RADNOR, Pa., Aug. 30, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Safeguard
Scientifics, Inc. (NYSE: SFE) today announced that Scott A. Snyder, Ph.D. has joined the company as
Senior Vice President, Managing Director, and Chief Technology and
Innovation Officer. Dr. Snyder is a recognized thought leader and
has more than 25 years of experience in business leadership,
strategic planning and technology management for Fortune 500
companies and startup ventures.
"More than ever, technology is eliciting dramatic shifts in
market opportunities and determining where value is being created
and destroyed," said Stephen T. Zarrilli, President and CEO of
Safeguard. "Safeguard has historically been a pioneer in
identifying and capitalizing on technology-enabled market shifts.
By creating a new position focused on technology and innovation, we
are strengthening our ability to lead the next wave of
opportunities in an era of continuous digital disruption. Scott has
been a part of the Safeguard community since 2006 having served on
our Advisory Board. He's been on the front lines of Safeguard's
evolution and is an integral member of our ecosystem. We're
thrilled to have Scott join our team full-time to help shape
Safeguard's long-term strategy and actively support our partner
companies as they evaluate new opportunities based on their own
innovations and technologies. His deep technology experience and
entrepreneurial experiences will prove to be invaluable."
Dr. Snyder comes to Safeguard from Mobiquity Inc., a leader in
delivering innovative mobile and digital solutions for enterprises,
where he was President and Chief Strategy Officer. He will continue
to be Chairman of Mobiquity's Advisory Board. Dr. Snyder has held
executive positions with several Fortune 500 companies including
GE, Martin Marietta, and Lockheed
Martin, has been the CEO of a leading strategic planning firm,
Decision Strategies International, and has also started business
ventures in software including OmniChoice, a CRM/Analytics
applications provider, and Strategic Radar, which provides
software-based solutions for monitoring changes in the strategic
environment. He also serves on the Board of Directors for Fulton
Financial Corporation (FFC).
Dr. Snyder has authored a book entitled, "The New World of
Wireless: How to Compete in the 4G Revolution", and has been a
long-time thought leader in the mobile communications space. In
addition, he is a chapter author in the books "The Network
Challenge: Strategy, Profit, and Risk in the Interlinked World" and
"Inside the Minds: Small Business Growth Strategies: Goals for
Successful CEOs." Dr. Snyder is a Senior Fellow in the Management
Department at the Wharton School, an Adjunct Faculty Member in the
School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Pennsylvania, and has lectured at
MIT, Babson, Duke, and INSEAD on Digital Innovation,
Decision-making, Business and IT Strategy, Next Generation
Wireless, Product Design and Development, and Business
Intelligence. Dr. Snyder founded and directs the Wireless
Innovation Council, which is made up of leading companies focused
on cross-sector mobile innovation opportunities. He also holds two
patents for on-line decision aids and has been quoted as a thought
leader in numerous publications including the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, the
Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Business Journal.
"I have a passion for creating things, and Safeguard provides a
powerful platform for entrepreneurs and innovators to grow their
businesses by leveraging broad expertise and a high-impact
ecosystem," said Dr. Snyder. "Social, mobile, analytics, cloud and
internet of things technologies are transforming companies and
industries everywhere by creating step changes in economics and
driving capabilities to the edge with empowered end-users. There
has never been a better time to harness this new wave of
technologies to create new ventures with lasting market impact. I'm
thrilled to be joining a company that for over sixty years has been
paving the way for innovation and a team who has the depth and
breadth of expertise to make a lasting impact on our world."
Dr. Snyder earned his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in Systems
Engineering from University of
Pennsylvania.
In accordance with New York Stock Exchange rules, Safeguard also
stated that it intends to issue to Mr. Snyder an inducement award
consisting of a combination of restricted stock and restricted
stock units having an aggregate value of $300,000. The number of shares of
restricted stock and restricted stock units to be awarded, each
representing one half of the aggregate value, will be determined
based upon the average closing price of a share of Safeguard common
stock on the NYSE composite tape for the 20 consecutive trading
days immediately preceding September 30,
2016. The restricted stock and restricted stock units are
expected to be granted on or about October
28, 2016. The restricted stock will vest 25% on October 15, 2017, and in 12 equal quarterly
installments commencing on the 15th day of each January, April,
July and October thereafter, assuming Mr. Snyder's continued
employment by Safeguard as of such date. The restricted stock
units will have a 10-year term and will vest based on Safeguard's
performance-based vesting model. The inducement award was approved
by the Compensation Committee of Safeguard's Board of Directors,
without shareholder approval, as an "employee inducement" award
under the NYSE's rules.
About Safeguard Scientifics
Safeguard Scientifics
(NYSE:SFE) provides capital and relevant expertise to fuel the
growth of technology-driven businesses in healthcare, financial
services and digital media. Safeguard targets companies that are
capitalizing on the next wave of enabling technologies with a
particular focus on the Internet of Everything, enhanced security
and predictive analytics. Safeguard typically deploys between
$5 million and $25 million over the
course of its partnership with a company, initially investing in a
Series A or B Round and opportunistically in a Seed Round.
Safeguard has a distinguished track record of fostering innovation
and building market leaders that spans more than six decades. For
more information, please visit www.safeguard.com or
follow us on Twitter @safeguard.
Forward-looking Statements
Except for the
historical information and discussions contained herein, statements
contained in this release may constitute "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. Our forward-looking statements are subject to
risks and uncertainties. The risks and uncertainties that could
cause actual results to differ materially include, among others,
our ability to make good decisions about the deployment of capital,
the fact that our partner companies may vary from period to period,
our substantial capital requirements and absence of liquidity from
our partner company holdings, fluctuations in the market prices of
our publicly traded partner company holdings, competition, our
inability to obtain maximum value for our partner company holdings,
our ability to attract and retain qualified employees, market
valuations in sectors in which our partner companies operate, our
inability to control our partner companies, our need to manage our
assets to avoid registration under the Investment Company Act of
1940, and risks associated with our partner companies, including
the fact that most of our partner companies have a limited history
and a history of operating losses, face intense competition and may
never be profitable, the effect of economic conditions in the
business sectors in which Safeguard's partner companies operate,
and other uncertainties described in our filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. Many of these factors are
beyond the Company's ability to predict or control. As a result of
these and other factors, the Company's past financial performance
should not be relied on as an indication of future performance. The
Company does not assume any obligation to update any
forward-looking statements or other information contained in this
press release.
SAFEGUARD CONTACTS:
For Investor
Relations
John E. Shave III
Senior Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate
Communications
610.975.4952
jshave(at)safeguard(dot)com
For Media Relations
Heather R. Hunter
Vice President, Corporate Communications
610.975.4923
hhunter(at)safeguard(dot)com
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160826/401749
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150824/260753LOGO
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/safeguard-scientifics-names-scott-a-snyder-phd-chief-technology-and-innovation-officer-300318876.html
SOURCE Safeguard Scientifics, Inc.