Plantronics 2008 Annual Report Download - page 16

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10
Our success will depend in part on our ability to obtain patents and preserve other intellectual property rights covering the design and
operation of our products. We intend to continue to seek patents on our inventions when appropriate. The process of seeking patent
protection can be lengthy and expensive, and there can be no assurance that patents will be issued for currently pending or future
applications or that our existing patents or any new patents issued will be of sufficient scope or strength or provide meaningful
protection or any commercial advantage to us. We may be subject to, or may initiate, litigation or patent office interference
proceedings, which may require significant financial and management resources. The failure to obtain necessary licenses or other
rights or the advent of litigation arising out of any such intellectual property claims could have a material adverse effect on our
operations.
We own trademark registrations in the United States and a number of other countries with respect to the Plantronics, Clarity and Altec
Lansing trademarks as well as the names of many of our products and product features. We currently have United States and foreign
trademark applications pending in connection with certain new products and product features. We also attempt to protect our trade
secrets and other proprietary information through comprehensive security measures, including agreements with customers and
suppliers, and proprietary information agreements with employees and consultants. We may seek copyright protection where we
believe it is applicable. We own a number of domain name registrations and intend to seek more. There can be no assurance that our
existing or future copyright registrations, trademarks, trade secrets or domain names will be of sufficient scope or strength or provide
meaningful protection or any commercial advantage to us.
EMPLOYEES
On March 31, 2008, we employed approximately 5,000 people worldwide, which includes approximately 2,800, and 900 employees at
our manufacturing facilities in Tijuana, Mexico and Suzhou, China, respectively. To our knowledge, no employees are currently
covered by collective bargaining agreements. We have not experienced any work stoppages and believe that our employee relations
are good.
Set forth below is certain information regarding the executive officers of Plantronics and their ages as of March 31, 2008.
NAME AGE POSITION
Ken Kannappan 48 President and Chief Executive Officer
Clay Hausmann 36 Vice President, Corporate Marketing
Don Houston 53 Senior Vice President, Sales
Barry Margerum 56 Chief Strategy Officer
Vicki Marion 54 President, Audio Entertainment Group
Renee Niemi 43 Vice President, General Manager, Mobile & Entertainment
Barbara Scherer 52 Senior Vice President, Finance & Administration and Chief Financial Officer
Joyce Shimizu 53 Vice President, General Manager Home & Home Office
Jim Sotelo 60 Vice President, Product Development & Technology
Carsten Trads 52 President, Clarity Equipment
Philip Vanhoutte 52 Managing Director, Europe, Middle East & Africa
Larry Wuerz 50 Senior Vice President, Worldwide Operations
Chuck Yort 49 Vice President, General Manager, B2B Solutions
Mr. Kannappan joined Plantronics in February 1995 as Vice President of Sales and was promoted to various positions prior to being
named President and Chief Operating Officer in March 1998. In January 1999, he was promoted to Chief Executive Officer and
appointed to the Board of Directors. Prior to joining Plantronics, Mr. Kannappan was Senior Vice President of Investment Banking
for Kidder, Peabody & Co. Incorporated, where he was employed from August 1985 through January 1995. Mr. Kannappan has a
Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Yale University and a Master of Business Administration from Stanford University. Mr.
Kannappan is also a Director of Mattson Technology, Inc., a supplier of advanced process equipment for the semiconductor industry.
Mr. Hausmann joined Plantronics in May 2005 as Vice President, Corporate Communications and was promoted to Vice President,
Corporate Marketing in May 2006. Prior to joining Plantronics, Mr. Hausmann served as Managing Director of the San Francisco and
Los Angeles Offices of Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide. Mr. Hausmann has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Broadcast Journalism
from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.