SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- NETGEAR Inc., a worldwide provider of easy-to-use, high performance networking products, today announced that Mark Merrill has become NETGEAR's Chief Technology Officer. A co-founder of the company and NETGEAR's previous Vice President of Engineering, Merrill leads the company's overall technology strategy and will focus his full attention on NETGEAR's long-term vision for home and small business networking. "In the six short years since Mark and I founded the company together, NETGEAR has become a leader in home and small business networking with the launch of many award-winning products," said Patrick Lo, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors of NETGEAR. "I am excited to work together with Mark to build an even better future for the company and our customers." Merrill co-founded NETGEAR with Lo in 1996 as a leader in home and business networking technology and solutions. Since then, the company has launched many high speed wired and wireless networking products. NETGEAR is a leader in home and small business networking through retail and resellers worldwide. "I am excited to now have the opportunity to focus my full attention on NETGEAR's long-term vision for home and small business networking," said Merrill, CTO of NETGEAR. "In the short time since the company's founding, Patrick and I have led NETGEAR through a period of rapid innovation -- our vision for the future looks even more exciting." Netgear Inc.