Barcelona Design names Ariel Sella CEO

Update: Barcelona has been bought by Synopsys

Newark, Calif., March 31, 2004 - Barcelona Design, Inc. today announced the appointment of Ariel Sella as chief executive officer of the company, replacing Thomas Heydler. Sella -- previously executive vice president of products -- begins his tenure immediately.

"Ariel brings a broad range of EDA and business expertise to the helm of Barcelona," said Joe Costello, chairman of the board at Barcelona Design. "His experience as an EDA professional, including at Cadence in the '90s, and his subsequent roles as an entrepreneur and investor give him an acute perspective on what it takes to move a company like Barcelona to the next level."

Sella commented, "I am extremely excited about the opportunity to lead Barcelona on its mission to deliver the kind of solutions analog designers need for the exceedingly difficult challenges facing them today and in the future. I believe that the rest of the EDA industry will follow our lead as we deliver powerful solutions by fusing novel design automation with incredible circuit expertise."

Sella joined Barcelona Design in May 2003 from Formula Ventures, an Israel-based venture capital firm managing more than $200M, where he was one of the founding partners. Prior to joining Formula Ventures, Sella was co-founder of MyWay Online and Ubique (acquired by America Online). He held various management positions for EDA and CAD companies including Cadence Design Systems and Applicon (a Schlumberger company).

Sella holds a BA degree in Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley.

About Barcelona Design, Inc.

Barcelona is the first and only vendor delivering equation-based analog synthesis to semiconductor companies, breaking time-to-market bottlenecks. Analog synthesis is the fusion of design expertise and novel design automation into readily synthesizable circuit models. Compared to traditional analog design tools, analog synthesis increases productivity by orders of magnitude. The company offers a library of silicon-proven circuit models on numerous processes, including foundry partners TSMC and UMC, and IDM processes. Barcelona's customers include Analog Devices, Matsushita, ST Microelectronics and Toshiba. Barcelona's investors include Sequoia Capital, Foundation Capital, Crosslink Capital and Joe Costello, former CEO of Cadence Design Systems. The firm is headquartered in Newark, CA. For more information please visit www.barcelonadesign.com.