://www.livemint.com/Companies/9bn6O9v9ZdCBG9PupZvPKJ/Tech-Mahindra-teams-up-with-Comverse-to-take-on-Israeli-eng.html
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Tech Mahindra teams up with Comverse, to take on Israeli engineers
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"https://www.livemint.com/lm-img/img/static/ico-e-paper-web.png",
"https://images.livemint.com/rf/Image-621x414/LiveMint/Period1/2015/04/16/Photos/techmahindra.jpg",
"https://www.livemint.com/lm-img/img/static/value-up.png",
"https://www.livemint.com/lm-img/images/wishfin/new_check_cibil.gif"
] |
[] |
[] |
[
""
] | null |
[
"Tova Cohen"
] |
2015-04-15T16:35:48+05:30
|
This is the latest sign of booming ties between Isreal and India since Narendra Modi came to power last year
|
en
|
mint
|
https://www.livemint.com/Companies/9bn6O9v9ZdCBG9PupZvPKJ/Tech-Mahindra-teams-up-with-Comverse-to-take-on-Israeli-eng.html
|
Tel Aviv: Information technology group Tech Mahindra is partnering with US-Israeli Comverse Inc to set up a research and development centre in Israel.
The two companies did not disclose financial details.
Manish Vyas, president of Tech Mahindra’s communications group, told Reuters the deal—which would bring the Indian company hundreds of engineers—will help the firm more than double its engineering business revenue within a few years. The company does about $400 million annually in engineering, about half of that is in telecoms.
“Engineering is a very large part of our business but we want to make it even bigger. We believe it can be a billion dollars annually in the next few years,” he said. “Given the culture of entrepreneurship in Israel we need to be here.”
Under the “strategic relationship”, Tech Mahindra will be responsible for R&D and customer services while Comverse will be in charge of product management and sales.
The venture into Israel by Tech Mahindra, which is part of the $16.5 billion Mahindra conglomerate, is the latest sign of booming ties between the countries since Indian prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power last year.
Tech Mahindra executive vice chairman Vineet Nayyar said the company’s global activities will be concentrated in three countries—India, the United States and Israel.
Tech Mahindra, which employees over 98,000 people in 51 countries, will take on about 400 Comverse workers, up to 300 from Israel and the rest mainly from the United States, France, Japan, Bulgaria and India.
Comverse last year began a restructuring that included reducing its workforce by 14%.
“We hope to gain access to world class talent,” Vyas said. “We have a big presence in Europe, India and the US. (But) Israel was missing from the global footprint in terms of talent.”
About half of Tech Mahindra’s business is in telecoms with the rest from banking, healthcare and manufacturing.
Tech Mahindra owns Israel’s Leadcom, a provider of network services for telecom companies, after it bought Leadcom’s parent Lightbridge Communications in February.
Leadcom has about 25 workers in Israel and Vyas said the company is still working out what the relationship will be between Leadcom and the Comverse staff.
He said Israel fits in nicely with the company’s long-term strategy, which includes a programme that enable employees to start up their own businesses with equity from Tech Mahindra.
“Given the culture of entrepreneurship in Israel we need to be here,” Vyas said. Reuters
|
|||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
1
| 56
|
https://www.bristowgroup.com/about/board-of-directors
|
en
|
Board of Directors
|
[
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] |
[] |
[] |
[
""
] | null |
[] | null |
Bristow’s Board of Directors has over 250 years of experience crossing aviation, business, finance and real estate.
|
en
|
https://d1io3yog0oux5.cloudfront.net/_9543c7cad94032dca9f52ddaf97049ce/bristowgroup/files/theme/images/favicons/favicon.ico
|
Bristow Group Inc.
|
https://www.bristowgroup.com/about/board-of-directors
|
G. Mark Mickelson
Chairman of the Board of Directors
Mr. Mickelson has 29 years of experience in business, finance and commercial real estate. Mr. Mickelson founded Mickelson & Company in 2005 to present (providing financial intermediary and consulting services to a national client base in the transportation industry) and is an owner or partner in a number of other regional businesses centered in or around Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Mr. Mickelson served six years as a member of the South Dakota House of Representatives (part-time citizen legislature) from 2013 through 2018, including serving as House Speaker the last two years. Mr. Mickelson currently serves on the board and as a member of the audit committee of ISG Services, a multi-disciplinary professional design services firm with offices through-out a four-state region. Mr. Mickelson has served on numerous other boards of directors, including a ten-year period of service on the board of publicly traded regional financial institution (now Meta Payment Systems) earlier in his career. Mr. Mickelson is a C.P.A. (inactive), a licensed attorney, a 1988 graduate from the University of South Dakota (B.S. Business - Accounting) and a 1993 graduate of Harvard Law School.
Christopher Bradshaw
Bristow President and Chief Executive Officer
Christopher Bradshaw has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, currently known as Bristow Group Inc. and formerly known as Era Group Inc., since 2014. Mr. Bradshaw has been a Director of the Company since February 2015. He served as Chief Financial Officer of Era Group Inc. from October 2012 to September 2015. From 2009 until 2012, Mr. Bradshaw served as Managing Partner and Chief Financial Officer of U.S. Capital Advisors LLC, an independent financial advisory firm. Prior to co-founding U.S. Capital Advisors LLC, he was an energy investment banker at UBS Securities LLC, Morgan Stanley & Co., and PaineWebber Incorporated. Mr. Bradshaw serves on the board of directors of The National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) and HeliOffshore. He graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College with a degree in Economics and Government.
Lorin L. Brass
Director
Mr. Brass spent 30 years with Shell Oil Company progressing through a variety of technical and business assignments primarily in Shell Oil’s Exploration and Production divisions in Texas, California, and Louisiana. In 1997 he relocated to The Hague, The Netherlands, where he became Chief Executive Officer of Shell Services International, a global information technology and services company. Most recently, he served as Senior Advisor of Business Development for all Shell related activities, with particular emphasis on corporate acquisitions and divestments globally. Before that, he served as Director of Global Business Development for Shell International Exploration & Production, where he was responsible for oil and gas property acquisitions and divestments around the world. He also previously held positions in Corporate Planning, and was Vice President, Operations for Shell Services Company. Mr. Brass served on the board of the South Dakota Investment Council and is currently on the board of the South Dakota Mines Foundation. He is a graduate of the South Dakota Mines and received his MS from UC Berkeley (engineering).
Wesley E. Kern
Director
Mr. Kern has more than 25 years of broad-based experience in corporate, operational, and financial management. Mr. Kern is the founder of NextRise Financial Strategies, LLC, providing advisory, interim management and board services in distressed situations. He currently serves as a Director with Improve One, LLC and previously served on the boards of All In Behavioral Health and Meridian Solar, Inc. From 2014 to 2018, Mr. Kern was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Lobo Leasing Limited, a Dublin Ireland-based aircraft lessor serving international operators in need of helicopters. Before Lobo Leasing, he was Senior Vice President, Finance for US Power Generating Company from 2006-2013, where he also served as Vice President, Mergers and Acquisitions. Prior to his work at US Power Generating, Mr. Kern served as Chief Financial Officer for Pacific Natural Energy, LLC, was an investment banker with Simmons & Company Intl. and was a management consultant with Ernst & Young.
Robert J. Manzo
Director
Mr. Manzo has over 40 years of experience in business and finance. He was a co-founder of Policano & Manzo, LLC, a financial consulting firm that was sold to FTI Consulting, Inc. in 2000. From 2000 to 2005, Mr. Manzo was a senior managing director of FTI Consulting, Inc., a global business advisory firm. He is the Founder and Managing Member of RJM I, LLC, a provider of consulting services to troubled companies, a position he has held since 2005. He also serves on the board of directors of several public companies, ADVANZ PHARMA Corp. and Visteon Corporation, as well as on a number of private boards. Mr. Manzo has extensive experience advising companies and management in the automotive and other industries. A non-practicing CPA, Mr. Manzo brings extensive financial and accounting expertise to the board. Mr. Manzo graduated from Rider University in 1979 with a B.S. in accounting.
Maryanne Miller
Director
General Miller is a retired four-star U.S. Air Force General with over 39 years of military service. In her career, she has led two Major Commands and is the only Reserve Officer in the history of the United States to achieve the rank of General to-date. General Miller has extensive experience in rapid, global mobility and sustainment as the Commander of Air Mobility Command and the Commander of the Air Force Reserve. As the Air Component for U.S. Transportation Command, General Miller was responsible for directing global air mobility operations in support of national security objectives. Her commands played a pivotal role in providing global airlift, air refueling, aeromedical evacuation, humanitarian relief and Presidential airlift support as directed. General Miller has been awarded three Distinguished Service Medals and the Defense Superior Service Medal, among other awards and honors. She is a graduate of Ohio State University and has an M.B.A. from Trident University. She is a command pilot with more than 4,800 flying hours in numerous aircraft.
Christopher Pucillo
Director
Christopher Pucillo founded Solus Alternative Asset Management in July of 2007 and currently serves as its Managing Partner & CEO/CIO. Solus emerged out of Stanfield Capital Partners when Mr. Pucillo spun out the hedge fund business, which he had been managing since January 2002. Mr. Pucillo first joined Stanfield in 2000 as the Head of Trading. Prior to joining Stanfield, Mr. Pucillo was the Head of High Yield Loan Trading at Morgan Stanley from 1996 until 2000 and was instrumental in launching their leveraged loan effort. Mr. Pucillo’s credit trading experience began during his seven-year tenure at Bankers Trust. From 1989 to 1992, Mr. Pucillo worked on various phases of underwriting leveraged loans, including structuring and negotiating leveraged buyouts. In 1992, in an overall effort to create additional liquidity in the leveraged loan market, he moved to the loan trading desk, where he ran Leveraged Loan Trading, and was one of the four founding members of the Loan Syndications and Trading Association (LSTA), which was created to expand the liquidity of the leveraged loan market. Mr. Pucillo received a BA in Economics from Lafayette College in 1989, and an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1997.
Shefali Shah
Director
Ms. Shah currently serves as the Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer, and General Counsel overseeing strategic initiatives for Avaya Holdings Corp (Avaya), which provides customer experience solutions to many of the world's largest brands.
Prior to joining Avaya, Ms. Shah worked at Era Group Inc. (now Bristow Group Inc.), where she served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary. She helped facilitate Era’s transition to an independent public company and managed its legal, human resources, and corporate communications functions.
Earlier in her career, Ms. Shah held several senior management roles, including Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary with Comverse Technology, Inc., which developed and marketed telecommunications software. She began her legal career as a corporate associate for both Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP and Hutchins, Wheeler & Dittmar, P.C.
Ms. Shah holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Boston University and a Juris Doctor from Duke University Law School.
Brian D. Truelove
Director
Mr. Truelove has over 39 years of experience in the global upstream oil and gas industry. Since 2018 he has served on the board of the Expro Group. From 2011 to 2018, he worked for the Hess Corporation, most recently as Senior Vice President, Global Services, which included serving as the Chief Information Officer (CIO), Chief Technology Officer (CTO), and leading the Supply Chain/Logistics organization. Prior to assuming this role, he served as Senior Vice President for Hess’ global offshore businesses and prior to that he was Senior Vice President for Global Drilling and Completions. From 1980 through 2010 Mr. Truelove worked for Royal Dutch Shell where he most recently served as Senior Vice President for the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company/NDC on secondment from Shell. Prior to that he led Shell’s global deepwater drilling and completions business. During his time with Hess and Shell he held leadership positions around the world in drilling and production operations and engineering, asset management, project management, R&D, Health/Safety/Environment, and corporate strategy, amongst others.
|
||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
2
| 55
|
https://www.fosters.com/story/business/2006/12/31/winners-losers-business-in-2006/63071575007/
|
en
|
Winners & losers of business in 2006
|
[
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[] |
[] |
[
""
] | null |
[
"MICHAEL P. REGAN Business , Foster's Daily Democrat"
] |
2006-12-31T00:00:00
|
NEW YORK — Before 2006, if someone in the business world mentioned \
|
en
|
Fosters Daily Democrat
|
https://www.fosters.com/story/business/2006/12/31/winners-losers-business-in-2006/63071575007/
|
NEW YORK — Before 2006, if someone in the business world mentioned "backdated options," you'd be forgiven for thinking they were making a joke about Steve Jobs' necktie collection.
But in 2006, the big losers were defined by the scandal that erupted over executives who received big paydays due to stock options backdated to low points in a company's stock price. In the winners' column, there were the obligatory Internet whiz kids who made a billion, and some big surprises, including a disgraced banker who found redemption.
The stories of 2006 unfolded with more twists than a Hollywood thriller, giving plenty of fodder for "based on a true story" scripts.
WINNER: Warren Buffett
This tale was meant to be a buddy flick: The world's second-richest man hands most of his fortune over to the world's richest man and his charity. In the case of Buffett, who turned Bill Gates on to bridge and plays the game with the Microsoft Corp. chairman regularly, the movie's climax naturally would occur at a card table.
A silver-haired Buffett, played by Steve Martin, vows that the young whippersnapper will never beat the old master. Buffett's bridge partner persuades him to lay down a bet of 10 million Class B shares of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., worth $31 billion.
Cut to a close-up of Gates, smiling fiendishly as he hands out Xboxes to a line of orphans some 100 million deep.
OK, that's just the Hollywood version. However it really happened, Buffett's generosity proved there's nothing Class B about this guy.
Suggested movie title: "Bill and Warren's Excellent Adventure."
LOSER: Jacob "Kobi" Alexander
Of all the executives bounced from their jobs due to the options scandal, Alexander stands out for his boldness. When the stuff hit the fan, Alexander, ex-CEO of software company Comverse Technology Inc., decided to hightail it out of the country.
He finally was found in the southern African nation of Namibia, where he spread $1.5 million around to local businesses.
The locals are in no hurry to send him back to the U.S. Alexander was arrested Sept. 26 by Namibian authorities at the request of the FBI. But he was freed on bail and the magistrate said they'd wait until the end of April or so to decide on whether to ship him back to the States.
The feds could probably get Alexander out faster if they sent Madonna over there to adopt him.
Suggested movie title: "Backdated Earnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Namibia."
WINNER: The Youtube dudes
Fuzzy videos of people spewing Diet Coke and Mentos from their mouths like some sort of dork volcano. A Korean teenager with a webcam performs a classical music masterpiece on his electric guitar and is hailed as the messiah of heavy metal. And a home is given to every blooper, blunder and drunken Danny DeVito interview ever to air on network TV.
YouTube is like a "combination of 'America's Funniest Home Videos' and 'Entertainment Tonight,"' is how Chad Hurley described the site he and Steve Chen created.
In the type of dot-com riches tale that had become rarer in the Bay Area than an NFL playoff game, Chen and Hurley sold the site to Sergey Brin and Larry Page's Google Inc. this fall for stock valued then at $1.65 billion.
They and the site's other investors may not see every dime, however. Apparently worried about copyright liabilities, Google set aside more than $200 million of the payment in case the Mentos lawyers come looking for a cut.
Suggested title: "When Larry Met Hurley."
LOSER: Nicholas Maounis
Next time you are hurting after a bad day on the stock market or an all-nighter with Danny DeVito, consider the year Maounis had. His hedge fund, Amaranth Advisors, lost more than $6 billion in a matter of days due to bad natural gas trades.
"We feel bad about losing our own money," Maounis told investors on a conference call, according to Dow Jones Newswires. "We feel much worse about losing your money."
Suggested title: "Honey, I Shrunk the Portfolio."
WINNER: Lee Raymond
Most of us get a gold watch when we retire and start cashing in on that senior matinee discount. But as retiring chairman of ExxonMobil Corp., Raymond did a wee bit better: a $400 million package when all the perks are tallied up.
The figure was so eye-popping that a congressional committee labeled it an "exorbitant payout" and asked the company for detailed information about the package.
Suggested movie title: "Ungrumpy Old Men."
LOSER: Patricia Dunn
The Ponemon Institute "think tank" recognized Hewlett-Packard Co. in 2006 with a second-place Most Trusted Company for Privacy Award. What was that think tank thinking? Of course the award came in March, before a spy scandal knocked Dunn out of the chairwoman's seat at HP.
Dunn was hit with felony charges of identity theft and fraud over a leak probe in which reporters had their phone records fraudulently obtained, spyware installed on their computers, and gumshoes checking out their trash.
Of course, the charges are probably not at the top of Dunn's list of worries these days. She was told in October she would need chemotherapy for ovarian cancer.
Suggested title: "Steel Magnolias, Steal Identities."
WINNER: Lakshmi Mittal
The battle this steel mogul waged to buy rival Arcelor SA was too long and complicated to fit into one film, so a TV series is in order.
Some European governments that owned stakes in Arcelor feared the deal would lead to lost jobs. And Arcelor's CEO turned his nose up at the bid — literally— by describing Mittal's steel as cheap "eau de Cologne" compared with Arcelor's fine perfume. Others, especially in India, suspected racism played a role.
But when Mittal raised his bid to $33 billion, Arcelor's board finally approved the deal. It seems "eau de euro" smells even sweeter than the finest French perfume.
Suggested TV show title: "Mittal in the Family."
LOSER: William McGuire
Back in April, when the mob of options avengers was still lighting its torches, UnitedHealth Group Inc.'s CEO said mounting criticism over stock options was "overheated."
It was about to get a lot hotter.
McGuire, whose options were worth $1.6 billion at the end of 2005, stepped down as CEO in November. Things did cool off a bit, but probably not in the way McGuire had hoped: A judge froze millions worth of his unexercised options and retirement benefits until the company could complete a review of shareholder lawsuits.
Suggested title: "Some Don't Like It Hot."
WINNER: Frank Quattrone
The former Credit Suisse First Boston Corp. banker was known for his perma-grin during his trial on obstruction of justice charges for instructing his minions to "clean up" their files amid several probes of how his bank dished out IPO shares. But he had good reason to smile this year when his conviction was tossed out after a court ruled the jury was given bad instructions. His case will be dropped if he stays out of trouble for a year.
"Give us that winning smile," a photographer shouted when the mustachioed Quattrone left the court afterward.
"You betcha!" Quattrone said.
Suggested title: "The Year of Living Cautiously."
LOSER: Jeffrey Skilling
Ken Lay escaped punishment for his role in the Enron scandal the hard way — he died.
No such luck for Skilling. The former Enron CEO was sentenced to 24 years in prison for his role in the scandal that wiped out $2 billion in pension funds and $60 billion in stock.
Skilling apparently made the most of his final months of freedom by trying to have a good time — Danny DeVito style — including an arrest for public drunkenness.
After his conviction, Skilling said he felt just terrible about the whole Enron thing, but claimed he didn't do anything wrong and vowed to appeal.
"I'll be vindicated," he said.
Suggested movie title: "Monsters, Inc."
|
|||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
2
| 43
|
https://www.srz.com/en/people/howard-schiffman
|
en
|
Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP
|
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[
"Private Capital",
"Schulte",
"Financial Services",
"Law Firm",
"Legal",
"Legal Advisers",
"Legal Advisors",
"Hedge Funds",
"Funds"
] | null |
[] | null |
Former co-chair of the Litigation Group. Focuses on investigations and enforcement proceedings brought by various exchanges and government agencies, including the SEC, the DOJ and FINRA, as well as a…
|
en
|
/cached/40010/images/favicons/favicon.ico
|
Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP - Howard Schiffman
|
https://www.srz.com/en/people/howard-schiffman
|
Former co-chair of the Litigation Group. Focuses on investigations and enforcement proceedings brought by various exchanges and government agencies, including the SEC, the DOJ and FINRA, as well as a diverse array of civil litigation, including securities class actions and arbitrations.
Nationally known in the area of securities litigation and regulatory developments, Howard is a corporate problem solver and is as adept at dispute containment and resolution as he is at arguing to a jury.
He counsels clients, including major financial institutions and investment banks, leading Nasdaq market-makers, institutional and retail brokerage firms and their registered representatives, trade execution and clearing firms, prime brokers, national accounting firms, hedge funds, and public and private companies and their senior officers in risk analysis and litigation avoidance.
Still, with his extensive trial experience and solid record of success in numerous SEC enforcement actions, SRO proceedings and FINRA arbitrations, Howard has the confidence to take a case to trial when necessary.
He recently successfully represented the former CEO of Hanger Inc. in securing the dismissal of a securities fraud class action in which he was named as a defendant. He also represented the former CEO of the largest Nasdaq market-making firm, Knight Securities, in a federal court action brought by the SEC. After a 14-day bench trial, all parties were completely cleared of wrongdoing.
Howard began his career as a trial attorney with the SEC Division of Enforcement. In private practice for almost 30 years, he has long been at the forefront of securities litigation and regulatory developments, including his current representation of hedge funds, and the leading prime brokers and clearance firms, in regulatory and civil litigation.
Former co-chair of the Litigation Group. Focuses on investigations and enforcement proceedings brought by various exchanges and government agencies, including the SEC, the DOJ and FINRA, as well as a diverse array of civil litigation, including securities class actions and arbitrations.
Nationally known in the area of securities litigation and regulatory developments, Howard is a corporate problem solver and is as adept at dispute containment and resolution as he is at arguing to a jury.
He counsels clients, including major financial institutions and investment banks, leading Nasdaq market-makers, institutional and retail brokerage firms and their registered representatives, trade execution and clearing firms, prime brokers, national accounting firms, hedge funds, and public and private companies and their senior officers in risk analysis and litigation avoidance.
Still, with his extensive trial experience and solid record of success in numerous SEC enforcement actions, SRO proceedings and FINRA arbitrations, Howard has the confidence to take a case to trial when necessary.
He recently successfully represented the former CEO of Hanger Inc. in securing the dismissal of a securities fraud class action in which he was named as a defendant. He also represented the former CEO of the largest Nasdaq market-making firm, Knight Securities, in a federal court action brought by the SEC. After a 14-day bench trial, all parties were completely cleared of wrongdoing.
Howard began his career as a trial attorney with the SEC Division of Enforcement. In private practice for almost 30 years, he has long been at the forefront of securities litigation and regulatory developments, including his current representation of hedge funds, and the leading prime brokers and clearance firms, in regulatory and civil litigation.
|
||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
3
| 58
|
https://canoeintelligence.com/about/
|
en
|
About
|
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[] |
[] |
[
""
] | null |
[] |
2020-06-29T19:57:52+00:00
|
en
|
Canoe
|
https://canoeintelligence.com/about/
|
Jason Eiswerth
CEO
Jason Eiswerth is CEO of Canoe Intelligence, the financial technology company powering more than 220 investment firms with alternative investment document and data management solutions. With more than 20 years of senior management experience, Jason is an accomplished technology leader and entrepreneur with a proven track record of accelerating business growth. Most recently, he served as Managing Director and Head of Private Investments at Nima Capital, a large single-family office focusing on alternatives. As a hands-on leader at TheMarkets.com, Jason managed sales, business development and operations for the company from inception through its ultimate acquisition by Capital IQ. He also incubated, developed and led MeritMark through its sale to WallStreetOnDemand. Jason began his career at Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers in capital markets and institutional fixed income. He is passionate about mentoring and building companies, and advises multiple early stage and middle-market businesses. Jason graduated from Lafayette College with a Dual Degree in Economics and English Literature.
Vishal Saxena
Chief Technology Officer
Vishal Saxena brings 20 years of software development and product design experience within the financial services industry. Prior to joining Canoe Intelligence, Vishal was a Managing Director in the Blackstone Technology and Innovations group. During his tenure at Blackstone, Vishal oversaw application development for several business systems and enterprise platforms and supported various business and corporate functions including but not limited to investor reporting, HR, public affairs, legal and compliance, fund accounting, and corporate finance. Prior to joining Blackstone in 2013, he led various software development teams at Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor’s, for five years where he was most recently Director of Data Technology. Before Capital IQ, Vishal held various software development roles at Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and Sapient. Vishal received a B.Tech. in Civil Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, a Master of Engineering degree with a major in Information Technology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, and a Master of Science degree in Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta. Vishal recently joined the board of Reach the World, a non-profit organization making the benefits of world travel accessible to classrooms.
Aman Soni
VP OF DATA STRATEGY
Aman is responsible for innovating and delivering Canoe’s suite of transformational data products for the private market investment landscape. A knowledgeable specialist with direct exposure to institutional sales, bank operations, and private markets, Aman joined Canoe following a 7-year tenure at J.P. Morgan Chase in London. Throughout his time at J.P. Morgan, Aman worked as a Vice President within Platform Sales focused on EMEA asset owners before transitioning to the Digital Innovation group, where he was responsible for shaping fintech strategy, evaluating partnerships and strategic investments, and executing on innovation within the broader bank. In 2019, he founded The Soni Scholarship with the aim to empower children with access to higher education and today remains the Chairman of Trustees. Aman graduated from the University of Nottingham, where he achieved a First Class with Honors BSc in Economics.
Michelle Wilson
VP OF PRODUCT
Michelle Wilson is the Vice President of Product at Canoe Intelligence. In this role, she is responsible for shaping product strategy and driving the execution of key initiatives to achieve the product vision. In addition to leading the product team in the design and development of new features, she also collaborates with other teams across the organization on various topics such as project scoping, client onboarding and product feedback.
Prior to joining Canoe, Michelle was a Vice President at BlackRock, where she focused on general partner (GP) product strategy for eFront, the firm's technology product suite for alternative investment management and reporting. She also played a key role in developing a robust mobile application strategy for the firm.
Before BlackRock, Michelle was a Vice President at Blackstone. During her almost 8-year tenure there, she led product management and design for the firm's proprietary fund accounting, valuations and investor portal applications. She spearheaded several important technology initiatives including the development and delivery of a proprietary document management and business workflow tool for the firm's fund-of-funds business.
She began her product management career at S&P Capital IQ, where she designed and helped build several key components of the company's financial intelligence and data analytics platform.
Michelle received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and a Master of Engineering (M.Eng) in Engineering Management from Cornell University.
Josh Whitcraft
VP OF COMMERCIAL STRATEGY AND OPERATIONS
Josh Whitcraft joins Canoe as Vice President, Commercial Strategy and Operations. Josh is responsible for ensuring Canoe teams are supporting clients through their learning, buying, and value realization of the Canoe platform. Josh collaborates closely with R&D teams on market and client requirements and with client success teams on accelerating client outcomes. As a result, Canoe is well-positioned to target, partner, and enable clients who are most likely to succeed with the solution.
Josh brings more than a decade of experience in wealth management, enterprise software, and financial technology. Prior to Canoe, Josh was a Director of Go-to-Market for Vista Consulting Group, the dedicated value creation team of Vista Equity Partners, where he partnered with executives from a dozen enterprise software portfolio companies on defining market strategy, optimizing the client lifecycle, and growing net retention. Prior to Vista, Josh was a FinTech entrepreneur with Addepar, where he built and led sales and services teams, scaling revenue 10x, clients 6x, and employees 5x. He started his career at Goldman Sachs as a financial analyst.
Josh loves being a husband and a father. He’s an endurance athlete, Irish citizen, long-time Manhattanite, recent Texan, and supports two local Austin initiatives: Waterloo Greenway and Laguna Gloria.
Northwestern University - BA
Columbia Business School - MBA
Columbia University School of International & Public Affairs - MA
Betsy Daitch
VP OF MARKETING
An award-winning marketing executive with over a decade of experience, Betsy is responsible for building Canoe’s brand presence and devising and executing the company’s marketing strategy. Most recently, she ran her own consulting business, Betsy Daitch Marketing Advisors, of which Canoe was a client for over four years. As a consultant, Betsy specialized in developing and implementing business-enhancing strategies, marketing materials, and breakthrough marketing campaigns for financial services firms. Prior to that, she gained financial services marketing experience through tenures as Global Director of Marketing at Visible Alpha, Senior Marketing Manager, Investment Management at S&P Global Intelligence, and Marketing Associate at LPL Financial. Betsy graduated from Goucher College with a Bachelor of Arts in Management Studies and Art History and from Kaplan University with a Master of Science in Accounting and Finance.
Kevin Winter
VP OF INFORMATION SECURITY
An expert infrastructure and information security professional with over twenty years of experience in IT functions across multiple industries, Kevin is responsible for overseeing cybersecurity and compliance as it relates to both Canoe as a company and its platform. Prior to Canoe, Kevin spent time at a SaaS FinTech company as Head of Security, Crane Currency as Director of Information Security and Infrastructure, at Thermo Fisher Scientific across senior IT roles, and at EMC as a Staff System Administrator. He started his career at Heilind Electronics as a Lead Help Desk Technician after serving in the US Coast Guard for four years. Kevin graduated from The Ohio State University with a B.A. in English and Pre-Medicine. He also completed an MBA in Information Technology and an undergraduate certificate in programming from the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
Noel Calhoun
CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER
An experienced technology leader that has designed and built some of the most innovative machine learning teams in government and industry. Before coming to Canoe, Noel was CTO of the retail analytics company Onsites.io using machine learning to analyze video for behavioral patterns. Prior to that he was CTO at Interos, an AI driven supply chain intelligence company and Kensho Technologies, a Fintech startup acquired by S&P Global in 2018 in the largest AI focused acquisition to date. He previously served over 13 years in the CIA as an intelligence analyst, analytic manager, executive and the first Chief Technology Officer for the Directorate of Support (DS). Noel created and led the first data science & machine learning teams within the Information Operations Center and DS. He was awarded the Directorate’s Innovator of the Year award in 2016. Noel left the CIA in 2016 to found Koto, Kensho's incubator for Intelligence Community focused machine learning applications. He has a bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering from Auburn University and MA in Security Studies from Georgetown. When he's not talking tech, you can find him in his shop trying to build furniture or gaming with his friends online.
|
||||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
3
| 23
|
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cadian-capital-management-sends-letter-to-the-board-of-directors-of-comverse-technology-147565155.html
|
en
|
Cadian Capital Management Sends Letter to the Board of Directors of Comverse Technology
|
[
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[] |
[] |
[
"Cadian Capital Management",
"LLC"
] | null |
[
"Cadian Capital Management"
] |
2012-04-16T08:30:00-04:00
|
/PRNewswire/ -- Cadian Capital Management, LLC (together with its affiliates, "Cadian Capital"), today announced that it has delivered a letter to the Board of...
|
en
|
/content/dam/prnewswire/icons/2019-Q4-PRN-Icon-32-32.png
|
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cadian-capital-management-sends-letter-to-the-board-of-directors-of-comverse-technology-147565155.html
|
NEW YORK, April 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Cadian Capital Management, LLC (together with its affiliates, "Cadian Capital"), today announced that it has delivered a letter to the Board of Directors (the "Board") of Comverse Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: CMVT) (the "Company") in which it expressed its concerns about the strategic direction of the Company and the continued decline in shareholder value. Cadian Capital beneficially owns 4,186,158 shares of common stock of the Company.
The full text of the letter is as follows:
CADIAN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC
535 MADISON AVENUE, 36th FLOOR
NEW YORK, NY 10022
April 16, 2012
VIA HAND DELIVERY AND CERTIFIED MAIL
Board of Directors
c/o Corporate Secretary
Comverse Technology, Inc.
810 Seventh Avenue
New York, NY 10012
Dear Members of the Board:
Cadian Capital Management, LLC, together with its affiliates (collectively, "Cadian Capital"), beneficially owns 4,186,158 shares of common stock of Comverse Technology, Inc. (the "Company"). Cadian Capital has been a shareholder of the Company since February 2008. We, like many other shareholders, have significant concerns about the lack of progress the Company has made under the current Board of Directors (the "Board") over the past several years. In the Fall of 2011, we conducted a successful "Vote No" campaign against several of the directors nominated for re-election at the 2011 annual meeting of shareholders (the "2011 Annual Meeting"). At the time of the 2011 Annual Meeting, we decided against seeking a more dramatic overhaul of the Board because we felt the Vote No campaign would send a message of accountability, which we hoped the Board would clearly hear. Unfortunately, our message has fallen on deaf ears.
Since the 2011 Annual Meeting, we believe the Board has continued to pursue several misguided and/or ill-executed strategies that have continued to prevent the Company from realizing value for shareholders. Earlier this month, the Company reported disappointing operating metrics for the Comverse Network Systems (CNS) business, which further underscores the effect of this Board's failure to attract and retain world-class senior management, and the disruptive effects of a quality asset held in strategic limbo in a market with substantial opportunities for revenue growth and margin expansion. While three recent acquisitions in the CNS space have been completed (or announced and are in the process of being completed) (Convergys Corporation, Intec Telecom Systems, and AsiaInfo Linkage, Inc.), the Board is currently pursuing what we believe is a sub-optimal strategy of 'spinning' CNS into a stand-alone, publicly-traded entity. We do not believe this Board, as currently constituted, is capable of effectively running CNS and/or unlocking shareholder value in the Company in the short or long run. We believe a majority of new directors should be nominated for the 2012 annual meeting of shareholders (the "2012 Annual Meeting").
The impact of the Board's failure can be seen very clearly in the Company's stock price. Since January 1, 2007, the Company's stock price has declined by nearly 70% and since its relisting on the NASDAQ Global Market in September 2011, the Company's stock price has declined by more than 10%. By contrast, since January 1, 2007, the S&P 500 is down by only 4%, and since September 2011, is up by more than 20%. Moreover, since its relisting on the NASDAQ Global Market in July 2010, the stock price of the Company's majority-owned subsidiary, Verint Systems Inc., has increased by approximately 30% and is relatively close to its price of $34 on January 1, 2007, clearly demonstrating that the predominant cause of the Company's continued underperformance is its CNS business and the dissipation of its cash.
We believe the Company's massive underperformance can be attributed to a number of factors, including failed hiring decisions, failed and misguided strategic planning, poor execution of the CNS business, and a poorly managed re-statement process. These problems have occurred under this Board's supervision and have resulted in the destruction of over $2.0 billion of shareholder value.
Lack of Proper Senior Officer Hires. One of the major issues raised as part of the Vote No campaign was the lack of a permanent and well-qualified CEO and CFO for the CNS business. For the past 14 months (in the case of the CEO) and 18 months (in the case of the CFO), each of these roles have been filled on (what was supposed to be) an interim basis by individuals we believe are not properly qualified to hold such positions. This has clearly directly impacted the performance of the CNS business since that time (as evidenced, most recently, by the Company's very poor performance in Q4 2011, as well as its own admission in its Annual Report for fiscal 2011 that it continues to have material weaknesses in its internal controls over financial reporting), as well as this Board's ability to unlock shareholder value with respect to the CNS business. Five months after the 2011 Annual Meeting (and more than 14 months since the departure of the prior CEO and CFO), these positions remain inadequately filled. This situation must be solved immediately.
Failure to Realize Value in the CNS Business. In the past 18 months, there have been three separate deals announced for companies comparable to the CNS business: Convergys Corporation just announced it is selling its Information Management business to NEC Corporation; CSG Systems International purchased Intec Telecom Systems; and AsiaInfo Linkage, Inc. is going private. In each case, the relevant CNS-comparable businesses were valued at between 1.0 – 1.4x trailing twelve month revenue. The CNS business would be a prime candidate for a similar sale (either in whole or in multiple parts), but for a number of actions we believe this Board has failed to complete, including hiring a permanent operating CEO and CFO (discussed above), having separate financials for the BSS and VAS business units, and correcting the organization's internal controls. The press has reported that the Board has retained Goldman Sachs and Rothschild to explore strategic alternatives for the CNS business, including multiple attempts to purportedly sell the CNS business. We believe these efforts have not yet been successful because of the Board's failure to execute these steps.
Misguided Spin-Off Plan. The Board has announced it intends to try to spin-off the CNS business later this year. We think that is a fundamentally flawed strategy. We believe a spin-off would be very costly and likely require large amounts of the Company's cash. Furthermore, based on recent comparable acquisitions in this space, the CNS stand-alone entity would likely provide an unattractive subscale publicly-traded vehicle with weak financial processes. We believe the Board should instead focus on hiring an appropriate CEO (one with substantial operating and relevant industry experience) and CFO, and then working to improve the business's operations and internal controls, and preparing it for sale (including having complete separate financials for the BSS and VAS business units). As noted above, there is substantial interest in the market for an asset like CNS, and if the business unit's executive leadership (and subsequently operating issues) can be addressed, we believe a sale can be achieved in a much more efficient (and cash-generating, rather than cash-consuming) way.
Failure to Address the Holding Company Structure. We believe the Company's current "holding company" structure has created a substantial drag on its stock price (as well as on the stock price of its most valuable assets, its majority interest in Verint Systems Inc.) for several years. Nevertheless, the Board has only recently indicated it intends to dissolve the structure, and only if/when it is able to complete a spin-off of the CNS business. We believe the Board should work to collapse its current holding company structure as soon as possible, and irrespective of whether/when a spin-off is completed.
Continued Poor Operating Performance of the CNS Business. As the Company's most recent quarterly reporting confirms, the CNS business continues to disappoint. There was a surprising decline in both revenue and bookings, signaling underperformance relative to the Board's prior commitments to investors and relative to the rest of the industry.
All of the members of this Board have served for at least three years, and all but one Board member for five or more years. We believe this Board, as currently constituted, has categorically failed in its duties to create value for shareholders. Immediate change at the Board level is necessary to end the erosion of shareholder value and to realize the core value of the Company's assets. We believe a reconstituted Board with a majority of new, highly-qualified directors focused on reviewing all strategic options, with a skill set designed to allow for better execution on such options, is the best way to create value going forward. We have lost confidence in this Board's ability to make and execute on the wide range of important actions that need to be taken. Moreover, both Institutional Shareholder Services ("ISS") and Glass Lewis & Co. ("Glass Lewis"), two of the leading independent proxy voting advisory firms, agreed with Cadian Capital that change was needed on the Board at the 2011 Annual Meeting. ISS recommended a vote against two directors and Glass Lewis recommended a vote against five directors. Ultimately, two directors were forced to resign from the Board for failing to receive a majority of votes cast. We believe further change is warranted to restore shareholder value.
Since the Board currently has six members, we have nominated a slate of four new directors (a copy of their biographies was previously sent to you but is attached hereto for your convenience). We have not nominated a full slate of six new directors because we believe a newly constituted Board should retain some historical/institutional knowledge by having some of the current directors remain. In our view, the members of the Strategic Committee (August Oliver (Board member since May 2007), Theodore Schell (Board member since December 2006), and Mark Terrell (Board Member since July 2006)), as well as Robert Dubner (Board member since January 2009, and whom, along with Mr. Oliver and Mr. Terrell, is a member of the Audit Committee), are most responsible for the failings of the Board and should not be nominated for re-election at the 2012 Annual Meeting.
As shown on the attached biographies, the four nominees we have proposed have the extensive range of relevant operating expertise and quality industry experience necessary to address the difficult challenges currently facing the Company, and are well equipped to both evaluate and execute the strategic steps necessary to improve shareholder value. These nominees should be much more effective at (i) seeking, attracting and hiring quality executive personnel (most importantly, a new CEO and CFO), (ii) working with such senior officers to help address the various issues causing CNS's continuing poor operating performance, and (iii) preparing for and executing an effective sales process with respect to the CNS business (either in whole or in parts).
We also wish to note that none of the directors we have nominated have any ties to Cadian Capital, other than with respect to our having nominated them to serve as directors of the Company. We have gotten to know these proposed directors over the past several months as we became increasingly disillusioned with the current Board's performance and sought new qualified leadership.
It is ultimately in the best interests of shareholders to avoid a disruption and expense of a protracted proxy fight. Therefore, we urge the Board to engage in discussions with us regarding the composition of the Board in hopes of ultimately reaching a mutually agreeable resolution that will serve the best interests of all shareholders.
Sincerely,
Eric Bannasch
Managing Member
Cadian Capital Management, LLC
Biographies of Cadian Capital Nominees
Stephen Andrews, age 54, has been an independent Technology, Media & Telecommunications advisor and investor at AbbeyBarn Communications Limited since June 2009 and in such capacity has served as the Chairman of a Global TelCo Consortia (TelCo Futures Forum), sponsored by Deutsche Telekom and Swisscom. During this time he has also been an Executive Advisor to companies such as: Microsoft (UK), Qsensei (Germany/USA), Mimedia (USA), Aap3 (UK/USA), and Elinia (UK). From 2003 to April 2009, Mr. Andrews served as the Group Managing Director of BT Mobility & Convergence and Managing Director of Strategy and Products at BT Retail, a division of BT Group plc, a global communications services provider, where he supervised approximately 500 employees and executives. From 2000 to 2003, Mr. Andrews was the President of the International Carrier and Networks Business of BT Global Services, a division of BT Group plc. From 1996 to 2000, Mr. Andrews was a Director of European Alliances responsible for investments in joint ventures and 100% owned TMT companies at BT Europe, a division of BT Group plc. Mr. Andrews holds a Full Technological Certificate in Advanced Telecommunications from Bristol College (UK) and a Certificate in Industrial Management from Kingston upon Thames Management College.
James Budge, age 45, has served as the Chief Financial Officer of Rovi Corporation (NASDAQ:ROVI), a global provider of digital entertainment technology solutions, since September 2005 and as its Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer since February 2012. Mr. Budge served as Chief Financial Officer of Trados, Inc., an enterprise management software provider, from January 2004 until its merger with SDL International in August 2005. From August 2002 until joining Trados, Inc., Mr. Budge served as Chief Financial Officer of Sendmail, Inc., a secure email provider, and from April 1999 until its merger with IBM in January 2002, Mr. Budge served as Chief Financial Officer of CrossWorlds Software, Inc., a provider of business infrastructure software. Mr. Budge holds a B.S. in Accounting from Brigham Young University and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Doron Inbar, age 62, has been a Venture Partner at Carmel Ventures, an Israeli-based venture capital firm that invests primarily in early stage companies in the fields of Software, Communications, Semiconductors, Internet, Media, and Consumer Electronics, since 2006. Previously, Mr. Inbar served as the President of ECI Telecom Ltd., a global telecom networking infrastructure provider, from November 1999 to December 2005 and its Chief Executive Officer from February 2000 to December 2005. Mr. Inbar joined ECI Telecom Ltd. in 1983 and during his first eleven years with the company, served in various positions at its wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary, ECI Telecom, Inc., in the U.S., including Executive Vice President and General Manager. In July 1994, Mr. Inbar returned to Israel to become Vice President, Corporate Budget, Control and Subsidiaries of ECI Telecom Ltd. In June 1996, Mr. Inbar was appointed Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of ECI Telecom Ltd., and he became Executive Vice President of ECI Telecom Ltd. in January 1999. Mr. Inbar has served on the board of directors of Alvarion Ltd. (NASDAQ: ALVR), a company that designs and sells broadband wireless and Wi-Fi products, since September 2009 and is a member of its audit committee. Mr. Inbar also serves on the board of directors of SolarEdge Technologies Inc., an innovative start up in the photovoltaic industry, as Chairman of the Board of Archimedes Global Ltd., a company which provides health insurance and health provision in East Europe, and on the board of directors of Maccabi dent Ltd., the largest chain of dental service clinics in Israel. Previously, Mr. Inbar served as Chairman of the Board of C-nario Ltd., a global provider of digital signage software solutions, Chairman of the Board of Followap Inc., which was sold to Neustar, Inc. in November 2006, and Chairman of the Board of Enure Networks Ltd. Mr. Inbar holds a B.A. in Economics and Business Administration from Bar-Ilan University, Israel.
Richard Nottenburg, Ph.D., age 58, has served as a member of the board of directors of Aeroflex Holding Corp. (NYSE:ARX), a global provider of radio frequency and microwave integrated circuits, components and systems used in the design, development and maintenance of high-performance wireless communication systems, since November 2010, and as a member of the board of directors of PMC-Sierra, Inc. (NASDAQ:PMCS), a semiconductor innovator transforming networks that connect, move and store digital content, since August 2011. From June 2008 to October 2010, Dr. Nottenburg served as President, Chief Executive Officer, and a director of Sonus Networks, Inc., a provider of voice and multimedia infrastructure solutions. From July 2004 until May 2008, Dr. Nottenburg was an officer with Motorola, Inc. (now known as Motorola Solutions, Inc., "Motorola") ultimately serving as its Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Technology Officer. While at Motorola, Dr. Nottenburg was responsible for shaping Motorola's overall corporate strategy. Prior to joining Motorola as an officer in July 2004, Dr. Nottenburg was a strategic consultant to the Company from January 2004 to July 2004. Dr. Nottenburg previously served as a member of the Board from December 2006 to November 2011 and as a member of the board of directors of Verint Systems, Inc. ("Verint") from July 2011 to November 2011. Dr. Nottenburg holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Polytechnic Institute of New York, an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Colorado State University, and a Doctor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne in Lausanne, Switzerland.
CERTAIN INFORMATION CONCERNING PARTICIPANTS
Cadian Capital Management, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company ("Cadian Capital"), together with the other Participants (as defined below), intends to make a preliminary filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") of a proxy statement and accompanying proxy card to be used to solicit proxies for the election of its slate of director nominees at the 2012 annual meeting of shareholders of Comverse Technology, Inc., a New York corporation (the "Company").
CADIAN CAPITAL STRONGLY ADVISES ALL SHAREHOLDERS OF THE COMPANY TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT AND OTHER PROXY MATERIALS AS THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. SUCH PROXY MATERIALS WILL BE AVAILABLE AT NO CHARGE ON THE SEC'S WEB SITE AT HTTP://WWW.SEC.GOV. IN ADDITION, THE PARTICIPANTS IN THIS PROXY SOLICITATION WILL PROVIDE COPIES OF THE PROXY STATEMENT WITHOUT CHARGE UPON REQUEST. REQUESTS FOR COPIES SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO THE PARTICIPANTS' PROXY SOLICITOR, MORROW & CO., LLC, TOLL-FREE AT (800) 662-5200 or (203) 658-9400.
The Participants in the proxy solicitation are anticipated to be Cadian Capital, Cadian Fund LP, a Delaware limited partnership ("Cadian Fund"), Cadian Master Fund LP, a Cayman Island exempted limited partnership ("Cadian Master"), Cadian GP, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company ("Cadian GP"), Eric Bannasch, Stephen Andrews, James Budge, Doron Inbar, and Richard N. Nottenburg (collectively, the "Participants").
As of the date hereof, the Participants collectively own an aggregate of 4,226,158 shares of common stock of the Company, consisting of the following: (1) 1,674,463 shares owned directly by Cadian Fund, (2) 2,511,695 shares owned directly by Cadian Master, and (3) 40,000 shares owned directly by Dr. Nottenburg. Cadian Management is the investment manager of Cadian Fund and Cadian Master. Cadian GP is the general partner of Cadian Fund and Cadian Master. Eric Bannasch is the managing member of Cadian Management. Accordingly, each of Cadian Management, Cadian GP and Eric Bannasch may be deemed to beneficially own the shares directly owned by Cadian Fund and Cadian Master.
As members of a "group" for the purposes of Rule 13d-5(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, each of the Participants may be deemed to beneficially own the shares of common stock of the Company owned in the aggregate by the other Participants. Each of the Participants disclaims beneficial ownership of such shares of common stock except to the extent of his or its pecuniary interest therein.
Contact:
Eric Bannasch / Justin Griffith
Cadian Capital Management, LLC
(212) 792-8800
or
Tom Ball / John Ferguson
Morrow & Co., LLC
(203) 658-9400
SOURCE Cadian Capital Management, LLC
|
|||||
correct_foundationPlace_00083
|
FactBench
|
2
| 38
|
https://www.corumgroup.com/12-11-Israel-Rising
|
en
|
12 11 Israel Rising
|
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2011-12-12T06:51:00
|
Israel RisingSpeaking of which, and getting further into the meat of our presentation today, John Melotte, Director of Courm's London office is freshly back from Tel Aviv, he has been meeting with a number of interesting and well-run software and internet companies. Corum has done multiple deals with Israeli firms and he'll talk a little bit about that. We're certainly no
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en
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https://www.corumgroup.com/sites/all/themes/custom/corum/favicon.ico
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Corum Group
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https://www.corumgroup.com/12-11-Israel-Rising
|
Israel Rising
Speaking of which, and getting further into the meat of our presentation today, John Melotte, Director of Courm's London office is freshly back from Tel Aviv, he has been meeting with a number of interesting and well-run software and internet companies. Corum has done multiple deals with Israeli firms and he'll talk a little bit about that. We're certainly no stranger to the territory. John will talk to us about some of the things that makes this region so significant in our industry. Thanks, John.
John Melotte
Well, thank you Dougan. Israel is often in the news. This small country has more than its fair share of headlines. It also has more than its fair share of software technology companies.
8 million people, living in a country similar in size to New Jersey, smaller than Belgium. Yet, it is second only to the US for computer start-ups and it has the largest number of NASDAQ-listed companies outside North America. BackWeb, Check Point, Click Software, Comverse Technology, and so on. Great global software companies.
Israel has created an environment that welcomes entrepreneurial start-ups, incubates them through their early growth, and then supports the movement of the business from the constraints of a small domestic market, re-basing executives and the sales & marketing operations in the US, but leaving the technology back in Israel, and then hooking up to US finance. This is the Israeli model and no one else makes it work as well as they do.
Check Point, ClickSoftware, Amdocs will be considered by most people to be American companies but they all have an Israeli technology heart. Other companies here, such as Ness, have remained based in Israel. Like all successful global companies these top Israel buyers acquire technology and business from across the world. If the deal is right then geography is no barrier. They have done many deals in the US, but also Romania, Spain, Italy, Hungary, Czech Republic, India, Canada, Ireland, Denmark, UK oh, and Israel.
We have on this slide a great bit of analysis for the Corum research team. Deal size is definitely on an upward track for the Israeli buyers.
Israeli buyers currently operate at an interesting level, as you can see from this slide of the notable software deals done by Israeli companies in the last couple of years. Good mid-market deals.
Israel: a land of milk and honey. A land of some great emerging software businesses, and the technology heart of good number of acquisitive companies; potential buyers of your mid-market software business.
As successful as the Israeli model has been for Israeli technology companies, not all have moved to the US. There are some great repeat buyers based in Israel. Here we have two: Ness Technologies and NICE Systems. These two companies have acquired ten companies in the last five years. They regularly appear on our lists of potential buyers for the selling clients that we represent. Indeed Corum represented Logos, one of the Ness transactions on this slide, and we have sold businesses to NICE in the past.
And with that, it is my pleasure to introduce Mr. Josef Mandelbaum, CEO of Perion, the company that was until last month known as Incredimail. IncrediMail was founded in 1999, and conducted an IPO in January 2006 on NASDAQ. It currently employs approximately 130 people, and has offices in Tel Aviv, Israel and New York. In August, Incredimail acquired Smilebox, and as Perion has secured additional bank funding for additional acquisitions. Over to Josef.
Josef Mandelbaum
At Perion, our object is really to build simple, safe, and useful products for what we call the second wave of adopters. These are people who are not tech savvy, although they are technically proficient. Technology to them is a means to an end, but such a part of life that they can't get around it, so they are embracing it. But, they are certainly not as savvy and secure in how they embrace technology. We are looking for companies in terms of M&A that really have a product in the productivity sector that addresses the needs of these consumers that we think, through good consumer insight and usability expertise, we can make it simple, safe, and useful to them for our consumers to use. And it goes across all platforms, like mobile and social. It does not include enterprise, we're really going after the consumer segment and we don't really have a geographical preference at this time.
At American Greetings, where I was the CEO for 10 years, in the internet and media division, we bought companies in five different countries, and being based in Israel actually gives us an advantage based on geography and reach. We can manage many different time zones more easily from here than in the United States from that perspective.
As I mentioned, we are not constrained by geography, but for M&A we are looking clearly at the US as for a plethora of startups, looking for different types of companies that have been around for a while, we call them orphan companies, and what I mean by that is we are looking at companies who started as much as seven or eight years ago, who have a great product, a single product in most cases, and because of different reasons, going public is not an option, they are not huge successes, but they have minor success, and the VCs are funding them in many cases, and they have to exit as their funds are expiring.
We think those are good opportunities for us and since they started six, seven, eight years ago, the reality is that they are probably more appropriate for my demographic anyway. We're also looking in Europe, particularly in Eastern Europe as it is very robust, there is lot of activity happening there, and a lot of really good technology and product people coming up with great ideas. So, Eastern Europe, Israel obviously, and the US are the three main places we are looking today for acquisitions.
As I mentioned, our focus is on second wave adopters, but the difference today between a second wave adopter and an early adopter, an early adopter fundamentally embraces a new product or new industry, and they are willing to try anything. Today second wave adopters, we look at mobile, tablets, social, those are all things which aren't new anymore, they are a few years old. Even though a second wave adopter won't be the first one to rush to try, say, Facebook if it were created today, but they would join the social revolution at some point.
So the question is how do we create products and services that really address the needs of my audience on these existing platforms. As we look at the future, clearly mobility is a big issue, whether it is a phone or a tablet, and it is going to grow and our audience, I think, may be bigger users of the tablets and will jump ahead as a consumption factor, maybe even ahead of the mobile phone, and of course social is growing as well. We're clearly looking at those aspects, where the trends are taking us, even for our audience.
Is the tech scene in Israel is unique and poised for future growth? The answer is absolutely yes. There was a book recently written about Israel called Startup Nation which describes the unbelievable technology, talent and entrepreneurial spirit of the country and the people and that is certainly demonstrated in the technology sector. Most big corporations have R&D sectors here, Israel has the most startups per capita in the world after Silicon Valley, the most entrepreneurs, the most public companies on the NASDAQ in the tech sector after the US.
A lot of this is driven by the military, there is a very sophisticated military with a draft, so a lot of people participate in that and go through certain divisions and training which hone skill sets, and just the spirit of the country is really an entrepreneurial one, which really helps drive that. The talent here is really second to none, probably on par with Silicon Valley, which gives you a great opportunity to focus on product development and technology solutions for all aspects of the technology sector, from enterprise to consumer, and especially for a company like Perion, we're certainly taking advantage of that unique concentration of technology here and we are poised for future growth, in our company, but also the country itself as well. Thanks.
John Melotte
Thank you very much Josef, for joining us today. Its clear that your company is well positioned for significant growth in the next year and we will certainly be watching your developments.
Next Im equally pleased to introduce live from Tel Aviv, Mr. Roy Golding, the CFO of TelMap,
a maker of mobile navigation software based in Israel. Two months ago, TelMap was acquired by Intel. Details of the deal were not disclosed, but Israeli media said Intel was paying $300 million to $350 million. A major deal, surely, but in past months time, TelMap has made two of its own acquisitions -- first of Australian mobile carrier Optus and second: South Africa's third largest mobile operator, Cell C, which will provide mobile mapping, search, and navigation services for Telmap. Roy, its been an amazing few months for you. What can you share with our attentive audience about your experiences?
Roy Golding
Thank you, John. It has been a very exciting last few months and I have just been with TelMap for 2.5 years and I can say that these years have been extraordinary, exciting, certainly taking into consideration the dynamics in the market and how face this market has moved.
Within these last two years, TelMap has renewed all its major contracts with the global leaders in tier one mobiles, and we signed additional contracts with NTS, one of the biggest Russian operators. We support a vast majority of operators around the world, including a recently renewal of contracts with all four carriers is Israel.
Through this dynamic market, so much has changed, but we are profitable and cash positive. In addition, we released some time ago what we define as the creation companion, which is TelMap 5, cutting edge technology for location. We have the basis for advertising, local content, social, and commerce, all meeting together in location. We positioned ourselves as a leader and as of a year ago, 46% of paying users are TelMap users.
TelMap is consistently the fastest, consistently growing company in our segment year after year. TelMap did not settle in the position where it is now. We felt about a year ago that the time for TelMap with its new contracts, its business model, its profitability, the cash flow, that it was time for us to move to the next level.
We had many meetings and we thought about the possibility of acquiring and we decided that we wanted to escalate to a level where we could engage with the big players. We started a process, looking at and defining backers. We went to all the suspected guys and chose backers that we felt comfortable with and who had experience in this field. This was a very long and exhausting period.
First of all you just want to find the right partner, a partner with vision who presents itself and gives the company the opportunity to grow and execute its vision. We found that partner with Intel. Both Intel and TelMap position themselves as friendly to the operator. They don't go after the end user, they don't take away the business, we work together and we provide one label for the operators. This obviously supports also the Intel vision. We felt that it was a very good match and Intel acquired TelMap as a stand alone company, meaning we have freedom and we can execute our vision and continue our growth in an ever-changing market.
One of the things that I think is worth mentioning is the joint vision that Intel and TelMap have. Intel's field mobility is one of its growth areas and plays a leading role across the mobility ecosystem, including consumer services. Obviously in that ecosystem, location is a key factor, and TelMap is a market leader in the mobility location industry. TelMap has developed cutting edge technology and IP around mapping, location services, and navigation. As a result we have more than 7 million users using that technology and location companies worldwide.
With that, John, back to you.
John Melotte
Well, Roy, we cant thank you enough for joining us live from Israel and sharing your insights. Corums European team has just returned from a 5-day trip of meetings in Tel Aviv, but well be back soon and we hope to catch up with both out guest speakers then, and with the many Israeli companies that we have mentioned today.
Dougan, thats our report from Israel. Back to you.
Dougan Milne
John, thanks for your insights on the region and certainly a special thanks to Roy and Josef for taking the time today, congratulations to both of you on your M&A success.
We do have one more speaker, a friend of Corum, Stefan Fountain, he is the founder of Soocial, and Nat Burgess, Corum's President, had the chance to catch up with Stefan for a very candid explanation of his deal, so let's go ahead and roll it.
Nat Burgess
Now we have Stefan Fountain, founder and CEO of Soocial. Soocial was acquired on Tuesday by Viadeo. Stefan, welcome. First, tell us about the name. How did you arrive at the name Soocial with two Os?
Stefan Fountain
It sort of started as a joke, because we realized that Google, Facebook, and Yahoo! all had two Os in the name. We figured that if you want to make it big, clearly you need a name with two Os. And the reason behind Soocial, well the whole idea was that you have all these social networks, and in Holland you had a network called Hide. People were sending each other virtual beers and it was very silly. So we looked at that and felt that the most important social network you have is still on your phone, the people you contact to have a real beer with, the people you go out and have meetings with and if they are not in your phone, then they can't be that important. Hence the name Soocial and the whole idea of backing up and synching your phone address book with other address books.
Nat Burgess
If they're in your phone and you get a new phone, or you entered them in another system, you can solve that problem of making your contacts available anywhere.
Stefan Fountain
That's it in a nutshell.
Nat Burgess
You've had talks with a number of companies that are global household names in social networking, but the company that ultimately bought you is not, especially here, a household name. They are Viadeo. I was looking at them, they have over 40 million users.
Stefan Fountain
Yes, it's very interesting. It seems like these guys have been able to sail under the radar a bit and now they are really gearing up for a much more global exposure. They are really big in France, they're number one there.
Nat Burgess
They're certainly part of a bigger trend that we are seeing with buyers we've never heard of emerging from different geographies. That is exciting to be part of that. Let me ask you a last question, in terms of getting that last transaction done, was there anything that you did that worked particularly well to move that to closure?
Stefan Fountain
I think there are two elements there. I think the one is a balanced enthusiasm, understanding what their vision is and really trying to get behind that vision and seeing if it aligns with your own. That's what happened with these French guys, we found a real click with their CEO and their product officer and we really hit it off. We immediately decided that was where we were going, and I think it was really key to do that.
The other side is playing hard to get a little bit.
Nat Burgess
Well, thanks for checking in with us from Amsterdam. I'm looking forward to hearing your next album. If anyone is interested, go to littlethingsthatkill.bandcamp.com, and there you'll find music with Stefan on bass and backing vocals. Thanks so much, Stefan.
Dougan Milne
Nat, thanks for making that phone call. Folks, that was Soocial in a nutshell right there. Good for Stefan, a great deal for both parties there.
I see our chat window has been filling up with questions, we'll go to our Q&A with some of our speakers and the Corum team now.
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FactBench
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3
| 74
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https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2007/0521/080.html
|
en
|
Fallen Tech Angels
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2007-05-04T19:40:00-04:00
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Ace fund manager Walter Price finds some good technology stocks are on Wall Street's losers list for the wrong reasons.
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en
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Forbes
|
https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2007/0521/080.html
|
Ace fund manager Walter Price finds some good technology stocks are on Wall Street's losers list for the wrong reasons.
One reason Walter C. Price Jr. runs a star tech fund is that he is devilishly good at spotting beaten-down stocks that don't deserve their ignominy.
In 2006 and thus far in 2007 Price's Allianz RCM Technology has consistently turned in the best-ranked ten-year performance for a tech fund, says fund tracker Morningstar. Its recent ten-year annual return: an exceptional 16.1%. The MIT-educated Price, 58, has been with San Francisco's RCM Capital Management since 1974. He runs the fund with comanager Huachen Chen for RCM's parent, asset manager Allianz Global Investors, which is part of German financial powerhouse Allianz .
Tech stocks have staged a comeback of sorts after their dark night of the soul earlier in the decade, although they lag behind many other sectors. In 2006 the tech-laden Nasdaq Composite posted a 9.5% return, versus the broad-market S&P 500's 13.6%. In this year's rockier market, the two indexes are doing similarly, each up some 5%.
Price looks for fallen angels--companies that used to sport robust, double-digit earnings growth, only to stumble for a quarter or acquire some black mark, like an options scandal. Some of these will resume their growth records. Which ones? "It's a little bit of a venture capital mentality," says Price.
His fund has a large swatch of mainstream tech names like Nintendo , Cisco and Google . But it's in midcaps (generally defined by RCM as $1 billion to $15 billion in market value) that Price trolls for the surprise winners. Midcaps make up half of the portfolio.
Helping in the search is RCM's Grassroots Research division, which specializes in ground-level examinations of company operations. This is vital because it requires clearing the fog of bogus enthusiasm that surrounded too many tech issues. "There are a lot of companies that overstate their case and overstate their product," Price says.
RCM launched the research unit in 1984 after taking a shellacking on the old Warner Communications, maker of Atari videogames. When the games didn't sell one Christmas, Warner stock plunged. Founder Claude Rosenberg (RCM was founded as Rosenberg Capital Management) blamed himself for letting his people talk only to rah-rah analysts, not retailers. Store managers "would have told us that these games were piling up on the shelves," Price quotes Rosenberg as saying. Rosenberg, now 79, left RCM in 2001 to focus on philanthropy.
So in the spirit of Price's contrarian perspective and an intent to get early-mover advantage, here are some of his best picks (see table) from the $1.2 billion fund. These are not cheap, and one is not profitable. But he's convinced they have great futures.
Chartered Semiconductor . Partly owned by Singapore's government, this company makes chips for tech outfits without manufacturing operations. But in late April the company reported the second straight quarter of earnings declines. Chartered produces chips used in Advanced Micro Devices' computer processors and Apple 's video iPods.
Trouble is, an excess of chip inventory and a price war between AMD and Intel makes things look iffy for the short term. And the monster of Chartered's field, Taiwan Semiconductor, is the odds-on favorite to come out ahead during any industry turmoil.
For the long pull, however, prospects look good for Chartered. It has forged an alliance with IBM and Samsung to create the next generation of semiconductors, at 45 nanometers or below. Chartered is down from its $12 high a year ago, although at $9 it has clawed back from the $7 nadir it hit in August.
Comverse Technology . Comverse provides voice mail and billing services to phone companies. The company also provides bears with a lot of negative publicity about itself. Comverse's former chief executive has fled to Namibia and is wanted in the U.S. on fraud charges. Kobi Alexander is charged with illegally backdating stock options to inflate their value. Two other executives have pleaded guilty to securities fraud. The stock price is off by a quarter from early 2006.
But Price sees underlying strengths. "The company has done a good job of fixing itself after the executives left," he says. The accounting problems they left in their wake should be cleaned up soon, he feels.
As cable and telecom companies compete for phone customers, they need new billing and messaging systems. One customer is Bharti Airtel, one of India's largest wireless operators, which is increasing orders. Bharti is growing at a 60% yearly clip and is adding between 1 million and 2 million subscribers every month. "Comverse has some extraordinary customers," says Price.
Marvell Technology. The maker of semiconductors used in Apple's iPod has seen its stock halved after displeasing Wall Street on two fronts. One, a 22% sales rise in last year's third quarter, was the smallest gain since Marvell went public in 2000. Second, Marvell was swept up in the backdating maelstrom. It will restate results for the past six years to record costs for misdated stock-option grants to executives.
Price likes its role in the next wave of all-in-one phones. Marvell has made a big bet buying the Intel processor business that builds chips for gizmos like the BlackBerry, Treo ( Palm ) and Q ( Motorola ) handheld devices. "This is going to be a huge hit," says Price. "It gets them into a business that is very hard to enter." Marvell's only rival here is Texas Instruments . Price also is buoyed by the big chip orders Marvell gets from Cisco. Marvell has a strong business in disk drive and Wi-Fi chips.
Research In Motion . This company makes the ubiquitous and indispensable BlackBerry for executives on the go. Its stock doubled in 2006 but tumbled 8% last month after robust quarterly results failed to meet analysts' expectations. Also hurting the stock: The company announced that stock options grants in the 1990s had been improperly accounted for.
With a $24 billion market cap RIM these days is a bit beyond Price's midcap range, but he thinks its growth prospects remain remarkable. Price is especially impressed by the Canadian company's moves to take it beyond its customary business clientele into the wider consumer market. The elegantly styled Pearl smart phone features a camera and a multimedia player that appeals to consumers. "Our Grassroots survey says that this product is really hot," says Price. "So I think this adds a whole new growth layer."
Salesforce.com. This $4.8 billion (market cap) company makes Web-based customer management software. Chief Marc Benioff is trying to sell more-expensive programs and attract larger customers. He's competing with biggies like SAP and Oracle . But Salesforce.com's wares are much less expensive. Salesforce is a subscription system; the customers don't have to put in servers or software. They sign on to the Internet as a service. "I think for the middle market this is absolutely the way to go," says Price.
Price's Allianz RCM Technology Fund is offered in multiple share classes. The no-load D shares, while not available for direct purchase, can be acquired through brokerage platforms at outfits like Fidelity, Schwab and Vanguard. The D shares cost $1.64 per $100 of assets annually, which is on the high side. You won't have to pay a purchase or transaction fee when buying the D shares through one of the fund supermarkets. The fund's high turnover (272%) says this investment belongs in a tax-deferred account.
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