Michael J. Calise Joins Improv Systems as Vice President of Sales; Semiconductor IP Veteran Brings More Than 18 Years Experience to Improv

Business Wire, May 29, 2001

Business Editors & Technology Writers

BEVERLY, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 29, 2001

Improv Systems(TM) Inc., a pioneer in configurable DSPs for communications and media, today announced that Michael J. Calise has joined the company as vice president of sales. In this position, Calise will be responsible for all global sales activity and customer applications engineering. Calise will be based in the California's Bay Area and report directly to Cary Ussery, president and founder of Improv Systems.

"Having spent more than 18 years in the semiconductor industry and the last three in IP licensing, Mike is a veteran of this emerging and important business model. His market experience and relationship skills make him a perfect addition to the Improv's executive staff," said Cary Ussery. "We're looking to leverage his well-developed technical knowledge as well as his extensive network of contacts to strengthen Improv's position in the configurable DSP market."

Calise, (40), has held sales positions in the semiconductor and semiconductor intellectual property (SIP) industries for nearly two decades. Most recently, he was the vice president of worldwide sales and business development for Palmchip Corporation where he grew the company's licensing revenue more than 500 percent. In addition, he was instrumental in creating innovative IP business models and establishing key partnership agreements. Prior to that, Calise held various regional and national sales manager positions for Benchmarq Microelectronics Inc. later acquired by TI. Calise has also held sales management positions at Catalyst Semiconductor Inc. as well as sales and applications positions at Intel Corporation. He holds a BSEE degree from University of Buffalo.

"I'm excited to be joining Improv Systems at this important time in the company's development," said Michael Calise. "As a pioneer in configurable DSP's, Improv is armed to emerge as a driving force in this market. I look forward to offering our future partners the opportunity to dramatically enhance the way they develop DSP-based SoC solutions, and I'm very committed to their success."

About Improv Systems, Inc.

Improv Systems(TM), Inc. develops and licenses configurable processors and platform solutions for Voice-over-IP, Networking and Emerging Media. Improv's Jazz DSP(TM) is a programmable, scaleable, and configurable DSP, targeted to consumer electronics and telecommunications markets. Improv's solution extends beyond the hardware; it includes a complete development environment to facilitate rapid, system level design and state-of-the-art compilation technology to efficiently map applications onto its Jazz DSP(TM) solution. In addition, Improv offers pre-designed applications platforms for a complete solution and software components to jump start product development efforts. Improv Systems has development centers in Beverly, MA, San Jose, CA, and Rochester, NY, and direct sales offices in Paris and Tokyo. Improv is headquartered in Beverly, MA (01915) at 100 Cummings Center Suite 343G and can be reached at (978) 927-0555 or at http://www.improvsys.com.