Former Sun Microsystems/StorageTek Executive Brings More Than 20 Years of Manufacturing Management Experience to McDATA
BROOMFIELD, Colo.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Jan. 16, 2006— McDATA Corporation (Nasdaq: MCDTA) (Nasdaq:MCDT), a leading provider of storage networking solutions, today announced the appointment of Thomas E. Despres as Vice President of Manufacturing. Despres joins McDATA from Sun Microsystems/StorageTek, where he was general manager of StorageTek's manufacturing facilities in Puerto Rico. In that position, Despres was responsible for the majority of StorageTek's worldwide manufacturing. He also oversaw field reliability of storage products and local services. He was named 2005's "Manufacturing Executive of the Year" by the Puerto Rico Manufacturing Association and earned Industry Week's 2005 "Top 10 Best Plants" for the StorageTek site in Puerto Rico. Despres has also been recognized for creating positive, teamwork-focused cultures and increasing employee satisfaction throughout his career."Tom brings proven expertise in managing manufacturing operations to the McDATA team," said John Kelley, McDATA chairman, president, and CEO. "Under Tom's leadership, efforts are well underway to streamline manufacturing processes, further improve product quality and strengthen relationships with our contract manufacturers."
Prior to joining StorageTek, Despres was managing director of ASTEC APS/Emerson Energy Systems' manufacturing operations in Mexico where he developed and deployed supply hub processes that improved on time delivery and reduced overall costs.
"I am excited to join McDATA at such a pivotal time in its evolution," Despres said. "We'll make strides in striking a balance between driving results and building a positive work environment to help make those results last."
Despres assumed the role of vice president of manufacturing for McDATA in early January 2006. The board of directors has approved a grant of 100,000 Class B stock options issuable under the Company's 2004 Inducement Equity Plan and 40,000 Class B restricted stock units issuable under the Company's 2001 Equity Incentive Plan. The options issuable under the 2004 Inducement Equity Plan vest 25 percent each year for four years.
About McDATA ( www.mcdata.com)
McDATA (Nasdaq: MCDTA) (Nasdaq:MCDT) is the leading provider of storage networking solutions, helping customers build, globally connect, optimize and centrally manage data infrastructures across SAN, MAN and WAN environments. With nearly 25 years experience developing SAN products, services and solutions, McDATA is the trusted partner in the world's largest data centers, connecting more than two-thirds of all networked data.
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