Action Engine Appoints New Chief Financial Officer; New Executive Brings Extensive Experience with Growing Technology Companies.

Business Editors & Technology Writers

REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 2, 2001

Action Engine has named Wayne Burns as chief financial officer of the Redmond-based wireless software company.

Burns will take over management and direction of the company's financial operations from Marty Severson, a company co-founder and former chief financial officer.

Burns brings more than 15 years of software and high-tech industry experience, having worked with numerous public and private companies. He was instrumental in the growth and management of four venture-backed software companies prior to selling them to public companies, and served as CFO of a publicly owned, high tech hardware company. Prior to joining Action Engine, Burns was co-founder and chief executive officer of SafariDog, a Seattle e-commerce company that he managed from conception to delivery, raising capital funding and deploying the product within 12 months of founding the company.

Burns brings vital international experience to Action Engine, having worked overseas for five years with Price Waterhouse SAS in Rome and for The Multinational Force and Observers, an independent peacekeeping mission, headquartered in Italy and with operations in the Sinai desert. Burns' foreign tenure led him to orchestrate a wide range of partnerships and business deals with many companies throughout Europe.

"Wayne brings essential expertise in capital financing. He has also clearly demonstrated his ability to negotiate and structure strategic licensing agreements that position companies for success. Both talents will be critical to the growth of Action Engine in the next two years as we roll out the Action Engine mobile solution domestically and internationally," said Craig Eisler, chief executive officer of Action Engine.

"The opportunity to join Action Engine is an excellent fit with my experience bringing technology companies to market," Burns said. "Action Engine has generated significant interest in the carrier and OEM space in a very short time; I look forward to working with such a talented team, and taking this to the next level. I see Action Engine gaining significant traction in the wireless sector over the next twelve months."

Action Engine unveiled the public version of its Mobile Service Framework(TM) in February 2001. Since then, the company has licensed a customized version of the framework to Casio, Inc., one of the largest worldwide manufacturers of personal digital assistant devices. Casio will launch Action Engine's framework under the myCasio Personal Agent brand on CASSIOPEIA devices this winter. Action Engine also recently partnered with Saltmine, a Seattle-based technology company, to develop and deploy applications to enterprise customers, based on the Action Engine Mobile Services Framework. In addition to distribution in the United States, Action Engine is currently negotiating agreements under which the framework will be distributed and operating over wireless networks and devices in Europe and Asia.

About Action Engine

Action Engine's Mobile Services Framework(TM) is licensed to wireless carriers, mobile device manufacturers and enterprises as a platform for development and delivery of wireless data applications, content and services. The framework is comprised of a client / server software system that leverages a simple user interface, integrates with native data on each device, and optimizes network efficiency to create a positive, productive, and efficient wireless computing experience for users. Action Engine is based in Redmond, Wash.