ALLENTOWN, Pa. -- Agere Systems (NYSE: AGR.A, AGR.B), the world leader in communications components, this month named Robert M. Liszt vice president of sales for North America. Liszt joins Agere from NEC, where he was vice president of the components division of NEC Electronics. Prior to his tenure at NEC, he held positions with Hitachi America, National Semiconductor and Hughes Electronics. Liszt replaces George Holmes, who left Agere to pursue other opportunities. "We are extremely fortunate to have Rob join the Agere team at the start of our life as an independent company," said Ahmed Nawaz, executive vice president of worldwide sales for Agere. "His broad experience in the electronics industry gives us the proven leadership of an executive who understands our customers' needs and can help deliver the integrated systems solutions Agere provides." Liszt is based at Agere's regional headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif. and begins his work immediately. Agere Systems