BSD.L Regulatory News (BSD)

17 Jan 2005 07:00

Emblaze Ltd17 January 2005 Emblaze Mobile secures O2 Exec Laurence Alexander as CEO Alexander to head up company's global operations from newly established global headquarters in London Ra'anana, 17 January 2005: Emblaze Ltd (Emblaze or the "Group") (LSE: BLZ), theleading provider of next generation telecom solutions over wireless and IPnetworks, announces the appointment of Laurence Alexander as chief executive ofEmblaze Mobile. Emblaze Mobile develops and manufactures next generation,customised mobile devices for mobile operators. Alexander will join Emblaze Mobile from European mobile operator O2, where hehas held a succession of top-level roles running multi billion pound businessesincluding CEO of Genie, CEO of O2 Online, Director of UK Products and Presidentof O2 Asia Pacific. In addition, Alexander led products, services and devicesacross the group, where he drove the growth of data that has been key to thesuccess of O2 in the UK and abroad, both in terms of ARPU and subscriber base.This includes the adoption of services such as SMS, MMS, GPRS as well as devicessuch as Blackberry and the XDA range of O2 branded mobile devices. Alexander has delivered very strong results through his expertise and knowledgeof devices, his proven success of launching and building brands and consumerinsight, delivering consumer relevant content, and effective brand sponsorshipsand partnerships. These have included developing O2's content strategy,including O2 Active portal and the successful sponsorships of England's rugbyteam, Arsenal Football Club, Big Brother and support of the Nordorf Robbinsmusic charity. Commenting on his new role, Laurence Alexander, said, "Emblaze Mobile is wellplaced to begin to establish itself as a serious player in mobile devices. Allthe pieces are now in place for us to establish a strong brand position andmarket share. I am looking forward to the opportunity of leading Emblaze Mobileon the next stage of its growth. I see us being a major brand in mobiledevices within three years." Eli Reifman, CEO of Emblaze Ltd, said: "We are excited that Laurence has agreedto lead Emblaze Mobile. He adds a consumer facing perspective to our design andmanufacturing skills as we prepare to build on our success in the Far-East witha strong push of our next generation 2.5G and 3G handsets in Europe andworldwide. "He is highly respected in the global telecoms industry and his managementexperience of running a multinational business will be invaluable to EmblazeMobile as it enters the next critical stage of growth." As Emblaze Mobile's CEO, Alexander will bring high level strategy, managementand leadership skills, drive and implementation skills coupled with insight froman operator's perspective. He is well placed to drive the adoption of EmblazeMobile's multimedia mobile devices by 2.5G/3G operators worldwide as they focuson increasing ARPU from data and content services. He brings over 12 years ofsenior level management experience in the global mobile communications industry. Alexander and his team will lead Emblaze Mobile's expanded global operationsfrom the newly established headquarters in London and will continue with thecurrent operations in Israel and Korea. He will take up his role from 1 April2005. ENDS Enquiries:Emblaze LtdDoron Cohen, Hagit Gal + 972 9 7699831 / 339Corfin CommunicationsHarry Chathli, Neil Thapar + 44 207 645 2990Shared ValueAlex Dee +44 20 7321 5013Emblaze MobileClaire Cranton +44 77966 369 426 /+44 20 7758 2800 About The Emblaze Group (Emblaze LTD) Emblaze Ltd. is a group of companies sharing a common mission to provide Telecomoperators with technologies, products and solutions for next generationservices: Emblaze Mobile, a new breed in handsets design and manufacturing;Adamind, a global leader in content adaptation (transcoding) for wirelessoperators; Emblaze Defense, a provider of wireless and IP video solutions formilitary and homeland security markets and Orca Interactive (LSE: ORCA),provider of Interactive Television IPTV middleware for Video On Demand (VOD) andbroadcast services, aimed at Telecom, cable and xDSL operators Emblaze Group is traded on the London Stock Exchange (LSE:BLZ) since 1996 andhas offices in the United States, United Kingdom, China, Korea and Israel. About Emblaze Mobile Emblaze Mobile was founded in 2001. It is headquartered in London with operatingfacilities in Israel as well as design and production capabilities in Korea. Itis part of Emblaze group of companies which share a common mission to provideTelecom operators with technologies, products and solutions for next generationservices. Emblaze Ltd. was established in 1994 and is traded on the London StockExchange (LSE: BLZ). Emblaze Mobile produces media-rich handsets with sophisticated voice and datasolutions that are individual, cool and stylish. Emblaze Mobile knows that itscustomers are sophisticated individuals who have busy lifestyles, and needmultimedia devices which are precisely tailored, simple, stylish and versatileto meet their different and constantly changing needs. These innovative devicesoffer operators the ability to provide additional value-added services and aricher, even more intuitive, multimedia experience. www.emblaze.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange