F O R   I M M E D I A T E   R E L E A S E For more information contact: Rod McDermott McDermott & Bull, Inc. 111 Pacific Suite 200 Irvine, CA 92618 (949) 753-1700 mcdermott@mbsearch.net McDermott & Bull Executive Search and Conexant Systems, Inc. Announce Hiring of Vice President of Quality Irvine, CA, April 14, 2003 - McDermott & Bull Executive Search, Southern California's premier executive search firm, today announced the completion of a critical assignment to recruit an executive addition to Conexant's management team. Stephen Bergeron, previously Vice President of Quality and Reliability Assurance for Semtech Corp., a Camarillo based analog semi-conductor manufacturer, has joined Conexant in the newly created position of Vice President of Quality. Mr. Bergeron brings more than fifteen years of quality assurance management and leadership from both mature companies and start-ups. He has led the ISO certification process at a number of companies and has led teams that earned the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality award, and is currently is a member of the Department of Commerce Malcolm Baldridge Board of Examiners. "We are very pleased to bring Steve on board during this critical time of growth in sales and conversion to a fabless semiconductor company," said Michael Vishny, Conexant's Senior Vice President of Human Resources. "His senior leadership, ability to translate the quality vision through-out entire organizations, and thorough working knowledge of the Pacific Rim is a great boon to our firm. As we begin to outsource more and increase the expectations of our suppliers as well as our own product developers, Steve's practical and successful history in all functions is a tremendous find for us." "Conexant's manufacturing process shifts and production quality demands fit perfectly within my background," according to Mr. Bergeron. "I am convinced that the company's leadership team sees the future semiconductor and broadband applications businesses very clearly. For me, this is the ideal next step and I look forward to working with the superb talent at Conexant and building its next set of quality successes." Chris Cottey and Rod McDermott, who led the search engagement for McDermott & Bull, commented, "Steve Bergeron is an extremely rare talent with tremendous industry experience. This is the pairing of a company that is deep into its next evolution of its business model and is successfully moving fabless with an executive whose experience in similar conversions and his comprehensive attention to detail, as witnessed by his numerous past ISO certifications, that should bring Conexant "leadership status" in its product lines. About Conexant, Inc. Conexant Systems, Inc. (http://www.conexant.com and Nasdaq: CNXT) is a worldwide leader in semiconductor solutions for communications applications. Conexant has aligned its businesses to target high growth, high volume opportunities within the worldwide communications marketplace including customer premise broadband communications and the Internet infrastructure. It leverages its expertise in mixed-signal processing to deliver integrated systems and semiconductor products through these two separate businesses. Top customers include IBM, Motorola, Nokia, Philips, and Samsung Electronics. About McDermott & Bull Executive Search McDermott & Bull, Inc. (http://www.mbsearch.net) is a retained global executive search firm headquartered in Irvine, CA. Practice areas include Consumer Products Manufacturing and Distribution, Retail, Restaurants and Food Service, Life Science and Healthcare, Durable Goods and Aerospace Manufacturing, Financial Services, Technology and Telecommunications, and Not for Profit. Founded by Christopher Bull and Rodney McDermott, the firm specializes in recruiting difficult-to-find and critical talent for its clients. McDermott & Bull works with a large number of prestigious clients in a variety of industries, including Walt Disney Companies, Cendant Corp., Conexant, Quantum, Experian, Connexion by Boeing, Sicor Pharmaceuticals, and Mattel. The principals of McDermott & Bull have developed expertise in a variety of growing fields and is one of the fastest growing executive search firms in Southern California.