Veraz Hires Haque as Chairman

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Veraz Networks, a leading global provider of carrier-grade next-generation telephony solutions, announced today that Promod Haque, managing partner at Norwest Venture Partners, has been appointed as chairman of the board. Haque served as a director on the board of NexVerse Networks and was instrumental in its merger with ECI Telecom's Next Generation Telephony Solutions subsidiary to form Veraz Networks. "As the new chairman, my fellow directors and I will strive to accelerate Veraz's fast, out-of-the-gate growth in the international packet telephony market," said Promod Haque, chairman of Veraz. "Veraz has already exhibited a rapid pace of success in its first 90 days, as evidenced by new customer wins and product deployments, and the successful integration of the two companies. I look forward to participating in Veraz's ongoing growth and momentum in the coming months." Haque brings nearly two decades of industry expertise to his expanded leadership role at Veraz. For the past 13 years, Haque has led Norwest Venture Partners in forming or investing in more than 30 companies in the communications technologies and enterprise software markets. Promod was an early investor and a board member of Cerent Corporation (acquired by Cisco), Siara Systems (acquired by Redback Networks) and OnDisplay (acquired by Vignette). He also seeded Extreme Networks in 1996. Prior to Norwest Venture Partners, Haque spent 18 years in various operational roles ranging from product development, marketing, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Executive Officer at various public and private companies, including Siemens International, Thorn EMI, Emergent Technologies and Dimensional Medicine, Inc. Haque earned his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Northwestern University and his MBA from Northwestern's Kellogg Graduate School of Management, where he serves on the advisory board. Veraz Networks