SAN JOSE, Calif., April 25 -- Weitek Corporation (Nasdaq: WWTK) announced the appointment of Richard H. Bohnet to the position of President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Bohnet replaces interim CEO David L. Gellatly, who will resume his role as an independent member of the board of directors.
Mr. Bohnet has extensive high technology management experience, most recently as President and CEO of Acumen International, a software firm. His background also includes twenty years of experience in the semiconductor industry, and he has held a variety of management positions at Fairchild Semiconductor and Motorola. Mr. Bohnet holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from Arizona State University.
Separately, Weitek announced that it has entered into a non-exclusive license agreement for its unified memory architecture (UMA) chip set technology and current UMA products with a large semiconductor manufacturer. Payments under this $4.8 million agreement are scheduled over the next two to three quarters depending on the achievement of certain support and development milestones.
Arthur J. Collmeyer, Chairman of the Board, said, "We are very pleased to have Richard on board as CEO. His breadth of management experience and proven track record in challenging situations will be a tremendous asset as the Company repositions itself. The newly signed license agreement will help provide short-term liquidity as the Company continues to focus on technology licensing while seeking a strategic partner to help commercialize its graphics and UMA technology."
The Company's expectations regarding technology licensing opportunities, the Company's ability to attain contracted support and development milestones, and the success of the Company's change in business strategy are forward looking statements, and actual results could vary. The Company has limited experience with a business model involving technology licensing and strategic partnering, and certain negative consequences may not be fully understood. Other risk factors include the Company's ability to retain its engineering team, and schedule and technical risks that are typical of complex engineering programs. Additional risk factors are outlined in the Companys SEC Form 10K for the year ended December 31, 1995.
/CONTACT: Paul K. Kidman Director of Finance of Weitek Corporation, 408-474-1995/