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Company

Board of Directors

Members of the BelAir Networks Board of Directors complement the management and technological strengths of the founders.

Dr. Adam Chowaniec - Chairman of the Board, BelAir Networks:
Dr. Adam Chowaniec is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of BelAir Networks. He also holds that position at Tundra Semiconductor Corporation and is Executive in Residence at Vengrowth Capital Partners Inc. Adam began his career in the 1970's, as a member of the scientific staff of Bell Northern Research in Ottawa. From there, he moved into engineering management at Nortel Networks. In 1983, he moved to Westchester, Pennsylvania to become Vice President of Technology with Commodore International. In 1986, Adam returned to Ottawa to become President and Chief Executive Officer of the semiconductor firm Calmos Systems. Calmos Systems was acquired by Newbridge Networks Corporation, in 1989. Calmos was renamed Newbridge Microsystems. Under this new structure, Adam served as both its President and as a Vice President of Newbridge Networks. In December 1995, Adam was the founding CEO of Tundra Semiconductor Corporation, which is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Adam holds a Master's degree in Electrical from Queen's University (Canada), as well as both a Bachelor of Engineering and a Ph.D. from the University of Sheffield (England). Adam's affiliations include the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers and the Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario.

Chris Albinson - Managing Director, Panorama Capital:
Chris Albinson is a Partner at Panorama Capital (formerly JPMorgan Partners). Prior to joining Panorama / JPMP, he was Chief Strategy Officer at Digital Island (ISLD – Acquired by C&W) and CSO at C&W. Previously, Albinson has held corporate development roles at Newbridge Networks and did telecom services consulting in Russia. Albinson’s activities included raising $250M in private equity, $1.5B in M&A transactions, and managing a corporate venture capital fund of 28 companies in a broad range of technologies. His investments included Juniper Networks (JNPR), Cambrian Systems (acquired by Nortel), Abatis Systems (acquired by Redback), Fastlane Technologies (acquired by Quest Software), BNI Systems (acquired by Nortel) and PixStream (acquired by Cisco). He sits on Board of Directors at Affinity Internet, Greenfield Networks, Reflectivity, Valere Power and Belair Networks. Albinson is also on the Advisory Board for Partners for Growth, a venture lending firm backed by Silicon Valley Bank.

Albinson holds an undergraduate degree and an MBA from the University of Western Ontario where he taught and published works in the areas of business strategy & corporate governance.

Patrick DiPietro - Managing General Partner, VenGrowth Private Equity Partners Inc.:
Pat joined VenGrowth in 2001, and has more than 29 years of experience in high technology.

Pat serves as a member of the board of directors of several VenGrowth investees, including Neterion (chairman), BelAir Networks, SiGe Semiconductor Inc., BTI Systems, Liquid Computing Corporation, Nakina Systems Inc. and is a former board member of Sandvine Inc., now a public company.

Before joining VenGrowth, Pat was a Vice President of 3G Wireless Systems at Nortel Networks. He previously occupied senior managerial roles in R&D and operations within Nortel and BNR. Pat has been responsible for product development and operations across wireless, optical, switching, and enterprise sectors and has launched several highly successful network products. Pat was also a founder of The Ottawa Network and a board member of OCRI, two non-for-profits focused on enabling the growth of local tech firms.

Pat holds a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from Queen's University.

Scott Fox - Chairman and CEO, Global View Partners:
During a career spanning more than 25 years, Mr. Fox has held several executive management positions within the wireless industry and guided the growth of several successful startups, including Wireless Facilities, Inc., a global leader in telecommunications outsourcing. Scott was Group President at WFI and helped lead them to a successful IPO in 1999. Prior to WFI, Mr. Fox was Vice-President, strategy, and CTO for BellSouth and Vice President of Wireless Engineering at MCI. Mr. Fox is currently the Chairman and CEO of Global View Partners, Inc (GVP), a privately-held investment, M&A, and strategic consulting company for the wireless industry.

Mr. Fox was also Chairman of the Board of the GSM Association, the world’s leading wireless industry body, from 2000 to 2002, and now holds the title of Chairman, Emeritus.

Bernard Herscovich - President, CEO and Co-founder, BelAir Networks:
Bernard as BelAir Networks founding President and CEO brings many years of management experience in large and small companies. Bernard's track record of creating innovative products in the wireless industry has been recognised with numerous awards including "Hot Product of the Year".

Prior to BelAir, Bernard was the President of Breezecom Inc. in Carlsbad, California, Vice President of Wireless at Newbridge Networks in Ottawa, and spent ten years in engineering and management positions at Nortel Networks. Bernard holds an MBA from the University of Ottawa and MASc from the University of Toronto.

Stephen Rayment - CTO and Co-founder, BelAir Networks:
Stephen, a co-founder of BelAir Networks, brings more than 20 years of experience in the telecommunications industry which includes 13 years in the wireless arena. At Nortel Networks and Bell-Northern Research, Stephen led the development of broadband wireless products for the MMDS band, the development of broadband multimedia satcom equipment and the design of the industry's first wireless PBX. As co-founder of a consulting firm, he has also worked with operators to deploy new wireless technologies.

He holds a B.Sc. and a M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from Queen's University. He also earned a Diploma of Administration from the University of Ottawa and has graduated from the MIT Sloan School's Management of Technology program.

Peter Rokkos - General Counsel & Principal, Comcast Interactive Capital:
Comcast Interactive Capital (CIC) is a venture capital fund focused on broadband, interactive and enterprise businesses. With over $500 million under management, CIC represents a new breed of strategic investor as a true partner in innovation and technology development. At CIC, Peter is involved in identifying and evaluating investment opportunities, diligence review of potential targets, structuring and negotiating deal terms and advising portfolio companies. In addition, Peter oversees all legal aspects of CIC from investment formation and execution through portfolio management and realization. Previously, Peter was Vice President and Counsel of Lucent Venture Partners, the venture capital investment arm of Lucent Technologies, managing $300 million in equity investments in early-stage technology companies in high-growth communications areas such as optical, data and wireless networking, semiconductors, communications software, professional services and e-commerce, and serving as a director or board observer on a number of portfolio companies. Prior to that, Peter had been an associate in the New York office of Skadden Arps in their Mergers and Acquisitions group. Peter graduated with honors from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, and also graduated with honors from the Boston University School of Law with a Juris Doctor.

Peter currently serves as a Director or Board Observer on a number of CIC investments including Home Décor Products, Giant Realm, BelAir Networks, Vyatta and Broadsoft.