RHK Names New CEO

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO -- RHK Inc., today announced that its board of directors appointed Dr. John Soden as Chief Executive Officer on July 18th. Mr. Soden takes over as CEO after successfully building and spearheading RHK's consulting and merger & acquisition practices. Mr. Soden will provide new leadership for the company as it continues to expand its rapidly growing consulting business.

As a 30 year finance and business veteran, Soden has held a variety of leadership positions including senior partner at management consulting firm McKinsey & Co.; managing general partner of International Technology Ventures (a VC fund specializing in telecom); and CEO of several Silicon Valley high-tech startups. In his role as a venture capitalist, he helped place significant early-stage investments in such telecom startups as Stratacom (now part of Cisco Systems), Centex Telemanagement (MCI), Softswitch (IBM), Digital Transmission Systems, Digital Sound Corp, Retix, and Vtel.

“John has been a key member of RHK’s management team over the past six years and has been instrumental in the growth and direction of the company,” remarks Dr. John Ryan, Founder & Chief Analyst, RHK, Inc. “I am pleased to have John take on this role as he understands our market, clients, and company, and has the experience to help us build an even stronger position as trusted advisors among senior executives in the telecom industry.”

"I’m very excited to help direct RHK into this next phase,” remarks Soden. “We have a very experienced, loyal and well-connected team. We know our clients have been battered by a tough telecom market, and therefore we will be further reshaping RHK's services to assist our clients and help them focus on emerging opportunities.” Soden joined RHK in 1999, to help the company focus on M&A advisory opportunities. Under his direction, he helped facilitate the sale of Sensors Unlimited to Finisar; The Carlyle Fund’s investment in Indigo Systems; and the sale of Cierra Photonics to Bookham. Most recently, he led RHK’s consulting group – whose revenues doubled during 2002.

RHK Inc.