Pica8 Inc., the leader in open networking for software defined networks (SDN), today announced the election of Michael R. Splinter, chairman and CEO of Applied Materials, Inc., to the company’s board of directors.

“Pica8 is a visionary organization that is making significant strides toward changing the way networks are managed by offering true software-defined networking (SDN) and hardware independence,” said James Liao, CEO and co-founder, Pica8. “Mike is a visionary himself and a proven technology leader who will bring tremendous value to Pica8 through his industry relationships, leadership and experience.”

Splinter has served as president and CEO of Applied Materials, Inc. since 2003 and became chairman of the board of directors in 2009. During his tenure, he has led Applied to record revenue and profits, while launching the company’s entry into new energy markets.

“Pica8 is an innovative company on an exciting growth trajectory,” said Splinter. “I look forward to playing a role in helping Pica8 realize the full potential of their game-changing technology for cloud computing.”

Prior to joining Applied, Splinter spent 20 years at Intel where he held several top executive positions. He earned both B.S. and M.S. degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

About Pica8, Inc.

Since 2009, Pica8 has been fulfilling the promise of true software defined networking (SDN) by providing the world’s first open, hardware-independent switching system. Pica8 open switches transform the data center by decoupling hardware from software. This new approach provides greater flexibility and adaptability, all while driving down implementation- and management-related costs of cloud and virtualized applications. Pica8 is a global company headquartered in Palo Alto, California. For more information, visit www.pica8.com.