Tech Industry Veteran Randall Howard Joins Board and Becomes Chairman
Ottawa, Ontario – Nov. 26, 2007 – iotum, a pioneer and leader in voice services for social networks, announced today that it has received new investment funding from boutique investment and management consulting firm VERDEXUS. Financial details were not disclosed; iotum will use the new funding for ongoing operations. In addition, VERDEXUS General Partner Randall Howard has joined iotum’s Board of Directors and has been appointed Chairman of the Board.
“Our investment represents a strong endorsement of iotum and recognition of a fast-growing and potentially dominant player in the mobile presence universe,” said Howard, a veteran of Canada’s technology industry as an entrepreneur, executive, consultant and venture capitalist. “iotum has the potential to be the phone company for social networks, as shown by its strategic launch of the first conference-calling application for Facebook. The underlying, patent-pending technology foundation and experienced management team make iotum a compelling addition to our portfolio.”
Howard, a founding partner of VERDEXUS, brings a global network of senior-level business contacts based on his deep executive experience in international technology markets. As founder, Chairman and CEO of MKS Inc. (www.mks.com) (TSX: MKX), one of Canada's leading enterprise software vendors, he led growth to more than $40 million revenue annually and 350 employees worldwide, including seven acquisitions. From May 2004 to April 2006, Howard served as CEO of VERDEXUS’ portfolio company, Software Innovation (www.softinn.com).
Howard’s extensive board and advisor experience has included Necho Systems Corp, GoodContacts, Whitehill Technologies, Waterloo Maple Software, Arise Technologies and Nanodesign.
“Randall is recognized as one of the pioneers of the Canadian software industry. He is a serial entrepreneur who has earned a reputation as a respected visionary and innovator,” said iotum CEO Alec Saunders. “His decision to join iotum as investor, board member and Chairman is a strong endorsement of the iotum vision.”
About iotum
Founded in 2003, privately held iotum (http://www.iotum.com) is a Voice 2.0 company setting out to shape a world of relevant communications where devices, social networks and web services work seamlessly together to let people communicate with whom they want, when they want and on the device they want. Iotum has been awarded the prestigious CATA Alliance Innovation Award for Emerging Technology Achievement as the best emerging technology company of the year in Canada; was named a DEMOgod at DEMO2006, and was named to the Branham 25 Emerging Companies in Canada as well as to Business 2.0's Next Net 25. iotum and its innovative products, including the iotum Relevance Engine, iotum Talk-Now for Blackberry, and most recently iotum Free Conference Calls for Facebook, have garnered accolades from industry and users alike.
About VERDEXUS
VERDEXUS (www.verdexus.com) is an international, strategic management and financial boutique dedicated to turning great technologies into globally competitive companies. We leverage our extensive management know how, finance partners and international networks to build technology ventures faster and further. Founded in 2001 by international technology entrepreneurs who have founded and built global technology companies, VERDEXUS uses a hands-on investment model that provides seasoned operational executives who turn strategy into execution and build new levels of strategic market value for technology companies.
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CONTACTS:
Sue Huss
Comunicano, for iotum
619-379-4396
sue.huss@comunicano.com
Randall Howard, General Partner, VERDEXUS
519- 957-2231
rhoward@verdexus.com
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