7/12/2001
Technology Veteran Brings 35 Years of Technical and Management Experience as Company Prepares Its First Commercial Product Launch
BOTHELL, Wash., July 12 /PRNewswire/ — Microvision (Nasdaq: MVIS), the leader in light scanning technologies, today named technology veteran William Sydnes as its first chief operating officer, reporting directly to CEO Richard Rutkowski.
Sydnes brings to Microvision over 35 years of experience in
business-to-business applications and consumer technology with a demonstrated
track record of operational success. With control of the company’s day-to-day
operations, Sydnes oversees product development, sales and marketing, and
human resources.
most recently served as vice president, product development and
operations for SENSAR, Inc. a New Jersey-based firm that developed
identification technology that verifies the identification of an individual by
utilizing the unique patterns of the iris of an individual’s eye/s. In this
role, Sydnes developed three major products while staffing the organization
with key managers and technical personnel.
or to joining SENSAR, Sydnes served as president and CEO for Sarnoff
Real Time Corporation (SRTC), which developed a family of scaleable massively
parallel streaming servers. SRTC was sold to a joint venture partner.
Sydnes also served as president of Commodore International Services
Corporation, responsible for three families of personal computers — the AMIGA
2, the C64/C128, and IBM compatible systems. During his three-year tenure,
the corporation doubled its revenue, improved yields, reduced defects and
improved customer satisfaction.
A successful entrepreneur, Sydnes founded Systems, Networks and
Peripherals, Inc, to develop multiple operating systems and application
programs. In five years, the company’s revenue grew to $20 million before
being acquired by a PC peripheral firm.
Also key to his experience was 18 years at IBM as a business unit manager
for low-end systems where he helped define the base architecture for the IBM
PC, XT, AT and PCjr. He served on the original task force responsible for PC
hardware and software technical development, including the selection of
Microsoft as both an operating system and language vendor.
“Bill’s appointment adds a seasoned leader to our management team,” said
Rutkowski. “He brings both large company and startup operating experience,
with deep expertise in imaging technologies and information technology.
Poised as we are to bring our first commercial product to market, his breadth
of experience will add depth to our team to help propel Microvision to the
next stage in our growth.”
Sydnes noted he was particularly excited about helping Microvision
solidify its position as a market leader. “Microvision has every asset to
take advantage of the market opportunities it has so effectively identified.
My job is to keep the company focused on its target to successfully launch the
Nomad(TM) augmented vision Personal Display System, execute on our business
plans and help drive us towards superior service and profitability.”
Sydnes received a B.S. from Florida Atlantic University, and is a graduate
of the IBM Executive Development Program at Cornell University. He has
received numerous IBM corporate awards for technical designs and for
exceptional performance in management.
About Microvision
Headquartered in Bothell, Wash., Microvision, Inc. is the developer of the
patented retinal scanning display technology and a world leader in
micro-miniature optical scanning technology for display and imaging
applications. The company’s technology has application in a broad range of
military, medical, industrial, professional and consumer information products.
Additional information can be found at the company’s Web site at
http://www.mvis.com.
Forward-Looking Statement
The information set forth in this release includes “forward-looking
statements” within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934, as amended, and is subject to the safe harbor created by those
sections. Certain factors that realistically could cause results to differ
materially from those projected in the company’s forward-looking statements
are set forth in the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly
Reports on Form 10-Q, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.