INDUSTRY

GridIron Software, the leading developer of grid computing solutions for desktop software applications, today announced it is establishing a new U.S. facility and is expanding its executive team with the appointment of industry veteran Lloyd Leanse to vice president of business development and sales. Leanse joins GridIron in response to rapidly growing customer demand, and is responsible for the growth of GridIron's global customer acquisition efforts and expanding the company's relationships with strategic partners and value added resellers (VARs) from a new office in Palo Alto, Calif. Demand has been strong since GridIron released the first of its X-Factor series of products in June. X-Factor for Adobe After Effects Professional 6.5 allows digital video professionals to use grid computing technology to rapidly increase the speed of preview and rendering capabilities for digital film, video, DVD and the Web. Since the introduction of GridIron X-Factor 1.0 for Adobe After Effects, over 20,000 copies have been downloaded. GridIron will release X-Factor 1.5 later this year, and expects to announce additional X-Factor solutions for other leading digital video production software products in 2005. With more than 20 years experience in business and corporate development, sales, finance and administration, and investment banking for both private and public companies, Leanse brings rich depth to the GridIron executive team. He is charged with translating the substantial early product interest in X-Factor into additional earnings and revenue. The new Palo Alto office lets GridIron work in close proximity to its customers and prospects in the film and broadcast production industries, as well as with strategic technology partners, such as Adobe, based near GridIron's new office in Silicon Valley. "Lloyd's proven ability to identify and leverage technology companies' strategic objectives, product plans, and communications to their markets further strengthens our executive team," said Steve Forde, CEO of GridIron Software. "As GridIron continues building on its leadership position for desktop grid computing solutions for the digital video production market, our business development and customer service needs must keep pace with the rapid growth of our customer and partner base. Lloyd brings the professional experience and leadership skills essential to deliver the support and services demanded by our customers and partners." Prior to joining GridIron, Leanse ran corporate and business development at Nuance for more than four years, achieving commitments with GM OnStar, Intel, Motorola, Cisco, Yahoo!, British Telecom, and Goldman Sachs. He played a key role in Nuance's formation, venture financings, and strategic decisions. The company's IPO in 2000 was one of the most successful of that year. Leanse has recently served as an advisor and a consultant to PointShot Wireless, Aliph, Apptera, and Utopy, each a venture-backed technology startup, and Mile Rock Partners, a hedge fund. Previously, Leanse was CFO of PharmChem, a publicly held industrial services company. He was also a founder and CFO of investment bank Prager, Sealy & Co. He holds a bachelor's degree in Human Biology from Stanford University. "GridIron has established itself as the leading developer of grid computing solutions for desktop software applications, and is dramatically changing the way digital production companies create and manage their film, broadcast and HD projects," said Leanse. "The value of its X-Factor grid computing solution is backed by a seasoned management team, innovative technology and impressive partner and customer list. I am committed to growing GridIron to reflect industry best practices, while, at the same time, helping our customers and partners succeed." GridIron X-Factor uses grid computing technology to divide and distribute the work ordinarily performed on a single computer among several computers joined together in a network to achieve significant performance improvement. X-Factor for Adobe After Effects lets film producers and broadcasters optimize their digital video production workflow and be more productive using grid computing technology. As a result, digital effects take less time to create, are less costly, and are more elaborate and realistic.