NW_20010626_VASCO Names Investor Relations Executive to Further Investor Communications in the US and Worldwide
OAKBROOK TERRACE, Illinois and BRUSSELS, Belgium – June 26, 2001 – VASCO (Nasdaq NM & Nasdaq Europe: VDSI; www.vasco.com), a global provider of security solutions that enable e-business and e-commerce, today announced the appointment of Ms. Annemieke Blondeel to Director of Investor Relations. In her role, a new position at VASCO, Ms. Blondeel is responsible for further increasing VASCO’s visibility in the worldwide financial markets with particular emphasis on the US. She will report to Mario Houthooft, President and CEO of VASCO, and will direct investor relations staff in the US and Europe.
“The typical US investor is simply not aware of VASCO and we are going to change that,” said Ms. Blondeel. “As a first step, we have created a 24-hour investor hotline – toll-free in the US – and we promise to respond to every investor request within 24 hours. We will also make much more information readily available to our current and prospective VASCO investors, since good information is the basis for any smart investment decision. VASCO has been consistently publishing interim trading statements that have exceeded market expectations, and has given public guidance that we expect to achieve sustainable profitability by Q4 2001. This is a success story that absolutely must be shared and acknowledged.”
Ms. Blondeel is the former Managing Director of LBConsult Ltd., an investor relations consulting company she founded in 1992. Throughout her career, she has held many positions in financial markets, including Vice President of Capital Markets for the London office of a major US bank, head of fixed-income and equity sales for German and Japanese banks, and director of a UK-based research team for a German bank. Ms. Blondeel holds a degree in Macroeconomics from Erasmus University in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and is fluent in English, German, Dutch, and French.
“We are very pleased to bring Annemieke’s extensive investor relations expertise to VASCO,” stated Mario Houthooft, President and CEO of VASCO. “She has been very successful in leading our European investor relations efforts with her own company since late 1999. During this time, VASCO has expanded coverage from one to six equity analysts, attended numerous investor fairs throughout Europe, and held meetings with the leading financial institutions in London, Paris, Geneva, Frankfurt, Brussels, and other key European financial markets. Annemieke’s proven proficiency with investor relations has been highly influential toward the increased investor awareness and communications of VASCO in the European market. We are confident that her experience and dedication will generate significantly improved investor awareness of VASCO in the US as well.”
Investors seeking additional information on VASCO are encouraged to call VASCO’s 24-hour investor hotline toll-free +1 800 238 2726 from the US, or +44 208 308 7080 from Europe. You can also visit the investor section of our website at www.vasco.com.
About VASCO
VASCO secures the enterprise from the mainframe to the Internet with infrastructure solutions that enable secure e-business and e-commerce, protect sensitive information, and safeguard the identity of users. The Company's family of Digipass® and VACMAN® products offers end-to-end security through strong authentication and digital signature, true and secure Single Sign-On, access control, and web portal, LAN, and enterprise security, while sharply reducing the time and effort required to deploy and manage security. VASCO's customers include hundreds of financial institutions, blue-chip corporations, and government agencies in more than 50 countries. More information is available at www.vasco.com.
Forward Looking Statements
Statements made in this news release that relate to future plans, events or performances are forward-looking statements. Any statement containing words such as “believes,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “expects,” and similar words, is forward-looking, and these statements involve risks and uncertainties and are based on current expectations. Consequently, actual results could differ materially from the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements.
Reference is made to the Company's public filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for further information regarding the Company and its operations.
For more information contact:
Americas:
Mike Lange, +1 630 932 8844, [email protected]
Europe/Asia:
VASCO: Ariane Bosmans, +32 2 456 9810, [email protected]
Worldwide Investor Relations:
Annemieke Blondeel, +1 800 238 2726 or +44 20 8 308 7080, [email protected]