CAMARILLO, Calif. -- Vitesse Semiconductor Corporation (NASDAQ:VTSS - News; "Vitesse" or the "Company") announced today that Mr. Pierre Lamond, 72, has retired from the Company's Board of Directors after having served as Chairman of the Board since the founding of the Company in 1987. "Pierre's contributions to Vitesse simply cannot be overstated," said Vitesse President and Chief Executive Officer, Lou Tomasetta. "He has been one of Vitesse's greatest supporters from the Company's inception and has stood by the Company through the best and worst of times. While we will greatly miss his presence on the Board, we are pleased that Pierre will continue to advise the Board of Directors and the Company as Chairman Emeritus."

"I have been intending for some time to reduce my involvement on public company boards of directors to allow me to continue to focus on my portfolio companies at Sequoia Capital. I am pleased to continue to advise the Company as Chairman Emeritus," Mr. Lamond said.

The Company concurrently announced that Mr. John C. (Jack) Lewis was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors succeeding Mr. Lamond. Mr. Lewis has been a member of the Board since 1990 and has served as a member of the Audit Committee. From August 1977 to March 2001, Mr. Lewis served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Amdahl Corporation, a supplier of large, general purpose computers, storage systems, software products and consulting services. Before joining Amdahl in 1977, he was President of Xerox Business Systems. Mr. Lewis also serves as a director of Cypress Semiconductor Corporation and Pinnacle Systems.

Vitesse Semiconductor Corp.