GoAhead Software Names New CEO

John Hansen appointed, company poised for future growth
BELLEVUE, Wash.--(Business Wire)--
GoAhead Software, the worldwide leader in open standards-based high availability
middleware for mission-critical systems, today announces John Hansen as its new
CEO. Hansen`s unique blend of experience and expertise across private and public
sector, as well as his proven track-record growing companies exponentially,
equips GoAhead to meet equipment manufacturers` rapidly increasing need to
differentiate. This combined with the company`s firm foundation of success and
the launch of SAFfire 3.0, featuring unmatched support of SA Forum open
specifications, creates a winning combination. Jim Ewel, former GoAhead CEO,
steps down after six years of exemplary growth and establishing GoAhead as the
leader in the marketplace.

"I am thrilled to join the team at GoAhead Software," says John Hansen, CEO,
GoAhead Software. "After serving on the board of directors for nearly two years,
I`ve seen Jim Ewel establish a tremendous foundation of success. I look forward
to continuing to work with Jim going forward, and together we will ensure the
transition is as seamless and smooth as possible."

During his six-year tenure, Ewel took GoAhead from initial commercial deployment
to more than 50,000 successful commercial deployments, grew the customer base
ten-fold and established GoAhead as the leading provider of commercial
off-the-shelf (COTS) high availability to network equipment providers (NEPs),
telecom equipment manufacturers (TEMs) and systems integrators. Ewel remains a
significant shareholder in GoAhead.

"The GoAhead team, lead by Jim Ewel, has built a launch pad for considerable
growth - more than 50,000 successful deployments worldwide, unparalleled
experience helping designers of mission-critical systems achieve a competitive
edge, and an unrivaled offering in SAFfire 3.0. I`m excited to take the reigns,
and together with the team, realize the tremendous opportunity that lies ahead,"
says Hansen.

"I can think of no better person to take the lead at GoAhead than John Hansen,"
says Jim Ewel, former CEO of GoAhead Software. "His desire for greatness and his
well-suited expertise are the perfect combination to take GoAhead to the next
level."

Previously, Hansen served as CEO of Vallent Corporation, formerly WatchMark
Corporation, providing leading wireless performance management solutions. During
his tenure, Hansen more than doubled the size of the company and acquired its
largest competitor, creating a company with more than 85 percent world market
share and operations and offices on six continents. IBM acquired Vallent in
2007.

Before joining Vallent, Hansen was the Secretary of Technology for the State of
Colorado. Prior to his service in the public sector, Hansen founded Metapath
Corporation in 1994, a software development company specializing in billing and
customer management solutions for the telecommunications industry. During his
tenure as founder and CEO, Hansen grew the company to over $26 million dollars
in fiscal year 1998. Metapath was purchased by Marconi PLC for $720 million in
2000. Hansen has a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science from Brigham
Young University and an Executive MBA from University of Washington.

"With an impressive record of performance in both private and public sector,
John Hansen possesses the experience to extend GoAhead`s leading market
position. We are pleased to welcome him aboard," states Enrique Godreau III,
managing director, Voyager Capital. "In this economic climate where equipment
manufacturers are increasingly pressured to deliver more services faster and
with less, there is a surge of opportunity for GoAhead to help customers
differentiate. We are confident in John`s leadership in realizing this
opportunity."

ABOUT GOAHEAD SOFTWARE

GoAhead Software is the worldwide leader in open standards-based high
availability and management middleware for carrier-grade and mission critical
systems for which downtime is unacceptable. With more than 50,000 deployments,
GoAhead has the only proven, open standards-based solution, reducing risk so you
can meet time and cost requirements. GoAhead`s leadership and long commitment to
Service Availability Forum standards prevent vendor lock-in and protect your
investments over time. Every day, industry leaders such as Motorola,
Alcatel-Lucent, LG-Nortel, and Lockheed Martin entrust GoAhead to speed time to
delivery, reduce risk and focus on differentiation. For more information, visit
www.goahead.com.

GoAhead, SelfReliant and SAFfire are registered trademarks or trademarks of
GoAhead Software, Inc. All other brand and product names are trademarks or
registered trademarks of their respective holder.

GoAhead Software
Marketing Manager
Lacy Williams, 206-915-8771
lwilliams@goahead.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009