Unwired Planet, (Nasdaq: UPIP), today announced that Philip A. Vachon
was appointed chairman of the company’s board of directors and chairman
of the company’s Intellectual Property Committee. Mr. Vachon replaces
Peter Feld, who will continue to serve on the board of directors.
“We would like to thank Peter for his tremendous work and dedication to
Unwired Planet over the past 2 years,” said Eric Vetter, president and
chief administrative officer of Unwired Planet. “Peter’s leadership and
investor perspective has driven the company as it has transitioned from
a software business to the premier mobile licensing company it is today.
We are very appreciative of the leadership Peter has provided during our
transition and excited that he will continue to be an active member of
our Board of Directors.”
Peter Feld, Unwired Planet’s past chairman, noted that “Phil Vachon has
been very involved with Unwired Planet since his appointment to the
board earlier this year. With his strong Intellectual Property
experience and leadership skills, he is a great choice to now lead our
transformed board.”
Simultaneously, the company today announced that Greg Landis was
appointed to the company’s board of directors, replacing Robin Abrams
who resigned from the board of directors, effective July 26, 2013. Mr.
Landis is the Senior Vice President and General Counsel for TerraPower.
“Greg’s background in telecommunications and intellectual property law
makes him eminently qualified to join the company’s board and provide
strategic direction for the company,” said Peter Feld, former chairman
of the board. “His extensive experience in mobility will complement the
strategy of the company and his intellectual property experience will be
instrumental to both the board and the company.”
In addition to Mr. Vachon, the Intellectual Property Committee includes
Bill Marino and Greg Landis. The committee is charged with giving
support and oversight to Unwired Planet’s management team in driving
shareholder value and will serve the function of the previously
announced Executive Committee. Mr. Feld observed: “Our board has evolved
over the last nine months as we have focused on attracting individuals
with deep expertise in mobile and wireless technology and intellectual
property licensing. These moves complete our board and management
transformation and we are confident in the ability of the team to
deliver on the company’s strategy.”
Robin Abrams has been a member of Unwired Planet’s board since 2008.
Phil Vachon, commenting on Ms. Abrams departure, said: “We would like to
thank Robin for her years of service on the board and her contribution
to Unwired Planet. As Chair of the Nomination and Governance Committee,
Robin’s executive management expertise has been instrumental in driving
the turnaround and redefinition of Unwired Planet.”
Mr. Landis previously spent 17 years with McCutchen, Doyle, Brown &
Enersen in San Francisco, CA working in commercial litigation with a
concentration in antitrust, securities litigation, telecommunications
and regulatory work. In 1995, Landis became General Counsel and later
Executive Vice President for AT&T Wireless Services, Inc. During his
time there, he supervised the negotiations with AT&T leading to the
split-off of AWS as an independent company in July 2001 and had a
leading role in the $42B sale of the company to Cingular in 2004. From
2005-2007, Landis served as the General Counsel for Vulcan, Inc., where
he led the Legal Department in support of Paul Allen’s investment, R&D,
sports and philanthropic activities. In 2007, he became General Counsel
for Intellectual Ventures, with responsibility for legal and government
affairs, including intellectual property protection and transactions,
corporate governance, legal and regulatory compliance, government
affairs, fund formation, financings, employment law and patent and
general litigation. Landis serves on the Board of the Lawyers’ Committee
for Civil Rights Under Law and is co-chair of the Strategic Planning
Committee. Previously he chaired the Board of Equal Justice Works,
served on the Board of Seattle Children’s Theater and co-founded the
Northwest General Counsel Association. He is the co-author of Selecting
the Next Nominee for the Federal Circuit: Patently Obvious to Consider
Diversity (2010). Landis graduated with a B.A. in Psychology from Yale
University in 1973 and earned a J.D., from Harvard Law School in 1978.
About Unwired Planet
Unwired Planet, Inc. (NASDAQ: UPIP) is the inventor of the Mobile
Internet and a premier intellectual property company focused exclusively
on the mobile industry. The company’s patent portfolio of more than
2,400 issued US and foreign patents include the technologies that allow
mobile devices to connect to the Internet and enable mobile
communications. The portfolio spans 2G, 3G and 4G technologies, as well
as cloud-based mobile applications and services. Unwired Planet's
portfolio includes patents related to key mobile technologies, including
baseband mobile communications, mobile browsers, mobile advertising,
push technology, maps and location based services, mobile application
stores, social networking, mobile gaming and mobile search. Unwired
Planet is headquartered in Reno, Nevada.
Copyright Business Wire 2013