Levensohn Capital Management Expands Its Technology Advisory Board; CEO of Appareon and Former Intel Executive To Advise on Investments.

Business Editors

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 4, 2001

Levensohn Capital Management (LCM), an investment advisor firm specializing in direct investments in both private venture and public value technology companies, announced today the expansion of its Technology Advisory Board with the addition of two seasoned executives, Mr. Asim Abdullah, CEO of Appareon, and Ms. Karen Alter, former Vice President with Intel.

LCM's Technology Advisory Board assists the Levensohn Capital professional team with a case by case assessment of specific technologies related to investments in information technology, healthcare informatics, medical devices and software, semiconductors, telecommunications and other technology fields.

Mr. Abdullah and Ms. Alter join three long-standing board members: Dr. Guy Tribble, VP of Engineering for Eazel, Inc., a creator of next generation user interface software and services for Linux; Ron Vidal, Senior VP of New Business Ventures for Level 3 Communications, a global provider of wireless, optical networking and other advanced computing and communications technologies; and Susan Barnes, VP and CFO of Intuitive Surgical Corporation, a medical device company specializing in robotic-based minimally invasive surgery.

"The LCM Technology Advisory Board formalizes the existing relationships that LCM has had with senior executives and acknowledged academics who are at the forefront in their fields of expertise," said Pascal Levensohn, President. "Our strong ties with these individuals will continue to enhance LCM's overall activities for our investing clients as we continue to grow."

Mr. Abdullah, a former member of the executive staff and board of directors of Commerce One, was CEO and co-founder of VEO Systems, which pioneered the use of XML technology for eBusiness. Mr. Abdullah also served as Executive Director of CommerceNet Consortium, and he co-founded TRUSTe, the Internet's most comprehensive privacy management initiative. He has held various positions with Taligent, Inc., IBM and ROLM Systems. Mr. Abdullah is currently CEO of Appareon, a company that is creating the premier collaborative supply chain solution for the apparel and textile industry. He holds an MS in Engineering Management from Stanford University and BS degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Michigan.

Ms. Alter spent eight years in a variety of senior management positions at Intel Corporation. In her most recent position as Vice President and Director of Microprocessor Marketing and Business Planning, Ms. Alter was responsible for overseeing all product management, pricing, forecasting, customer commitment and factory loading strategies that pertained to Intel's core Intel Architectural product lines. Prior responsibilities included co-managing Intel's worldwide press and analyst relations group and launching the Pentium brand. Before joining Intel, Ms. Alter was Director of Business Development for a privately held holding company in Boston, and she was an investment Banker at Lehman Brothers. Ms. Alter is currently an advisor to several start-up companies. She holds both a BA and MBA from Harvard University.

Levensohn Capital Management LLC is a registered investment adviser specializing in direct technology investments in both venture capital and undervalued listed companies, with an emphasis on enabling technologies in enterprise software, semiconductor design and equipment, telecommunications network infrastructure, and business to business electronic commerce. Based in San Francisco, Levensohn Capital makes direct investments through the Star Bay Technology Partnerships and affiliated entities.