Dave Habiger Appointed CEO of NDS Group Ltd.

NDS Group Ltd. today announced the appointment of Dave Habiger as Chief Executive Officer, and that in his continuing role with the company, Dr. Abe Peled, previously Chairman and CEO, will assume the full time position of Executive Chairman.

Dave Habiger Appointed CEO of NDS Group Ltd. (Photo: Business Wire)

Dave Habiger, 42, began his career in media as a founder of Providence Productions. In 1992 he began working with the founding members of Sonic Solutions, later playing an important role in the company’s IPO in 1994 (NASDAQ: SNIC). As President and COO he organized and managed a global software development team, later becoming CEO in 2005. As CEO of Sonic, he leveraged his 15 year partnership with the Hollywood studios to help move the industry from DVD distribution to internet delivery of movies and TV shows, establishing a leadership role as one of the largest global providers of premium movies and TV shows via the Web and consumer electronic devices. Dave led the company to a successful reinvention of its core business, leading to the sale of Sonic to Rovi Corporation (NASDAQ: ROVI) in early 2011. In 2011 Dave was chosen as Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year and in 2009 as The American Business Defense and Advisory Council Entrepreneur of the Year.

Commenting on the announcement, Dr. Abe Peled, 65, said: “After 16 rewarding years at the helm of NDS, the time has come to start the transition to the leadership that will take NDS forward over the next decade and beyond. NDS has a strong and experienced management team, and an unparalleled cadre of talented and dedicated employees with a proven track record in pay-TV; it has been a privilege to work with them to establish NDS as the market leader in this area. Dave brings to NDS experience as a CEO, and a passion and record of accomplishment in the areas of new media and web delivery that will be increasingly important to NDS and its customers over the next decade. I remain committed to the continuing long term success of NDS.”

Dr. Peled continued “As Executive Chairman, a full time position, I will focus on providing strategic, operational, and customer relationship continuity and will support Dave with this new challenge in every way possible. This continuity will ensure that our customers who depend on us to continue and invest in technology, deliver new products and systems, and outstanding customer support, can continue to count on NDS to help their business prosper.”

Dave Habiger said: “Having spent the last two decades working to help deliver personal and premium content to as many people as possible I am thrilled to continue that journey with the market leader in the delivery of pay-television worldwide. The industry will be going through significant changes over the next few years as it embraces over-the-top broadband delivery to expand customer choice and convenience. I am convinced that NDS is uniquely positioned to offer the technologies and solutions that make content easily accessible to consumers and valuable to service providers. I am honoured to be working with the largest and finest research, development, and delivery teams in the industry and with a management team that has helped define the industry since the early 1990’s.”

Commenting on the announcement on behalf of the NDS Board, Bruce Chizen, added: “On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Abe for his contributions over the last 16 years, and for his continuing commitment to the long term success of NDS in his new role as Executive Chairman. Over this period the company expanded over twenty five fold and has established a clear leadership position in technology, and products for the pay-TV industry worldwide. We welcome Dave Habiger as the new CEO, and are looking forward to supporting him and Abe, as they take the Company forward to its next phase of growth by offering great products and support to our customers, great opportunities to our employees and returns to shareholders.”

About NDS

NDS Group Ltd. creates the technologies and applications that enable pay-TV operators to securely deliver digital content to TV STBs (set-top boxes), DVRs (digital video recorders), PCs, mobiles and other multimedia devices. Over 80 of the world’s leading pay-TV platforms rely on NDS solutions to protect and enhance their businesses. VideoGuard® is the world’s market-leading conditional access (CA) and digital rights management (DRM) technology, currently deployed on 155 million active devices, and safeguarding pay-TV service revenues exceeding $50 billion. NDS middleware, including MediaHighway® which enables a host of advanced services for subscribers, has been deployed on 195 million devices. NDS DVR technology, centred around XTV™, leads the global industry with 41 million units deployed. (Deployment figures as of 30th June 2011).

Headquartered in the UK, with over 5000 employees, NDS remains committed to investing in R&D with over 75% of its employees dedicated to pioneering work at development centres in China, France, India, Israel, Korea, UK and US. NDS has also implemented a host of initiatives aimed at reducing its carbon footprint and helping digital TV subscribers reduce energy consumption.

NDS Group Ltd. is a private company owned by the Permira Funds and News Corporation. See www.nds.com for more information.

Read about the latest developments at NDS and in the pay-TV industry in World Vision.

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