Bruce Sachs Joins Charles River Ventures as General Partner.

WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 5, 1999--

Charles River Ventures today announced that Bruce Sachs, formerly a senior executive at Lucent Technologies, has joined the firm as a General Partner. Mr. Sachs is a high technology executive renowned for his abilities in formulating business strategy, building organizations, and navigating companies to successful outcomes. Mr. Sachs expects to apply his skills and experience to the types of fast-moving companies that have become trademark investments of Charles River Ventures companies like Aptis Communications, Inc., Cascade Communications, CIENA Corporation, Omnia Communications, Vignette Corporation, Be Free, Inc., and Flycast Communications Corp., among others. Mr. Sachs has served in a number of important executive positions over the past 20 years.

As the Chief Executive Officer of Xylogics, Mr. Sachs led the company through a dramatic reformulation of strategy, re-positioning it from a disk controller and terminal server supplier to a leader in market-defining remote access solutions. During this period, Xylogics' market value grew from $40 million to over $440 million, realized with Bay Networks' acquisition of the company in December 1995.

Bruce Bergman, Sachs' predecessor as CEO and a board member at Xylogics, said "Bruce Sachs played an important role in each phase of Xylogics' growth. His rise from Director of Engineering to President and CEO are a testament to Bruce's scope of expertise, leadership and commitment."

Going on to serve as an Executive Vice President of Bay Networks (now a unit of Nortel Networks), Mr. Sachs led that company's effort to put additional focus on serving telecommunications carriers by heading up the then newly-formed Internet and Telecommunications Business Unit. It was there that Mr. Sachs polished his skills as a top-level strategist and deal-maker, completing four acquisitions his first year and enhancing Bay Networks position in key emerging telecommunications markets.

Paul Severino, former Chairman of Bay Networks and co-founder of Wellfleet Communications said, "Bruce has been a significant contributor to the successes of several market leaders today. His visionary leadership and operational expertise will be assets to Charles River Ventures and its portfolio companies."

After leaving Bay Networks in 1997, Mr. Sachs joined Stratus Computer as President and CEO. At Stratus, Mr. Sachs led the repositioning of the company into key telecommunications computing markets, building software and services onto Stratus' traditional computing foundation.

"Bruce's ability to rapidly re-set Stratus' corporate strategy, re-focus operations and deliver results were remarkable," said Bill Foster, former Chairman, CEO and co-founder of Stratus Computer. "By recognizing and taking advantage of key market dynamics, Bruce was able to re-position Stratus as a strategic provider of key telecommunications building blocks that an industry leader, like Ascend, needed to own."

The Stratus Computer turnaround led to its $822 million acquisition by Ascend Communications in October 1998, a $2.1 billion value for Stratus shareholders today. Mr. Sachs was then tapped as Executive Vice President and General Manager of Ascend's Carrier Signaling and Management Group.

Mory Ejabat, former CEO of Ascend, said "Bruce quickly became an important member of Ascend Communications' management team. His leadership abilities allowed us to quickly integrate the Stratus telecom business, while his deal-making capabilities enabled Ascend to quickly divest itself of non-telecom businesses. Although his tenure was short, Bruce also played a key role leading up to Ascend's acquisition by Lucent."

"I have contemplated becoming a venture capitalist for several years because I enjoy working with the brightest people at the cutting edge of new markets and technology," said Mr. Sachs. "I elected to join Charles River Ventures due to the firm's top-tier reputation, outstanding track record, and our shared approach to business strategy and values.

"In my 20 years in operational roles, I have been most excited about building teams, creating strategies and helping companies drive growth. I look forward to working with Charles River Ventures' entrepreneurs to build tomorrow's leading-edge technology companies."

"Bruce brings to CRV a track record of success as a CEO in setting strategy and building companies in the fast-moving, highly-competitive market segments that we focus on," said Michael Zak, General Partner, Charles River Ventures. "His operational experience, strategic relationships, and successful merger and acquisition track record will provide enormous opportunities for Charles River Ventures and its portfolio companies."

Mr. Sachs currently serves as Secretary for the Massachusetts Telecom Council and is a member of the Board and Executive Committee. He also occupies a board seat on the Massachusetts High Technology Council. In addition, Mr. Sachs is currently a board member at several public and privately-held companies, including Media100 (Nasdaq:MDEA), Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:VRTX), ArrowPoint Communications, C-port Corporation, and PingTel Corporation. He continues to assist Lucent Technologies on a part-time basis with the integration of the Ascend merger.

About Charles River Ventures

Founded in 1970 and based in Boston, MA, Charles River Ventures is one of the nation's leading early-stage venture capital firms. Focusing on high-potential start-up companies in the communications, software, and e-commerce and information services industries, Charles River Ventures has organized nine funds totaling $565 million, funding more than 235 companies. For more information please visit Charles River Ventures' website at www.crv.com.