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 Phil Wiser, former Sony CTO, Joins Building B as Chairman and President Company Attracts Key Talent to Simplify and Expand Access to the New Home Entertainment Experience WOODSIDE, CA, June 5, 2006 – Building B, Inc., a next generation home entertainment company, today announced that Phil Wiser has left his position as Chief Technology Officer of Sony Corporation of America (NYSE: SNE) to join Building B as its Chairman and President. "I am very excited about the enormous potential of the company and about working with Building B’s CEO, Buno Pati. The current onslaught of expensive technology and entertainment options in today’s home create unnecessary barriers to access and cause frustration for a large segment of consumers. I believe that Building B has developed a truly unique approach and made significant breakthroughs that will satisfy the rapidly evolving entertainment needs of consumers," stated Mr. Wiser. "My time at Sony has given me valuable insight into consumer needs and new technologies intended to serve these needs. I am greatly appreciative of my experience at Sony and my colleagues there." "Phil is a both a pioneer and a seasoned executive in the increasingly important and rapidly evolving arena of digital entertainment. He is a valuable addition to the team and I look forward to working with him to build a great company," added Buno Pati, CEO of Building B. Building B was founded on the premise that the recent proliferation of home entertainment technologies has not been properly aligned with the rapidly changing entertainment and information needs of consumers. This has resulted in an unsatisfactory and fragmented consumer entertainment experience. Digital media and network technologies have matured considerably, but the independent evolution of these technologies and their associated distribution platforms has created a complex and unmanageable combination of content, networks and devices for consumers. These issues are only exacerbated by the shifting consumer entertainment consumption patterns, with on-demand and mobility being key drivers of this change. Building B is focused on unifying and simplifying the consumer’s new home entertainment experience based on its unique and proprietary technologies and innovative distribution model. About Phil Wiser, Chairman and President of Building B Prior to joining Building B, Phil Wiser served as the Chief Technology Officer at Sony Corporation of America (SCA). At SCA, Phil created the SCA Media Technology Group, which drove strategies for open digital media standards across the Sony Group. He also oversaw the Sony Media Software division, which doubled revenue and moved to top market position across their digital media software product line during his tenure. Mr. Wiser also created new businesses that bridged the content and electronics divisions to develop integrated digital media and network distribution solutions. Prior to joining SCA in 2004, Mr. Wiser was CTO and head of Digital Businesses for Sony Music Entertainment. During his time at Sony Music, Mr. Wiser pioneered the mobile music business by focusing Sony’s efforts on development and distribution of master ringtones, which did not exist at that time. That mobile music effort is now a highly profitable, several-hundred million dollar business for Sony. Additionally, Mr. Wiser successfully created the landmark deals that led to the digital music explosion with partners such as Apple iTunes, Real Rhapsody and Napster. Prior to his tenure at Sony, in 1996, Mr. Wiser founded Liquid Audio, Inc., a company that pioneered on-line music distribution and led the way in digital rights management technologies. Mr. Wiser served on Liquid Audio’s Board of Directors and as its Chief Technology Officer from 1996 through June 2001 and helped lead the company through a successful IPO in 1999. Mr. Wiser has also worked in several Silicon Valley technology companies in a variety of management and engineering roles. Mr. Wiser holds B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Maryland and a M.S. in electrical engineering from Stanford University. About Dr. Buno Pati, CEO of Building B An experienced and successful Silicon Valley entrepreneur, Dr. Pati founded Numerical Technologies – a semiconductor technology company, in 1995 and served as its President and CEO. He led Numerical from the initial development phases, through its successful initial public offering in April 2000. Dr. Pati was Chairman of the Board of Numerical Technologies through its acquisition by Synopsys (NASDAQ: SNPS) in March 2003. Before co-founding Numerical, Dr. Pati served as assistant professor of electrical engineering and computer science at Harvard University. Dr. Pati currently serves on the Boards of several venture-backed technology companies in Silicon Valley and Europe. About Building B Building B is an early-stage, privately held company that is addressing the need to simplify and unify the consumer home entertainment experience. The company is developing products and services based on its innovative and breakthrough approach for digital entertainment management and distribution. Building B’s management team includes experienced entrepreneurs - Dr. Buno Pati, former founder and CEO of Numerical Technologies, and Phil Wiser, former CTO of Sony Corporation of America, and former founder and CTO of Liquid Audio. Building B can be found online at: www.building-b.com. |