Conexant Announces Two Senior Executive Appointments; Chief Operating Officer Lewis Brewster Adds GM Role for Broadband Media Processing; Sailesh Chittipeddi to Join as SVP of Global Operations.

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. -- Conexant Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNXT), a worldwide leader in semiconductor solutions for broadband communications and the digital home, today announced that Lewis Brewster, executive vice president and chief operating officer, has assumed the additional role of general manager of the company's Broadband Media Processing business. Broadband Media Processing provides solutions for set-top boxes, digital televisions, and video processing applications in the PC and other consumer electronics devices. Brewster is replacing Jeff Crosby, who has announced his intention to leave the company. In addition to this new assignment, Brewster retains his current responsibilities for Operations, Quality, and Information Technology and he will continue to report to Dwight W. Decker, Conexant chairman and chief executive officer. Christian Scherp, Conexant's senior vice president of Worldwide Sales who previously reported to Brewster, will now also report directly to Decker.

"Lewis brings a wealth of applicable experience to his new general-management assignment," Decker said. "He is a proven Conexant veteran who has successfully managed global organizations and consistently delivered outstanding results. He is also intimately familiar with the requirements of our Broadband Media Processing customer base, having led our Worldwide Sales organization for many years. Our Broadband Media Processing business remains our highest-growth opportunity, and I am confident that Lewis will lead this business to even higher levels of performance.

"I'd like to thank Jeff Crosby for his many contributions over the past three and a half years, and wish him the best as he moves on to his next assignment outside of Conexant," Decker said.

"I am excited about the prospect of managing one of Conexant's most important businesses, and look forward to meeting the challenges associated with my expanded role," Brewster said. "Our Broadband Media Processing team is deep, talented and experienced. I am certain that we will continue to deliver set-top box and PC TV solutions that incorporate industry-leading levels of integration and innovative feature sets."

Conexant also announced that Sailesh Chittipeddi will be joining the company as senior vice president of Global Operations, reporting to Brewster. Prior to joining Conexant, Chittipeddi held various senior operations leadership positions with Agere Systems, Lucent Technologies, and AT&T Microelectronics. In his new role, Chittipeddi will be responsible for global supply planning and execution, supplier relationship management, and operations tool sets, systems, and processes.

"Sailesh is an outstanding addition to our company," Brewster said. "He is well-versed in all aspects of semiconductor manufacturing, and he is a highly motivated individual who has established a track record of success throughout the course of his career. His extensive experience and proven leadership skills will be an important asset for our company and our customers."

"I am enthusiastic about joining the Conexant team, and optimistic about the company's long-term prospects," Chittipeddi said. "I look forward to leveraging my skills and working closely with my new colleagues and our suppliers to capture the significant growth opportunities of broadband communications and media processing in the digital home."

Executive Biographies

Lewis Brewster, 41, was appointed executive vice president and chief operating officer of Conexant in November 2004, the same position he held prior to the merger of Conexant and GlobespanVirata. Before that, he served as executive vice president of Worldwide Sales, Operations, and Quality. He joined Rockwell Semiconductor Systems in 1991, which became Conexant when it was spun-off from Rockwell International in 1999. Brewster held various executive positions within Rockwell Semiconductor Systems, including executive director of Americas Sales, and director of Strategic Sales and Operations. He received a master's degree in business administration from Stanford University and a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and biomedical engineering from Duke University.

Sailesh Chittipeddi, 43, worked in several senior operations-related positions with Agere Systems, Lucent Technologies, and AT&T Microelectronics. He also served as Lucent's representative to SEMATECH, and was a member of the Technical Staff with AT&T Bell Laboratories. He holds a master's degree in business administration from the University of Texas at Austin, a master's degree and a doctorate in physics from Ohio State University, and a master's degree in physics from Northern Illinois University. Sailesh currently holds 59 U.S. patents in the areas of semiconductor process, package and design, and he also has more than 30 technical publications.

About Conexant

Conexant's innovative semiconductor solutions are driving broadband communications and digital home networks worldwide. The company has leveraged its expertise and leadership position in modem technologies to enable more Internet connections than all of its competitors combined, and continues to develop highly integrated silicon solutions for broadband data and media processing networks.

Key products include client-side xDSL and cable modem solutions, home network processors, broadcast video encoders and decoders, digital set-top box components and systems solutions, and dial-up modems. Conexant's suite of networking components includes a leadership portfolio of IEEE 802.11-compliant WLAN chipsets, software and reference designs, as well as solutions for applications based on HomePlug(R) and HomePNA(TM). The company also offers a complete line of asymmetric and symmetric DSL central office solutions, which are used by service providers worldwide to deliver broadband data, voice, and video over copper telephone lines.

Conexant is a fabless semiconductor company with an annual revenue run-rate in excess of $900 million. The company has approximately 2,500 employees worldwide, and is headquartered in Newport Beach, Calif. To learn more, please visit www.conexant.com.

Safe Harbor 

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This release includes forward-looking statements intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by phrases such as Conexant or its management "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "foresees," "forecasts," "estimates" or other words or phrases of similar import. Similarly, statements in this release that describe our business strategy, outlook, objectives, plans, intentions or goals also are forward-looking statements. All such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements.

These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the uncertainties of litigation, including claims of infringement of third-party intellectual property rights or demands that we license third-party technology and the demands it may place on the time and attention of our management and the expense it may place on the company; the risk that capital needed for our business and to repay our convertible notes will not be available when needed; the risk that the value of our common stock may be adversely affected by market volatility; general economic and political conditions and conditions in the markets we address; the substantial losses we have incurred; the cyclical nature of the semiconductor industry and the markets addressed by our products and our customers' products; continuing volatility in the technology sector and the semiconductor industry; demand for and market acceptance of our new and existing products; our successful development of new products; the timing of our new product introductions and our product quality; our ability to anticipate trends and develop products for which there will be market demand; the availability of manufacturing capacity; pricing pressures and other competitive factors; changes in our product mix; product obsolescence; the ability of our customers to manage inventory; our ability to develop and implement new technologies and to obtain protection for the related intellectual property; and possible disruptions in commerce related to terrorist activity or armed conflict, as well as other risks and uncertainties, including those detailed from time to time in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

The forward-looking statements are made only as of the date hereof. We undertake no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Conexant is a registered trademark of Conexant Systems, Inc. Other brands and names contained in this release are the property of their respective owners.

NOTE TO EDITORS: Photos available upon request.