--Egenera to Increase the Processing Power of Internet Applications for Service Providers and Large Enterprises--
Marlboro, Mass.—January 3, 2001— Former Goldman Sachs Chief Technology Officer Vern Brownell and Boston-based high-tech entrepreneur Ken Zolot today officially announced the establishment of Egenera, Inc. (www.egenera.com), an Internet-infrastructure company. Brownell and Zolot assume the respective positions of chief executive officer and chief operating officer at Egenera, which they founded in March 2000. Egenera is developing an integrated hardware, software, networking and services solution to simplify the provisioning and management of Internet data center processing capacity for service providers and large enterprises.
In October 2000, Egenera secured $20 million in venture capital from blue-chip investors including Kodiak Venture Partners, Spectrum Equity Investors, Goldman Sachs, CSFB Private Equity and YankeeTek Ventures. (See www.egenera.com for the venture funding release.)
We believe that several attributes differentiate Egenera as a startup,” said Lou Volpe, general partner at Kodiak Venture Partners (www.kodiakvp.com) and former president of ArrowPoint Communications. “First and foremost, by developing technology that solves real customer problems and capitalizes on clear market opportunities, Vern and Ken are laying the foundation for a successful business. Moreover, the experienced senior management team and strong engineering talent the Company has attracted, coupled with the caliber of its backers, advisors and board members, make Egenera uniquely qualified to reinvent data center computing.”
Although the Web has transformed the way companies disseminate information and transact business, today’s Internet data center applications must run on server architectures originally designed for other purposes.
“The computing technology of the eighties and nineties was developed for client/server and LAN applications – nothing as complex or far-reaching as today’s Internet infrastructures,” said Brownell. “While customers are well aware of the drawbacks to existing servers in the data-center environment, incumbent vendors are unable to address these deficiencies without abandoning their legacy architectures. Consequently, a radically new approach to how computers are designed and deployed is needed to deliver machines optimized for modern data-center requirements. Having spent many years on the customer side, I know that the system Egenera is building will address major data center pain points and offer service providers and enterprises a solution that is long overdue.”
“Turning an idea for new technology into a working product and a successful company means assembling the best team possible,” added Zolot. “For Egenera, that made locating in Massachusetts – with its strong heritage of innovative hardware and software development – a clear benefit. The members of our senior engineering staff have been key participants in the region’s high-tech economy, contributing their skills to a number of innovations. This gives Egenera a significant advantage as we work with customers to design the next generation of Internet computing. Our ability to recruit the area’s top talent, combined with the positive response we’ve received from the venture-capital community, demonstrates that Egenera is in the right business, with the right product, at the right time.”
As chief technology officer at Goldman Sachs – with responsibility for the firm’s worldwide technology infrastructure, including data centers, data networking, telecommunications and trading-floor operations – Vern Brownell built one of the world’s most extensive Internet computing environments and managed a staff of more than 1,300 professionals. During his 11 years at the Wall Street leader, Brownell developed a thorough understanding of the security, reliability and scalability issues surrounding Web-based computing – and experienced the frustration of trying to adapt dated hardware architectures to Internet applications.
Prior to Goldman Sachs, Brownell served as manager of engineering at Stratus Computer, where he played an early role in enhancing Stratus products with then-revolutionary protocols such as TCP/IP and local area networking. Brownell was also manager of engineering for Ztel Corporation, maker of the industry’s first integrated voice/data private branch exchange (PBX). He began his career as a principal engineer at Digital Equipment Corporation, where he developed routers and large-scale computers that became the forerunners of today’s Internet. Brownell holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Anna Maria College and a Bachelor of Engineering degree in electrical engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology. In his role as CEO, Brownell will use his extensive experience to lead the Egenera team in delivering products and services that exceed the expectations of both service-provider and enterprise customers.
Ken Zolot has a proven ability to recognize where technology developments and market forces intersect to create business opportunity. Over the past 20 years, he has leveraged this insight to successfully launch numerous high-tech enterprises. In 1999, Zolot co-founded YankeeTek Ventures, an incubator that helps startups transform their ideas into functional Internet-infrastructure companies. Zolot also served as an independent consultant to Goldman Sachs, collaborating with Brownell on a number of IT strategy issues. In addition, he co-founded Geer Zolot Associates, a provider of network security software and services that was ultimately acquired by Veritas. Prior to this, Zolot served as technical supervisor for MIT’s Project Athena, leading a team that pioneered the use of shared services by network computers. He also founded and sold Spectra Communications, a developer of satellite telecommunications uplink equipment.
Zolot earned a Master of Science degree from MIT in management of technology and holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Syracuse University in computer science. He is currently a part-time faculty member at the MIT Sloan School of Management, specializing in entrepreneurship and new-venture creation. As Egenera’s chief operating officer, Zolot’s entrepreneurial background adds significant value in the areas of finance, sales, marketing and business development.
Press Contacts
Nancy Herzog
Egenera, Inc.
508-786-9444
nherzog@egenera.com
Karen McGuirk
Sterling Hager, Inc.
617-926-6665
karen@sterlinghager.com
Egenera is pioneering a next-generation approach to Internet data center computing by integrating hardware, software, networking and services into simple, yet powerful machines. The Company seeks to help service providers and large enterprises reduce application time-to-market, keep applications online, improve data center management, and lower total cost of ownership. Founded in March 2000 and privately held, Egenera will couple its breakthrough technology with an innovative service model customized for the data center environment. For more information, visit www.egenera.com, send email to info@egenera.com or call 508-786-9444.
