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IGNITION PARTNERS WELCOMES MICROSOFT'S CEO & FORMER CIO Addition to Ignition Team Extends Firm's Value-Added Bellevue, WA – January 11, 2005 – Ignition Partners, LLC ("Ignition") a premier venture capital firm based in the Northwest, today announced the addition of John Connors, Chief Financial Officer and former Chief Information Officer of Microsoft Corporation, as the newest member of its team. He will be joining Ignition after he completes his transition from Microsoft. Connors is a 15-year veteran of the software industry in areas directly related to Ignition's primary areas of investment. He held numerous finance, technology, and general management executive leadership roles at Microsoft, including CFO, CIO and Vice President of the Worldwide Enterprise Group responsible for sales, service and relationship strategy for corporate accounts of all sizes. Connors joins the Ignition team focusing on investments in the enterprise software and services sector. Ignition, which recently announced the closing of its third fund of approximately $300 million, was founded in early 2000 by a team of former senior McCaw and Microsoft executives with a mission to apply proven operating experience to help entrepreneurs build the next generation of great technology companies. "We are very fortunate to have a person of John's quality join our team. We founded Ignition based on the values of proven operating experience and business fundamentals combined with a culture of integrity, learning and commitment to our companies and investors. In addition to his experience and knowledge, we really appreciated how well John fits into this culture," said Steve Hooper, a partner and founder of Ignition and former CEO of AT&T Wireless. "I had the great privilege of working at one of the world's greatest companies, with some of the greatest technology entrepreneurs in history, and with the best and most challenging technology customers and partners in the industry," said Connors. "I am very excited by the opportunity to keep learning. I look forward to joining the Ignition team in helping start-ups achieve their potential by sharing these experiences and diving in, rolling up my sleeves and working closely with them." "Ignition recognizes that past operating success is no guarantee of future investment success and is therefore dedicated to an ongoing process of learning and deep, direct engagement with its companies, with current and potential partners and with the entrepreneurial community, to make this experience truly pay dividends," said Dan Feder, head of venture capital investing for Princeton University, one of the repeat institutional investors in Ignition. "We are enthusiastic about the Ignition process, their core values and the transition they have made from operators to VCs. We are very optimistic given John's background that he will do exactly the same." Connors will join Ignition as a partner immediately upon his transition from Microsoft. Ignition announced its third fund ("Ignition III") on October 28, 2004. Ignition III represents approximately $300 million in committed capital from national and global institutional investors. Ignition now has approximately $750 million of funds under management in its three funds and more than 30 portfolio companies, making it the largest information and communications technology venture capital firm headquartered in the Northwest. About Ignition Partners Ignition Partners, (www.ignitionpartners.com), headquartered in Bellevue, Wash., is a premier venture capital firm focused on investments in software and communications technology, with a particular emphasis in enterprise and consumer facing software and services, telecommunications and network infrastructure. Ignition brings together an unparalleled combination of domain focus, technical expertise and operational experience. Ignition's partners are proven business leaders who have built some of the world's most successful businesses of the last two decades, including Microsoft Windows, McCaw Cellular Communications, AT&T Wireless and Microsoft's enterprise business. The VC's founders are also credited with leading McCaw's entry into wireless and Microsoft's Internet turnaround. Media Inquiries
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