PALO ALTO, California, December 12 /PRNewswire/ --

Accel Partners, a leading Silicon Valley venture capital firm, today
announced the addition of Dick Williams as CEO-in-Residence. Dick brings
unparalleled operational experience and leadership, as well as deep knowledge
in the enterprise software and digital media markets.

As CEO-in-Residence, Dick will work with the Accel team to identify and
analyze new ventures that have the potential to define important market
categories. Dick will also directly advise and assist Accel portfolio
companies which will benefit from his valuable experience.

"Accel and I have a long history of shared success," said Dick Williams.
"We've built great companies together and had tremendous experiences doing
so. I look forward to continuing my partnership with the Accel team as I
explore my next opportunity."

Dick has previously worked with Accel as CEO or Chairman of three
category-defining portfolio companies. He was CEO of Illustra Information
Technologies, a pioneer of object database technology, which was acquired by
Informix in 1996. Dick was then co-founder and Chairman of Quokka Sports, an
online immersive media company, which completed its initial public offering
in 1999. Most recently Dick was CEO of Wily Technology, the leader in Web
application management, which was acquired by Computer Associates in 2006.

Prior to Illustra, Williams worked for 22 years at IBM in a variety of
management roles culminating with his service as vice president with the
General Products Division. He then served as president and CEO of Digital
Research, which was later acquired by Novell. At Novell Williams served as
executive vice president of sales and support, and general manager of
Novell's Digital Research Systems Group.

"Dick Williams is one of the finest CEO's we have ever worked with," said
Peter Wagner, General Partner at Accel. "We look forward to working closely
with Dick as we together identify exciting new opportunities where his superb
leadership can help create a true market leader."

About Accel Partners

Accel was established in 1983, and today invests globally with offices in
Palo Alto, California and London, as well as in China via the IDG-Accel
Partnership. With over US$4 billion under management, Accel has helped
technology entrepreneurs build over 300 successful companies, many of which
have defined their categories. The Accel portfolio includes long-term market
leaders such as Veritas, RealNetworks, Foundry Networks and Polycom, as well
as recent IPO's MetroPCS, Infinera, ComScore, and Riverbed Technologies.

Web site: http://www.accel.com