Aepona Expands North American Operations, Appoints Al Snyder as New CEO

Denver, Colorado, 27th March 2008 — Aepona, the leading supplier of software products and solutions to telecommunications operators globally, today announced its further expansion into the North American market, and also the appointment of Al Snyder as its new CEO. The expansion capitalises on recent successes for its Telecom Web Services solution with Tier 1 operators in the US and Canada, and   includes the establishment of a US subsidiary, Aepona Inc., based in Denver, Colorado.

Al Snyder brings 30 years of management experience in the high tech sector to his new role. A telecoms and IT industry veteran, his previous positions include CEO at Carrier Access, COO at Openwave, and other senior executive positions at Oracle and Digital Equipment Corporation, with responsibilities for  product development, sales, customer service, software support, and professional services.

Al Snyder is already well acquainted with Aepona’s business, having been a non-executive director of the company since May 2006. He succeeds Brian Caulfield, who has been serving as interim Aepona CEO following the death of Isaac Olasoko in 2007.

“I’m very excited to be joining Aepona at this stage of the company’s growth,” said Mr. Snyder. “It is already well established as a leader in the Service Layer market in Europe, and has started to build a strong footprint for its Telecom Web Services offering in North America with Tier 1 carriers such as Sprint, TELUS and Bell Canada. With North America leading the way in the convergence of IT, Web 2.0 and Telecoms, and the concept of open networks rapidly becoming a reality that Telcos are having to adapt to, the timing is right for Aepona to establish a North American base to underpin the next phase of its growth.”

As CEO, part of Mr. Snyder’s role is to build upon Aepona’s position as a leader in the emerging opportunity for Telecom Web Services. This sector is seen by many industry observers as vital to the ongoing competitiveness of incumbent telecoms operators as the Internet, Telecoms and IT industries converge, and they face competition from new market entrants.

Aepona’s strategy of building an ecosystem of Telecom Web Services “consumers” – 3rd party service providers, web developers, ISVs, and the IT divisions of Enterprises – will be driven in North America from its new US base. Additional hiring in North America is planned for the coming months to deliver this strategy.

“We are delighted to welcome Al Snyder as CEO of Aepona,” said Gilbert Little, Aepona’s Chairman. “Over the past two years he has proven to be a valuable member of Aepona’s board and has already made a significant contribution to the development of the company’s strategy. He has vast strategic and operational experience at a global level, and his experience in both the IT and Telecoms sectors is particularly well suited to his role at Aepona, given our strategy to be at the forefront of the convergence of these two worlds.”