Sonus Changes Sales Chief

WESTFORD, Mass. -- Sonus Networks, Inc. (Nasdaq: SONS - News), a leading supplier of service provider Voice over IP (VoIP) infrastructure solutions, today announced the appointment of Mohammed Shanableh as interim vice president, worldwide sales, for Sonus Networks effective immediately, replacing Jim Collier. Shanableh was previously the Company's vice president, worldwide sales engineering.

Shanableh will report directly to Chairman, President and CEO Hassan Ahmed, and is tasked with expanding Sonus' presence with global tier one operators. Shanableh brings to this role a wealth of execution experience and possesses a strong complement of operational and leadership skills. Most recently, he served as Sonus' vice president of worldwide sales engineering, where he led the Company's business initiatives with incumbent operators globally. Responsible for Sonus' global sales engineering organizations and all customer-facing engineering functions, Shanableh has aggressively driven the Company's broadened geographic sales initiatives. He joined Sonus in 2004 from Telica, now Alcatel-Lucent, where he was responsible for Customer Carrier Strategy, and prior to Telica, Shanableh was the co-founder of Valiant Networks.

"We are all extremely pleased to have Mohammed take on this role," said Hassan Ahmed, Chairman, President and CEO, Sonus Networks. "With nearly 15 years of insight and expertise in the telecommunication industry, Mohammed has the experience and energy that is ideal for this role. In the past 3 years, he has driven close partnerships with virtually all of our customers and has built strong presence within the largest operators in the world. Adding someone of Mohammed's caliber to the worldwide sales leadership role will enhance our focus and execution on a global scale."

"Sonus is a recognized leader in the industry, with a proven portfolio of products, outstanding people and an enviable market position," added Shanableh. "It is exciting to be part of the organization that is redefining communications. There is incredible opportunity in the IP-Voice market and I am eager to begin driving our solutions further into customer networks."

"As we continue to advance Sonus' position in the industry, we are committed to building the best possible team and making the changes to the executive management team are in the best interests of the Company and all of its stakeholders, including our investors, customers and employees," added Ahmed. "We have a tremendous opportunity and our customers have a great deal of urgency to move their networks forward. As an executive team, we are all completely committed to driving the development and deployment of one of the most powerful portfolios in the industry."

Sonus Networks Inc. (Nasdaq: SONS)