QDesign Corporation Appoints Thomas W. Carhart President and CEO
ReplayTV, Compaq, and Motorola Executive to Head Leading Provider of Audio Technologies
Vancouver, BC (Canada NewsWire) — January 8, 2002 -QDesign Corporation, a leading vendor of technology solutions for delivering digital music, announced today the appointment of digital media executive Thomas W. Carhart as President and Chief Executive Officer.
Mr. Carhart joins QDesign from ReplayTV/SonicBlue Corporation, where he served as Senior Vice President of Services and Corporate Development and as Vice President of Product Marketing. At ReplayTV, he spearheaded the company's business strategy, established partnerships with Panasonic and Turner Networks, and led the launch of the company's first Personal Video Recorder (PVR) product line. Mr. Carhart also played a key role in the acquisition of ReplayTV by SonicBlue Corporation.
"Tom Carhart is the ideal person to lead QDesign as it begins deployment of its next generation digital audio technologies," said Doug Lucky, QDesign Director and Partner at RBC Capital Partners. "Tom's experience in building sound partnerships and bringing innovative new products to market will enable QDesign to exploit its novel digital audio technologies."
"At ReplayTV, we created an entirely new category of product and improved TV entertainment," said Mr. Carhart. "I joined QDesign because I believe it can have a similar impact on the digital music industry. There is an enormous opportunity to provide solutions that satisfy the needs of both consumers and the music industry. I look forward to working with the QDesign team to bring the benefits of its technologies to millions of music listeners around the world."
Before joining ReplayTV, Mr. Carhart was a Director at Compaq Computer Corporation and a Product Manager at Motorola. He led Compaq initiatives with the cable industry, including a $200 million investment in the Road Runner high-speed data service, and formed Compaq's iPaq appliance business. At Motorola, Mr. Carhart was a founder of the cable modem business. Prior to Motorola, he worked as a design engineer at Scientific-Atlanta.
Mr. Carhart holds A.B. and M.S. degrees in Engineering from Dartmouth College and an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School.
Rick Beaton, Founder and President of QDesign, will become the company's Chief Technology Officer and continue to focus on the development of QDesign's innovative digital music technologies.
About QDesign
Founded in 1995, QDesign delivers technology solutions that enable the profitable distribution of digital music. With the release of the world's first real-time MPEG audio compression software in 1996 and the subsequent introduction of its own MP3, QDesign Music, and QDX technologies, QDesign has established itself as a leading provider of the most advanced audio compression solutions in the broadcast, new media, and Internet delivery markets. QDX is the next-generation audio technology that enables "self-protecting content," providing consumers and content owners with an unprecedented level of flexibility and control over music quality, usability, access, and delivery. QDesign's headquarters are in Vancouver, British Columbia, with a sales and support office in Mountain View, California. For more information on QDesign and its products, please visit: www.qdesign.com
