ALLENTOWN, Pa. -- Agere Systems (NYSE:AGR) today announced that Joseph O'Hare has been named Executive Vice President of Total Quality, effective immediately. The Total Quality organization drives product and business process quality assurance to improve manufacturing and business operations throughout the company.

O'Hare will be responsible for ensuring the quality of products and services for Agere's customers, and for implementing business initiatives that focus on improving R&D effectiveness and productivity. O'Hare will report directly to Richard Clemmer, Agere President and CEO.

"Agere's quality commitment extends beyond assuring that our products meet stringent customer requirements to encompass everything we do as a company," said Clemmer. "Joe's past experience in driving Agere product leadership gives him the unique insight required to improve our design and manufacturing quality as well as increase the return on each R&D dollar spent at Agere."

Previously, O'Hare led Agere's Storage division, which during his tenure grew to become the world's top supplier of hard disk drive electronics and the company's largest business segment. O'Hare joined the Microelectronics Group of Lucent Technologies (now Agere Systems) in December 1998 after a 20-year career with Texas Instruments. While at TI, he worked in the Storage Products group as a product manager for DSP and ASIC solutions for storage.

"Agere's products are used across a spectrum of markets that range from consumer handheld devices to network and communications infrastructure, requiring a robust quality process that addresses a variety of design and manufacturing controls," said O'Hare. "The Total Quality team will work closely with Agere's product groups to establish business practices that drive efficiencies across the company and provide customers with the best possible solutions and support."

Agere Systems Inc.