General Magic Names Steve Markman CEO Executive Transitions to Drive Company Success in the Internet
SUNNYVALE, Calif. — September 19, 1996 — General Magic, Inc. (Nasdaq: GMGC) today announced executive transitions, including the appointment of Steve Markman as president, chief executive officer and chairman of the Board of Directors. The changes are a next step in General Magic's growth, aimed toward delivering new products for the Internet marketplace. Marc Porat will step down as CEO and will assume a role of advisor to the company and will continue as a Board member. Moving forward, the functions of president, CEO and chairman will be combined into a single position, which Markman will assume immediately. Robert Kelsch, president, has resigned.
Markman brings to General Magic a broad range of telecommunications, networking and applications systems experience spanning 29 years, including general management and engineering disciplines, from both small and large companies. Most recently of Novell, Inc., he was executive vice president and general manager of the Novell Products Group, including all product lines. Markman has held executive management positions with Hewlett Packard, Network Equipment Technologies, AT&T Bell Labs, and First Pacific Networks.
"I concluded some time ago that General Magic needs a CEO with different skills than mine," said Marc Porat, founder and, as of today, advisor to the company. "With the Board's support, we recruited a first-rate executive, Steve Markman, to the leadership spot. Our phase as a visionary company now gives way to a competitive race in the Internet space. Steve has a clear mandate to move Magic's technologies into lucrative markets in his field of experience. This transition is healthy, appropriate and timely."
"We also thank Bob Kelsch for his extraordinary contribution over the past year," Porat continued. "During that time, General Magic transitioned its business and market strategy to the Internet, corporate intranets and the World Wide Web." Over the past four months, General Magic announced a new business strategy and several new products to address the Internet. The company transitioned the Magic Cap operating environment for mobile communicators and the Telescript agent-based communications language configured for large public networks to open Internet standards.
"During the past six years, under Marc Porat's leadership, the company launched a compelling vision, delivered enabling technology for the electronic marketplace, and created a powerful alliance of partners such as Sony, Motorola, Mitsubishi, NTT and Fujitsu," said Roel Pieper, president and chief executive of Tandem Computers and General Magic Board member. "Bob Kelsch helped the company realign its strategy toward the fastest growing segment in the computer industry, the Internet. Now, we have consolidated the company leadership functions into a single position to drive the company toward future success. We are very pleased that Steve Markman, with his background and experience, has joined the company to assume that role."
Internet-Focused Products
Within the past year, General Magic has delivered on its promise to move its products quickly into the Internet arena with the announcements of the first graphical Web browser and multimedia e-mail client for handheld communicators, called Presto!Links and Presto!Mail. The company also delivered Tabriz AgentWare and Agent Tools, agent-based server software and development tools.
General Magic worked to help customers transition from AT&T's proprietary PersonaLink network to open Internet service providers such as Netcom and America Online, using the Presto!Links and Presto!Mail products. The company's stated plans with Magic Cap are to further encourage the development of mobile Web browsing solutions by supporting third party software developers to create applications for vertical markets such as medical, financial services and mobile corporate professionals.
Tabriz enables web sites and corporate networks to host and deploy agent-based applications. It is based on the Telescript programming language, which has been in commercial deployment worldwide over the past couple of years, in large public networks from AT&T and Fujitsu, and in large-scale trials by NTT, and soon by France Telecom. The company's strategy with Tabriz is to encourage the development of agent-based applications and services for the Web and corporate intranet environments. Agent technology and companies which are delivering agent-based services are among the innovators for the Internet and promise to revolutionize the way information, services and products are delivered.
The company also delivered SoftModem, which is software that provides the full suite of data and fax modem functions on general-purpose microprocessors independent of operating system or processor. SoftModem gives consumer electronics and computer manufacturers the ability to dramatically reduce the cost and complexity of products compared to existing hardware solutions.
The company also announced the appointment of David Duckworth to vice president and general manager of General Magic's Worldwide Field Organization. Duckworth comes to General Magic with more than 17 years experience in computer industry sales, marketing and channel development. Most recently, he was with Object/FX Corporation in Minneapolis as vice president of sales and marketing. He also has held sales and marketing posts with Sybase, Hewlett Packard and IBM. At General Magic, Duckworth will build a field and sales organization to expand the company's presence in new markets and to continue support of existing partners.
In accordance with U.S. securities law, General Magic notes that this press release contains forward-looking statements. There are risks that may cause actual results to vary materially. These risks include, but are not limited to, reliance on key technical and management personnel, potential schedule changes, competitive pressures and emerging Internet standards. Additional risk factors are detailed in General Magic's 1995 10-K and its first quarter 1996 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
General Magic, Inc., was founded in 1990 and provides engaging, active Internet software for business professionals, developers, device manufacturers, service providers and enterprises. General Magic is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, with offices in Columbia, South Carolina, Paris and Tokyo. For more information on the company and its products, visit General Magic's Web site at http://www.genmagic.com/.
NOTE: Magic Cap and Telescript are registered trademarks of General Magic, Inc. General Magic is a registered trademark of General Magic, Inc. General Magic acknowledges the rights of the trademark owners for all trademarks referred to herein.
SOURCE: General Magic Inc.
CONTACT:
Marty Coleman, 408-774-4420, [email protected], or Susan Nicolls, 408-774-6901, or [email protected], both of General Magic