outside advisors

Michael Bull

Dr. Michael Bull serves as an advisor to PortalPlayer and currently is with the Department of Media and Film at the University of Sussex in Brighton, where he has been instructing since 2000 and was instrumental in securing grants for a collaborative research project with the Music Department for Sound, Music, and New Film Production. Prior to the University of Sussex, he was a Visiting Tutor and Examiner in Social and Political Sciences at the University of Cambridge from 1998 to 2000, and also a Senior Lecturer in Communications Studies and Examiner at A.P.U. Cambridge between 1996 to 2000. He also served as a Sociology Lecturer at Goldsmiths College, University of London between 1993 and 1996.

During his professional tenure, Dr. Bull has written articles, conducted television interviews and spoken at many conferences. He is the author of Sounding Out the City: Personal Stereos and the Management of Everyday Life, Oxford. Berg., 2000, and he edited The Auditory Culture Reader that was also published in 2003 by Oxford Berg. He holds a B. Sc. in Sociology and Philosophy with honors from the University of Bristol, a Post Graduate Certificate of Education in Sociology for Further Education from Brunel University, an MA in Modern European Thought from the University of Greenwich, and a PhD in Sociology from Goldsmiths College, University of London.

Paul Franklin

Paul Franklin is an advisor to PortalPlayer and currently serves as the Vice President of Operations at Atheros Communications, Inc., where he joined in November 2003. Prior to Atheros Communications, Mr. Franklin was an Executive Consultant serving in multiple capacities including Interim CEO, Operations, Business Development and Fund-Raising from October 2001 through November 2003 for many technology enterprises including Portal Player, Axiom Microdevices, Inc., Inphi. Corp, Terixx Logic Corp, Xceive, Xwyre and Tallwood Venture Capital.

Mr. Franklin served for more than ten years at Sonic Blue Inc., formerly S3 Incorporated (later merging with Diamond Multimedia), from February1991 through September 2001, including Senior Vice President of Business Development and Investments, President of the Multimedia Products Division, Senior Vice President of Operations. Earlier, Mr. Franklin served as a VP of Operations at Actel an FPGA supplier, and spent 18 years in management and engineering roles in the Manufacturing, Product Engineering, Strategic Marketing, and R&QA functions at Monolithic Memories Inc. and Motorola.

Michael Tchao

Michael Tchao is an advisor to PortalPlayer and currently is the General Manager of Technology Ventures at Nike. He has been with Nike since July 2002 and his group focuses on developing new technology-based product and services businesses including a popular range of Portable Sport Audio products with partner Philips.

From August 2000 through July 2002, Mr. Tchao served as founder and chief product officer for Onedoto, a company he co-founded with Steve Capps (original Apple Macintosh team-member) in the mobile wireless and web-based communications market. Mr. Tchao spent nearly ten years, from August 1994 through August 2000, as an independent product and technology consultant to companies like IBM, Kodak, GM OnStar, Motorola, Sony, United Airlines and Walt Disney. He also served as the vice president of marketing at the Cygnus Division of Red Hat Software between May 1997 and September 1997.

Prior to consulting, between April 1985 to August 1994, Tchao spent nearly ten years in Product Management, Product Marketing, and Strategic Alliance positions at Apple Computer helping to define, launch and market hundreds of hardware and software products. Tchao helped found Apple's Multimedia Group to develop key multimedia technologies and alliances between Apple and consumer electronics, communications, and content companies. Tchao also headed up Product Marketing in Apple's Personal Interactive Electronics Group, where Apple's first consumer electronics products including the Newton PDA were developed.

Tchao holds a B Sc. in engineering product design with distinction from Stanford University.