For more information, contact:
A&R Partners for
Be, Incorporated
Lisa Auslen, 650/762-2805
lauslen@arpartners.com
In Europe:
Be Incorporated
Marie-Francoise
Lelong-Weinberg, +33 (0)1 55 91 77 36
mflelong@beeurope.com
Be Incorporated Appoints Long-time Counsel Andrei
Manoliu to Board of Directors
CFO Wes Saia Steps Down;
Long-time Corporate Controller Al Lombardo Promoted to Vice
President, Finance and Accounting
MENLO PARK, Calif.-- Feb. 24, 2000 -- Be Incorporated (Nasdaq:
BEOS), creator of software platforms that enable rich media and web
experiences on Internet appliances and personal computers, today
announced the appointment of Andrei M. Manoliu, Ph.D. to the
company's Board of Directors and the promotion of Al Lombardo, Vice
President and Corporate Controller to Vice President, Finance and
Accounting. Be's Chief Financial Officer, Wes Saia, also announced
today his departure from Be next month.
``Wes has been an invaluable member of the Be team and, with his
experience in large and small companies, a great mentor for me as we
grew the company, financed it and took it public last year,'' said
Jean-Louis Gassée, chairman and CEO of Be, Inc. ``Al Lombardo has
worked with Wes for 23 years, five of them here at Be. He's a
seasoned professional and will continue Wes' tradition of managing
Be's finances. With regard to Dr. Manoliu's appointment, I have
relied on Andrei's counsel for many years now and I am delighted he
has decided to join our Board and will continue to provide
invaluable advice and guidance to the company.''
Dr. Manoliu, a partner in law firm Cooley Godward's business and
securities department, has served as the company``s outside counsel
since 1991, and has been instrumental in Be's financing activities
from the original venture capital rounds through its recent IPO. Dr.
Manoliu brings to the Board and the company considerable expertise
in the formation and financing of emerging growth and public
electronics and software companies as well as in the structuring of
complex licensing deals, mergers and acquisitions, and other
commercial and strategic arrangements, within the United States and
internationally.
Dr. Manoliu received his degree in law from Stanford Law School
in 1982. At Stanford, he was elected to the Order of the Coif. Prior
to becoming a lawyer, he was awarded a Ph.D. in solid state physics
from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1979.
Previously, Dr. Manoliu attended the University of Bucharest,
Romania, majoring in physics. He is a member of the American Bar
Association and the American Physical Society.
Mr. Lombardo joined Be Incorporated in October 1995 as Corporate
Controller, and was later promoted to the position of Vice President
and Corporate Controller. He is the architect of Be's internal
system of accounting and financial reporting and has been
responsible for the audit, treasury and employee benefit functions.
Mr. Lombardo played a vital role in the completion and success of
Be's private placement funding in 1998 and the public offering in
1999.
Prior to joining Be, Mr. Lombardo was Corporate Treasurer of
Asante and Vitalink Corporations. He has also held Controller
positions with Bimillenium, Baron Data and Southern Pacific. He also
managed stock administration for Intel Corporation. Mr. Lombardo
earned his MBA in 1981 and his Bachelor of Science in Accounting in
1972.
With the departure of Saia, Lombardo now steps in to take over
the financial management of the company. ``After a great run with Be
and a long-time career in the management of financial matters for
private and public companies, I have decided to pursue a career
change and will be working part-time to provide financial consulting
advice to small pre-IPO companies, as well as to pursue personal
real-estate development opportunities,'' says Saia. ``I know I have
left the company in good hands with Al, we have worked together for
most of our careers, from the time we first teamed together at
Southern Pacific in 1972.''
In addition to Lombardo bringing his long-time experience with
the company and in the finance management field to guide the
financial matters of the company, both Saia and Dr. Manoliu will
continue to be available to personally advise Gassée and Lombardo
regarding high-level financial and other strategic matters for Be
Incorporated.
About Be Incorporated
Founded in 1990, Be Incorporated creates software platforms that
enable rich media and web experiences on Internet appliances and
personal computers. Be's headquarters are in Menlo Park, California,
with offices in Paris and Tokyo. It is publicly traded on the Nasdaq
National Market under the symbol BEOS. Be can be found on the web at
http://www.be.com/.
Be is a registered trademarks of Be Incorporated in the United
States and other countries. Other brand product names are registered
trademarks or trademarks of their respective holders. All rights
reserved.