RF Micro Devices Co-Founder, Jerry D. Neal, and Former RF Micro
Devices VP of Operations, Dr. Arthur E. Geiss, elevated from Independent
Directors to Co-Chairmen
Akoustis Technologies, Inc. (OTCQB: AKTS) (“Akoustis” or the “Company”),
a manufacturer of innovative Bulk ONE™ single crystal piezoelectric RF
bulk acoustic wave (BAW) filters for mobile wireless, announced today
the appointment of independent directors Jerry Neal and Dr. Arthur Geiss
as Co-Chairmen of the Board. Former Chairman Jeff Shealy remains CEO of
Akoustis and will continue to serve on the Board of Directors of the
Company.
Commenting on the announcement, Jeff Shealy, CEO of Akoustis, stated,
“We are honored to have Jerry and Art appointed to the role of
Co-Chairman of our Board. As our organization advances, it is logical
for our Board leadership to evolve. We believe the segregation of the
roles of Chairman and CEO is clearly in the best interest of our
shareholders. Both Jerry and Art are highly respected in the RF and
wireless communications industry. I congratulate them both and look
forward to continuing to serve in my current role as CEO.”
Mr. Neal had a distinguished 35-year career in the RF and wireless
communications industry. An entrepreneur at heart, he was the Co-Founder
and former Executive Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Strategic
Development for RF Micro Devices, now Qorvo, Inc. Mr. Neal established
the image of RF Micro Devices in the marketplace and was primarily
responsible for many of the key relationships enabling the company to
surpass $1B in annual revenue. These relationships include Northrop
Grumman, Nokia, IBM and Jazz Semiconductor. Mr. Neal retired from RF
Micro Devices in 2012 and has since been pursuing entrepreneurial
enterprises. Before co-founding RF Micro Devices in 1991, he spent 10
years in various marketing and management positions at Analog Devices,
Inc. Mr. Neal has served on the boards of numerous semiconductor
companies and non-profit boards. A generous philanthropist, his primary
endowment is for research in the Infectious Disease Department at St.
Jude Children's Research Hospital. Mr. Neal has served as a member of
the Akoustis board since May 2015.
Dr. Geiss served as VP of Wafer Fab Operations at RF Micro Devices, now
Qorvo, Inc. He was responsible for the start-up and operations of
Gallium Arsenide epitaxial-growth and wafer fabrication, which supported
the commercial ramp of power amplifiers into Nokia mobile phones. Prior
to RF Micro Devices, Dr. Geiss held management positions with Alpha
Industries, Inc. (purchased by Skyworks Solutions, Inc.) and
ITT's Gallium Arsenide Technology Center (purchased by Cobham plc). He
is currently the Manager of AEG Consulting, LLC, which offers guidance
concerning manufacturing, operations, and process development to
technology companies. He earned a B.S. degree at Lafayette College and
M.S. and Ph.D. degrees at Brown University, all in physics. Dr.
Geiss has served as a member of the Akoustis board since May 2015.
Mr. Neal commented, “I am excited to join Arthur as Co-Chairman of the
Akoustis Board. The RF acoustic wave filter performance is now a key
differentiator in the RF Front End of the smartphone. I believe the
Akoustis team is on a path to soon becoming a significant, and
potentially disruptive, player in the fast growing billion dollar
high-band RF BAW filter industry.”
Dr. Geiss remarked, “Akoustis offers a unique materials and device
approach to addressing band convergence and coexistence in today’s
mobile smartphones. We expect to use the company’s patented, single
crystal piezoelectric materials to produce high-band RF filter solutions
targeting performance specifications higher than solutions in the market
today. I look forward to working with Jerry, Jeff and the entire
Akoustis management team.”
About Akoustis
Akoustis™ (http://www.akoustis.com)
is high-tech RF filter solutions company that manufactures its unique,
patent-pending Bulk ONE™ technology to produce single-crystal bulk
acoustic wave (BAW) filters for the mobile-wireless industry, which
facilitate signal acquisition and accelerate band performance between
the antenna and the back end of mobile devices. Akoustis’ “fabless”
business model is capital efficient, leveraging existing manufacturing
infrastructure in the semiconductor industry. Akoustis™ is located in
the Piedmont technology corridor between Charlotte and Raleigh, North
Carolina.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release that are not descriptions of historical
facts are forward-looking statements that are based on management’s
current expectations and assumptions and are subject to risks and
uncertainties. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking
statements by terminology including “anticipates,” “believes,” “can,”
“continue,” “could,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,”
“potential,” “predicts,” “should,” “will,” “would” or the negative of
these terms or other comparable terminology. Factors that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated
include, without limitation,
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risks relating to the results of our research and development
activities, including uncertainties relating to semiconductor process
manufacturing;
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the early stage of our Bulk ONE™ technology presently under
development;
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our need for substantial additional funds in order to continue our
operations and the uncertainty of whether we will be able to obtain
the funding we need;
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our ability to retain or hire key scientific, engineering or
management personnel; our ability to protect our intellectual property
rights that are valuable to our business, including patent and other
intellectual property rights;
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our dependence on third-party manufacturers, suppliers, research
organizations, testing laboratories and other potential collaborators;
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our ability to successfully market and sell our technologies;
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the size and growth of the potential markets for any of our
technologies, and the rate and degree of market acceptance of any of
our technologies;
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competition in our industry; and
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regulatory developments in the U.S. and foreign countries.
In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the
forward-looking statements regarding future events and circumstances
discussed in this press release may not occur, and actual results could
differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the
forward-looking statements. You should not rely upon forward-looking
statements as predictions of future events. The forward-looking
statements included in this presentation speak only as of the date
hereof, and, except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to
update publicly or privately any forward-looking statements for any
reason after the date of this presentation to conform these statements
to actual results or to changes in our expectations.
THESE MATERIALS DO NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER TO SELL, OR THE SOLICITATION
OF ANY OFFER TO BUY, ANY SECURITIES OF AKOUSTIS, INC., OR OF ANY OTHER
ENTITY WHATSOEVER. ANY REPRESENTATION TO THE CONTRARY BY ANY PARTY
SHOULD BE IGNORED.
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