Netcontinuum Names Former Sun Microsystems Executive as President and CEO; Web Security System Provider Taps Industry Veteran to Head Operations

Business Wire, May 20, 2002

Business Editors

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 20, 2002

Netcontinuum, Inc., a provider of high-performance Web security switches for data centers, announced that Gene Banman has joined the company as president and chief executive officer. Banman held senior management positions at Sun Microsystems. He served as vice president and general manager to the Workstation Business Unit and the Information Appliance and Desktop Software Business Unit. His proven leadership skills and depth of experience in the high-tech industry will contribute significantly to Netcontinuum as the company prepares to bring its next-generation security products to market.

"I am excited to join Netcontinuum at this juncture in the industry," said Banman. "As enterprises move to use the Internet infrastructure to provide access to mission critical applications for their employees, customers and partners, the need for Web application security has become critical. The company is poised to successfully address this immediate need for strong Web application security solutions."

Banman held various marketing and leadership positions prior to joining Netcontinuum. As vice president and general manager of the Workstation Business Unit and the Information Appliance and Desktop Software Business Unit, Banman led Sun Microsystems to expand its number one market share position in engineering workstations, and developed new information appliance Web access devices and software. In addition, he also served as President of Nihon Sun Microsystems, K.K., Sun's wholly owned Japanese subsidiary. Under Banman's direction, Nihon Sun Microsystems grew from a $200 million to $800 million company. Prior to joining Sun, he held senior management positions at Data Systems Design, Inc., and worked at Intel Corporation. Banman has a Masters in Industrial Administration from Carnegie-Mellon University and a BS in Physics from the University of California at Berkeley.

According to John Jarve, general partner at Menlo Ventures, "There is an immediate need for a new category of products that comprehensively protects Web applications and Netcontinuum is well positioned, both financially and technically, to serve this market need. Gene's appointment as CEO complements an already strong senior management team and brings the right combination of strategic, operational, marketing, sales and leadership expertise to pave the way for the company's growth."

Jan Bialkowski, chief technical officer, chief security officer and co-founder of Netcontinuum, added, "Gene brings a wealth of business knowledge to our company. As a seasoned executive with outstanding operational expertise and well-established credibility, Gene is the ideal person to lead us during this exciting period of market entry and growth. Given our aggressive plans for 2002 and beyond, the timing of his arrival couldn't have been better."

About Netcontinuum, Inc.

Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., Netcontinuum is developing next-generation Web application security systems for enterprises. Privately held, Netcontinuum is funded by blue-chip venture capital firms and industry leaders, including Menlo Ventures, NIF Ventures/Daiwa Securities, Adams Street Partners, Siemens Venture Capital, MKS Investors and the Invus Group. For more information, please visit www.netcontinuum.com or call 408/986-8995.

Netcontinuum is a registered trademark of Netcontinuum, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.