Ex-Santera Chair Joins Tekelec Board

CALABASAS, Calif. -- Tekelec (Nasdaq:TKLC) today announced that Marty Kaplan has joined its Board of Directors.

Mr. Kaplan formerly served as the Chairman of the Board of Santera Systems, prior to the closing of its transaction with Tekelec. He previously served as Executive Vice President of SBC, where he was responsible for the integration of SBC Communications with Pacific Bell, Southern New England Telephone and Ameritech. He also acted in a broad range of strategic executive roles at Pacific Bell, including President of the Network Services Group and Chief Technology, Quality, and Re-Engineering Officer. During his career, Mr. Kaplan has been a member of numerous Boards of Directors, including Bellcore/Telcordia for ten years, and currently serves as Chairman of the Board of JDS Uniphase. Mr. Kaplan earned a B.S. in engineering from the California Institute of Technology.

Frederick M. Lax, President and CEO of Tekelec, commented, "We are delighted to have a telecom industry veteran and person with such a distinguished track record as Marty Kaplan joining our Board. Marty will help guide Tekelec's efforts as we work to become a leading next-generation switching provider. His industry knowledge and perspective will be enormously beneficial to the company."

Tekelec Inc.