Barcelona Design Appoints Dr. Eric Soenen to Lead Synthesizable Data Converter Development

Newark, Calif., July 18, 2002—Barcelona Design Inc., the leading provider of synthesizable full-custom analog intellectual property (IP), today announced the appointment of Dr. Eric Soenen as Director of Engineering for Barcelona‘s Data Converter Group.

"Eric’s appointment will further strengthen our top-notch circuit design and engineering team," said Thomas Heydler, Barcelona’s President and CEO." He brings a wealth of experience in data conversion and analog technology, which will help accelerate our product expansion in data converter products. The technical and leadership skills he has demonstrated within the semiconductor industry will help to extend the company’s leadership position in synthesizable analog IP."

Dr. Soenen brings to the team more than ten years of experience in engineering, product definition and development, technology evaluation, and management. His prior assignments include management of Texas Instruments' data converter development and wireless infrastructure RF product line. He has been directly involved in the development of high-speed data converters in CMOS and BiCMOS technologies. Dr. Soenen received the B.S. degree from the Kathlokieke Universiteit Leuven (KUL) in Belgium, M.S. and Ph.D degrees in electrical engineering from Texas A&M University and an MBA degree from the University of Texas, Austin. He holds more than twenty patents. Dr. Soenen will be responsible for bringing Barcelona's innovative analog synthesis solution to data conversion products.

About Barcelona Design, Inc.

Barcelona Design is the leading supplier of synthesizable full-custom analog IP, offering unique semiconductor intellectual property complemented by powerful design technology. Barcelona was founded in 1999 by CTO Dr. Mar Hershenson and Stanford University professor Dr. Stephen Boyd as a result of their research on the application of convex optimization mathematics to analog circuit design. The firm's analog circuit solution enables electronics companies to implement complex intellectual property (IP) instances radically faster than ever before. The company has proven its technology with working silicon, and has demonstrated market acceptance of its innovative approach by winning key customers, including Mitsubishi and ST Microelectronics. Barcelona has secured financing from leading venture capitalists including, Crosslink Capital, Sequoia Capital and Foundation Capital. The firm is headquartered in Newark, CA. For more information please visit www.barcelonadesign.com .