TORONTO, ONTARIO (January 7, 2010) -- Aastra Technologies Limited - (TSX: “AAH”) regretfully announces that one of its independent directors, Mr. Donald Watt, died unexpectedly on December 23, 2009.
Aastra wishes to pass on its condolences to the family of Mr. Watt and wishes to express its gratitude for Mr. Watt’s contributions to Aastra. Mr. Watt has been a member of the Board of Directors since May 1997 and has actively contributed to Aastra’s growth and development.
As a result of the vacancy created by the death of Mr. Watt, the Board of Directors of Aastra has appointed Mr. Francis Shen as a Member of the Audit Committee on an interim basis to serve until the later of the Corporation’s upcoming annual meeting of shareholders or until June 23, 2010 unless earlier replaced with a successor (the “Interim Period”). Mr. Francis Shen is currently Aastra’s Chairman and Co-CEO and Aastra is relying on the exemption provided by Section 3.5 of Multilateral Instrument 52-110 (the “Instrument”) for the Interim Period as Mr. Francis Shen does not satisfy the requirement of being “independent” within the meaning of the Instrument. The Board of Directors of Aastra has determined that reliance on such exemption will not materially adversely affect the ability of the Audit Committee to act independently and to satisfy its other requirements under the Instrument.
In addition, the current Lead Independent Director, Mr. David Williams, has been appointed as Interim Chair of the Governance and Nominating Committee in order to fill the vacancy created by the death of Mr. Watt until a successor has been duly appointed by the Board of Directors of Aastra.
Aastra’s Governance and Nominating Committee will be conducting a search to find suitably qualified nominees to be considered for appointment as a replacement director to fill the vacancy created by the death of Mr. Watt and/or stand for election as a director at Aastra’s upcoming annual meeting of shareholders.
About Aastra Technologies Limited
Aastra Technologies Limited (TSX:AAH) is a global company at the forefront of the Enterprise Communication market. Headquartered in Concord, Ontario, Canada, Aastra develops and delivers innovative and integrated solutions that address the communication needs of businesses small and large around the world. Aastra enables Enterprises to communicate and collaborate more efficiently and effectively by offering customers a full range of open standard IP-based and traditional communications networking products, including terminals, systems, and applications. For additional information on Aastra, visit our website at http://www.aastra.com .
For further information contact:
Kathy Ristic, V.P. Finance, (905) 760-4200
investors@aastra.com
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