Algonquin Studios is excited to welcome a long-time member of the Buffalo information technology community to its executive team. David M. Straitiff joins Algonquin Studios as Senior Vice President, Emerging Ventures. David's wealth of public and private sector experience will be invaluable in this new role. He will be challenged with formalizing the technology start-up growth and development efforts already underway at Algonquin Studios, and working to discover new opportunities for business development.

David has a long history of entrepreneurship in Western New York. He was a founder of Voice Technologies Group, an Amherst based company, later acquired by Intel. Subsequently he founded Syrinex Communications, focused on providing Internet solutions for small business, one of the first Buffalo Byte Belt companies. Most recently his consulting firm, Compass Ventures, provided entrepreneurial services to local technology companies. On the public side, he was a founder and the first chairman of infoTech Niagara - a WNY trade association of technology related businesses - and continues to serve on its board. He was also instrumental in the formation of the Buffalo Byte Belt marketing initiative and continues to Chair the Mayor's Information Technology Advisory Council.

David Straitiff says "I have always had a strong belief that our region's growth must come through support of entrepreneurs and the expansion of existing businesses. The resources Algonquin is willing to commit to new ventures, and their track record of working with tech start-ups are an excellent compliment to my past and present work in the private and public sectors. My new role here is a logical extension of our mutual interest in and commitment to the growth and development of the technology community in Buffalo."

Working with new ventures is nothing new for Algonquin Studios, either. After locating in the Buffalo Byte Belt themselves in 1998, Algonquin Studios has continued supporting other tech start-ups - including Thermal Source, Med Recovery Management, Enlightened Medias and Golden Hire Consulting - with contributions of office space, Internet connectivity, business start-up assistance and other business resources.

According to Algonquin's President and CEO Stephen Kiernan, "Working with other entrepreneurs to develop and grow businesses in downtown Buffalo is not only rewarding personally, but has created a number of business synergies for us. I am pleased that David is joining our team. His experience and talents will allow us to aggressively pursue the opportunities presented by technology start-ups in WNY."

Algonquin's first new venture under David's leadership will be in the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) market space. Initially the focus of the new company is to marry existing RFID and Internet technologies to make these cutting edge systems more usable and cost effective. Algonquin Studios will be a key resource in developing the Internet and enterprise applications for the project.

About David M. Straitiff

Mr. Straitiff serves as Senior Vice President, Emerging Ventures for Algonquin Studios leading the company's efforts to discover new opportunities for business development. Prior to joining Algonquin Studios, Mr. Straitiff was a principal in Compass Ventures, a consulting firm he founded focused on business strategies for early stage technology businesses. He was a founder of Syrinex Communications Corporation, a manufacturer of Internet solutions for small businesses, where he served as President and Chief Executive Officer. Prior to Syrinex, Mr. Straitiff was a founder of Voice Technologies Group (VTG), where he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer. VTG, purchased by Intel, was a leading provider of computer telephony integration technology.

Mr. Straitiff is a founding member and past Chairman of infoTech Niagara, a trade association for information technology companies in the Buffalo Niagara region. He is the Chairman of the Mayor's Information Technology Advisory Council. He also chaired the Technology and Information Task Force for the University at Buffalo State of the Region Project and serves on the board of the Atlantic Corridor, a trade alliance between Western New York and Ireland.

For more information please contact Doug Smith at 842-1439 or doug@algonquinstudios.com.