Graviton Elects Kenichi Ohmae as a Director; World-Recognized Business Strategist and Co-Founder of McKinsey & Company's Strategic Management Practice Joins Graviton Board

Business Wire, May 17, 2001

Business Editors & High Tech Writers

LA JOLLA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 17, 2001

Graviton, Inc., a developer of wireless sensor information networks, announced today that Dr. Kenichi Ohmae, the world-recognized business strategist and co-founder of McKinsey & Company's strategic management practice, has been elected to the company's board of directors.

Dr. Ohmae is a renowned management consultant, public speaker and author of more than 100 books devoted to business and socio-political analyses, including: The End of the Nation State: The Rise of Regional Economies; The Evolving Global Economy: Making Sense of the New World Order; and, The Invisible Continent: 4 Strategic Imperatives of the New Economy.

"Kenichi is a tremendous addition to our board," said Solomon D. Trujillo, chairman, CEO and president of the company. "He adds a level of visionary and intellectual horsepower--not to mention experience--that will be enormously valuable in helping to realize our ambitious plans for Graviton."

Other members of the Graviton board, along with Trujillo and Dr. Ohmae, are: Brook Byers, partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers; Howard Birndorf, chairman, chief executive officer and president of Nanogen; Dr. Francesco De Leo, chairman and chief executive officer of Skygeo; Manuel A. (Manny) Fernandez, chairman of Gartner, Inc.; Anthony Maher, president of Siemens Information and Communications Networks Group; John Major, chief executive officer of Novatel Wireless; Thomas S. Middleton, managing director and head of Merrill Lynch's Global Communications Group; and Michael Nova, chief technology officer and founder of Graviton.

A partner at McKinsey for 23 years, Dr. Ohmae also is the founder and managing director of Ohmae & Associates. In addition, he is a founder of Jasdic Park, a software development company; EveryD.com, Inc., a click-less Internet platform for living rooms; Business Breakthrough, which provides 24/7 interactive satellite television for business and management; and BJO@work, a venture incubation enterprise.

In 1997, Dr. Ohmae joined the UCLA School of Public and Social Research as Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy. He is also the dean of two private schools in Tokyo: Isshinjuku focuses on public policy and Attacker's Business School focuses on entrepreneurship.

Dr. Ohmae serves as a director of Softbank Corp., Square Co. Ltd., and eSystem Corporation. He is also on the board of the Center for Advanced Studies for Management at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.

Dr. Ohmae is a graduate of Waseda University with a B.S., Tokyo Institute of Technology with an M.S., and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering.

About Graviton

Graviton provides comprehensive monitoring and control solutions for businesses and individuals through its unique integration of next generation microsensors, non-wired networks optimized for sensor traffic, and management software designed to cost effectively and efficiently synthesize sensor data into actionable outputs. Through these wireless sensor information networks, Graviton makes it possible to reduce the cost of doing business, efficiently control machines and devices, and conserve human and natural resources.

Graviton is supported and funded by a number of corporate partners, including Siemens, Sun Microsystems, Qualcomm, and Omron, and by the company's primary venture capital group, Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers. Initial wireless and MEMS sensor technology was developed and licensed exclusively from Oak Ridge National Labs and the Naval Research Labs.