GlobalPlatform Announces New Technical Director

20 October 2005: GlobalPlatform Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of Gil Bernabeu to the position of GlobalPlatform Technical Director, to begin with immediate effect. The appointment ensures consistency across the business and technical activities undertaken by GlobalPlatform, the global leader in smart card infrastructure development and deployment.

Gil Bernabeu has been actively committed to GlobalPlatform technical and business activities since his engagement with the organization in 2002. He has served as the GlobalPlatform Systems Committee Chair since 2003 leading the development of the four main Systems Specifications and the Systems Compliance Program. Prior to this role, Gil was intrinsically involved as a Systems Committee member and participated in many other Marketing Center and Planning Unit meetings.

As Technical Advisor for Gemplus, Gil Bernabeu will undertake the two year appointment on a part-time basis, with the full support of his current company of employment. Gil brings to the position extensive market knowledge, with experience in the management of smart card issuance software. Additionally, he has overseen development and deployment of smart card based solutions and the design of systems architecture for personalization in the Telecoms, Finance and Security services.

The primary purpose of the GlobalPlatform Technical Director is to assist in the coordination and alignment of technical activities for the organization, to enable and promote an open and interoperable infrastructure for smart cards, devices and systems. Gil will also have an active role in representing GlobalPlatform externally to the smart card community and other industry associations, to ensure they are informed of GlobalPlatform technical solutions available within the marketplace.

Gil succeeds Marc Kekicheff, Vice President Product Technology at Visa Worldwide Services, who has stepped down from the role of Technical Director after five years to pursue further responsibilities within Visa, and to allow other interested Members to serve the organization. Gil and Marc will be working closely together to ensure a smooth transition of all current and future technical activities.

Bob Beer, Vice President of Business Development at Datacard Group and Chair of GlobalPlatform, comments: “We are pleased to welcome Gil as GlobalPlatform’s new Technical Director. Gil has been an active member of GlobalPlatform for a number of years and has driven a number of initiatives during this period. It is through a combination of his vast industry experience and evident continuity of leadership and commitment to GlobalPlatform activities, that the Board selected Gil for the position.

“I would also like take this opportunity to acknowledge the contribution Marc made to our organization during his period as Technical Director in developing standards and shaping our organization to meet the needs of the dynamic smart card market. His technical expertise, energy, and team commitment has contributed greatly to the success of our organization.

“The Board strongly believes Gil’s participation will continue the momentum established by Marc and further advance the technical offerings of GlobalPlatform, and drive the adoption of our standards globally within a variety of markets and end-user communities.”

For further media information, please contact Sarah Bayne or Shona Clarke at Harrison Cowley on + 44 (0) 870 606 0960 or email sarahb@harrisoncowley.comshonac@harrisoncowley.com.

Notes to Editors:
GlobalPlatform
Driven by over 50 cross-industry member organizations, GlobalPlatform is the leading, international association, focused on establishing, maintaining and driving the adoption of standards to enable an open and interoperable infrastructure for smart cards, devices and systems that simplifies and accelerates development, deployment and management of applications across industries.

These specifications are known as the standard for smart card infrastructure, thanks to their balance of technical superiority and business justification.

GlobalPlatform specifications are available royalty-free and have been adopted in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia by many public and private bodies. Current estimates for 2005 predict the number of GlobalPlatform smart cards in circulation exceeds 70 million and an additional 450 million GSM cards utilize GlobalPlatform technology for Over-The-Air application downloads.

GlobalPlatform is an independent, not-for-profit organization and its strategy is defined and prioritized by a Board of Directors. GlobalPlatform is currently chaired by Chairman Robert E. Beer, Vice President Business Development, Datacard Group. www.globalplatform.org.