Barcelona Design Appoints Ariel Sella as Executive Vice President of Marketing

Update: Barcelona has been bought by Synopsys

Marketing, Business Development and Investment Veteran Joins Leading Provider of Analog Synthesis Solutions

Newark, Calif., June 23, 2003 - Barcelona Design Inc., the leading supplier of analog synthesis solutions, today announced the appointment of Ariel Sella as Executive Vice President of Marketing. Reporting to Thomas Heydler, President and CEO of Barcelona, Mr. Sella is responsible for worldwide marketing and business development for the company's entire line of products.

Mr. Sella brings 25 years of marketing, business development and investment experience across electronic design automation (EDA), semiconductor and communications industries. He served most recently as one of the founding partners of Formula Ventures, an Israel-based venture fund, managing more than $200 million in early stage information technology, communications and component startups.

Mr. Sella will help Thomas Heydler drive the company's strategy and is responsible for execution of Barcelona's marketing and business development initiatives as the company races to meet demand for analog synthesis solutions by system-on-chip (SoC) designers and foundries faced by increasing bottlenecks and poor return-on-assets. As Barcelona continues to launch solutions for synthesizing increasingly complex mixed-signal designs, such as its recently announced Dali™ data converter, Mr. Sella will help realize the next phase of innovation that allows designers to meet the exacting specifications of deep-sub-micron SoC.

"Mixed-signal design issues are dramatically impacting product innovation by delaying time-to-market and hurting productivity. As process technology approaches deep-sub-micron challenges, Barcelona is the only company able to provide optimal silicon-validated solutions in a matter of hours with its synthesis technology," Mr. Sella said. "I am excited to join this great team as it embraces a singular opportunity to meet the dramatic challenges facing the industry with a truly disruptive innovation."

"Ariel has the essential big picture perspective and execution track record for addressing our customers' needs in an increasingly complex and demanding industry," said Thomas Heydler, President and CEO of Barcelona Design. "We have experienced tremendous progress with numerous silicon tape-outs and significant product launches in past quarters. Ariel's extensive experience will greatly contribute to defining Barcelona's roadmap for helping semiconductor companies meet market demand economically and on time."

Mr. Sella has previously served in a variety of management positions for EDA and CAD companies including Cadence Design Systems, Clarity Systems and Applicon. He was co-founder of Ubique, acquired by America Online and MyWay Online. Mr. Sella has received a B.A. in Computer Science from the University of California at Berkeley.

About Barcelona Design, Inc.

Barcelona Design is the leading supplier of analog synthesis solutions to semiconductor and systems companies worldwide. Barcelona's synthesis technology significantly reduces design and ownership costs, dramatically reduces time-to-market and consistently improves return on IP assets for analog and mixed-signal circuits. Barcelona's solution is based on a unique and revolutionary technology that replaces trial-and-error manual simulation methods commonly used today with specification-driven synthesis. The company has proven its technology with working silicon on numerous foundry and proprietary processes. Its customers include Analog Devices, Matsushita, MediaQ, Mitsubishi and ST Microelectronics. Barcelona was founded in 1999 and has secured financing from Sequoia Capital, Foundation Capital and Crosslink Capital. The firm is headquartered in Newark, CA. For more information please visit www.barcelonadesign.com.