Captus Networks Names Richard G. Helgeson President and CEO.

Business Editors, High-Tech Writers

WOODLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESSS WIRE)--Feb. 12, 2001

Captus Networks today announced the appointment of Richard G. Helgeson as president and CEO.

Helgeson brings Captus more than 25 years of business development, sales and management experience in the network security and technology fields. Captus is a supplier of advanced hardware and software products that protect Internet-based networks from hacker-launched Denial-of-Service attacks that attempt to overwhelm Web servers by flooding them with requests for information.

"In our industry, Rich Helgeson has a strong track record of executing successfully -- not only has he built fast-growth sales organizations, but he also keenly understands the requirements that our target audience of net-centric service providers and e-businesses have for network security," said Matt Silveira, Captus co-founder and vice president of customer service and support. "Rich has been a prime mover in management and sales for some of the most innovative and fast-growing companies in our industry, and he represents the kind of experienced management talent we need to grow and become a leader in the network security arena."

"Simply put, Rich Helgeson `gets' the business that Captus is in -- providing a foundation of advanced network security for the e-business economy," said David Mock, director of Captus and principal of GMS Capital Partners. "Rich knows what Captus needs to do to continue giving networking professionals the security devices they need to keep their companies out of the headlines that often follow malicious hacker attacks on business networks."

"I am very excited about this opportunity," said Helgeson. "To be with a startup that is the world leader in Denial of Service protection technology presents an amazing opportunity for significant growth in this market segment. And now, at this one year anniversary of the Denial of Service attacks against eBay and Yahoo, Captus is positioned to provide a complete solution to mitigate this threat."

Before joining Captus, Helgeson served as vice president of business development at Top Layer Networks, Inc., where he developed the OEM business, channel business, and technology licensing from inception to $12 million in less than eight months. At Top Layer, he was also instrumental in building a corporate strategy to take the company forward from a product-based company to a market-driven organization.

Prior to Top Layer, Helgeson was vice president of worldwide sales for Vixel Corp., where he expanded the customer base to grow revenues from $12 million to $45 million in two years, built a network of regional sales offices, and expanded the company's customer service and sales organization from five to 32 professionals. Helgeson began his career with IBM's Data Processing Division in 1975. He has also held positions at StorageTek, Zycad Corp., Vitalink Communications, Wellfleet/Bay Networks, and CNT Corp. Helgeson was graduated from the University of Montana.

Captus Networks

Founded in 1999, Captus Networks Corp. is an innovative, privately held company that designs, manufactures and markets integrated security hardware devices. Captus Networks closed its first round of financing in May 2000, raising $3.5 million in venture capital from GMS Capital Partners, LP. Captus Networks currently has more than 10 pending patents and trademarks. Captus Networks' vision is to be the preeminent supplier of high performance, integrated network security devices and services for the e-business marketplace. The company's executive offices are located in Woodland, Calif., near Sacramento. Captus Networks can be contacted on the World Wide Web at www.captusnetworks.com or by calling 877/9-CAPTUS.