Kleer Appoints New President and CEO
Wireless Audio Leader Names Steven Humphreys President and CEO
Cupertino, CA (PRWEB) April 10, 2009
Kleer™ today announced the appointment of Steven Humphreys as President, Chief Executive Officer, and member of the Board. Mr. Humphreys succeeds Levent Gun who will continue to serve for several months in a support role to ensure a smooth and orderly business transition. A seasoned high-tech executive and renowned business builder, Steve has proven expertise at leading, growing, and expanding businesses.
"I'm excited to join Kleer," said Steven Humphreys. "The company's unique wireless audio technology is market-proven and its potential for further growth and expansion in both existing and new markets is substantial. Kleer's partners and customers are world leaders in consumer electronics and I look forward to working closely with them to contribute to their ongoing and future success."
Arati Prabhakar, General Partner, USVP noted, "In selecting Steve as Kleer's President and CEO, we were impressed at his proven ability to successfully lead and transition companies to the next level. Kleer is gaining significant traction in the industry and we are seeing strong demand for its unique wireless audio technology. With Steve, the Board believes we have the right team in place necessary for both near and long-term business opportunities."
Prior to joining Kleer, Steve served as Chairman of HeadThere, Inc, a provider of mobile video telepresence robots for assisted living in overseas markets, Chairman of Robotic Innovations International, Inc. (RIII), a developer of technologies for broad-based applications of robotics, service automation and automated monitoring devices, and serves on public and private boards, including ActivIdentity (Nasdaq: ACTI) and SCM Microsystems (Nasdaq: SCMM). Previously, he was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ActivIdentity, a provider of digital identity management software, and continues to serve on ACTI's board. He served as CEO of SCM Microsystems, Inc, from July 1996 through April 2000, Chairman of the Board from 2000-2008, and continues to serve on SCM's Board. In addition, Steve was President of Caere Corporation, an optical character recognition software and systems company, and he also spent ten years at General Electric in a variety of positions. He has served as an advisor or director of MagnaWare, Seven Mountains Software AB, Interwoven, HealthQuick, Dolores Labs and other technology companies, as well as venture firms in the U. S., Asia and Europe. He is active locally, serving as an elected trustee of the Portola Valley school board and other education-related initiatives. He holds a BS degree from Yale University and MS and MBA degrees from Stanford University.
Kleer wireless audio technology -- the KLR3012 module chip -- is a PC Magazine's 25th Annual Technical Excellence Award winner, and Kleer-based products have also earned industry recognition including the CES 2009 Innovations award and European Imaging and Sound Association (EISA) 2008 award for the Sennheiser MX W1 true wireless earphones.
"The incredible wireless sound quality in the Sennheiser MX W1 earphones is delivered courtesy of Kleer, a chip designer that has done something remarkable with 2.4-GHz wireless audio transmission," said Jeremy Kaplan, Executive Editor at PC Magazine. "The MX W1 headphones use Kleer's KLR3012 module chip to eliminate any audio compression artifacts. No compression means no loss in quality; Bluetooth can't even come close. Going forward, the KLR3012's uncompressed audio could change the way audiophiles feel about wireless."
In 2009, Kleer will be announcing a broad range of wireless audio products adding to its already impressive customer portfolio.
About Kleer:
Kleer is a fabless semiconductor company that has developed the first wireless audio technology to combine high quality audio and robust ISM band coexistence with low power consumption to address portable, home and automotive audio markets. Unlike Bluetooth, Kleer's patented subsampling radio architecture was designed from the ground up to communicate lossless CD-quality digital stereo audio over a robust 2.4GHz radio link, while achieving 10 times the battery life of a comparable Bluetooth solution. Kleer's Audio LP technology is ideally suited for OEMs of portable audio players, iPod® and other player accessories, home audio/theater systems, earphones, headphones, and speakers. Kleer distributes its products via direct sales in North America, and a distribution channel in the UK, Europe, Korea, and Japan. The Company is headquartered in Cupertino, California with product development facilities in Ottawa, Ontario. For more information, contact the company at 19925 Stevens Creek Blvd. Suite 111, Cupertino, CA, 95014, Tel: 408-973-7255, Fax: 408-973-7256, Email: info (at) kleer. com, or visit the company web site at www. kleer. com
*Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh, iPod and iTunes are trademarks of Apple. All other trademarks, registered trademarks, products and/or services mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.
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