BNET Industries

Market Cap:$112.9M
Last Fiscal Year Sales:$36.5M
  • Public
  • US
Dow Jones Description

Allowing customers to immerse themselves in games. Founded in 1993 and headquartered in San Jose, CA, Immersion Corporation (NASDAQ: IMMR) is a producer of haptic hardware and software technologies. The company is divided into two units: The Immersion Computing, Entertainment, and Industrial Segment, offering products such as gaming, mobility, automotive and 3D and Mechanical CAD Design, and the Immersion Medical Segment, medical simulation products such as CathSim AccuTouch System, Endoscopy AccuTouch System, Endovascular AccuTouch System, Laparoscopy AccuTouch System, and the Hysterscopy AccuTouch System. The company had 2005 revenue of about $24.3 million and employs approximately 130 people. In December 2005, the company released the CyberGlove II hand motion-capture glove.

CEO, President
Victor Viegas
Number of Employees 184
Contact Information

801 Fox Ln

San Jose, California 95131

www.immersion.c...

(408) 467-1900

NAICS Code Other Computer Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing: 334119

Recent Events

  • NXT Licenses Immersion's TouchSense Haptics Technology

    11/18/09 - Licensing / Contract - View Story

  • Immersion CEO Clent Richardson resigns

    10/21/09 - Financial Announcement - View Story

  • Immersion CEO Clent Richardson Resigns

    10/21/09 - Mgmt. Change Leaving - CEO - View Story

  • Immersion CEO Clent Richardson Resigns

    11/03/09 - Mgmt. Change Entering - CEO - View Story

  • Law Offices Of Howard Smith Files Class Action Lawsuit Against Immersion - Quick Facts

    9/25/09 - Lawsuit Filed - View Story

  • Shareholder Class Action Filed Against Immersion Corporation by the Law Firm of Barroway Topaz Kessler...

    9/18/09 - Lawsuit Filed - View Story

  • Izard Nobel LLP Announces Class Action Lawsuit Against Immersion Corporation

    9/09/09 - Lawsuit Filed - View Story

  • CAD software maker Revware buys MicroScribe from Immersion Corp.

    7/06/09 - Merger / Acquisition - View Story

News & Analysis

hardware and immersion corp. - All News and Analysis

Decision Makers

Name (plus bio) Position
Victor Viegas CEO, President
Dean Chang CTO & Vice President, Gaming
Stephen Ambler Cfo and Vice President, Finance
Christophe Ramstein Senior Vice President, Research and Engineering
Michael Zuckerman Senior Vice President
Richard Vogel Senior Vice President
Dexter C. Tight Vice President & General Manager
Gayle Schaeffer Vice President, Corporate Marketing
Jeffrey Eid Vice President, Sales
John R. Grundy Vice President & General Manager, Mobility
Laura A. Peter General Counsel & Vice President
Mark Belinsky Vice President and General Manager, Mobility and Gaming
Scott Tucker Vice President, Product
Anne Degheest Founder and Principal
Mr Robert Van
Robert Van Naarden Director

Board of Directors

Name (plus bio) Position
Emily Liggett Board of Directors
Jack Saltich Board of Directors
John C. Hodgman Board of Directors
Jonathan Rubinstein Board of Directors
Richard Vogal Board of Directors
Steven Blank Board of Directors

Since October 2002, Vic Viegas has been Immersion's CEO, president, and member of the Board of Directors. From February 2002 to February 2005, he also served as president, COO, and CFO, having joined Immersion in August 1999 as CFO, VP Finance. During his tenure, he has helped bring the company public, increased operational efficiency, added new licensing relationships in the markets Immersion serves, and has guided Immersion's growth as a company including its litigation efforts. From June 1996 to August 1999, he served as vice president of finance and administration and CFO of Macrovision Corporation, a developer and licensor of video and software copy-protection technologies. From October 1986 to June 1996, he served as vice president of finance and CFO of Balco Incorporated, a manufacturer of advanced automotive service equipment. He holds a bachelor's in accounting and an MBA from Santa Clara University. Viegas is also a CPA in the state of California.

Organization Position Status
Immersion Corporation CEO, President Current
Immersion Medical Director Current
Immersion Corporation Board of Directors Current
Immersion Corporation President, Coo Former
Immersion Corporation Cfo, Vice President Former
Balco, Inc. CFO Former
Balco, Inc. Vice President of Finance Former
Santa Clara University Bachelor's In Accounting and An Mba Former

Organization Position Status
Immersion Corporation CTO & Vice President, Gaming Current

Organization Position Status
Immersion Medical Cfo and Vice President, Finance Current
Immersion Corporation Cfo and Vice President, Finance Current
BAM! Entertainment, Inc. CFO & Vice President, Finance Current
Immersion Corporation Board of Directors Current
Insignia Solutions Plc CFO Former
Insignia Solutions Plc senior vice president, Finance Former
BAM! Entertainment, Inc. vice president, Finance Former

Christophe Ramstein is Immersion's senior vice president of engineering and research and president of Immersion Canada, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary. Since 1988, Ramstein has been designing, developing, and evangelizing haptic systems, adding synthetic touch to the human-computer interaction experience. In 1988 he completed a Master's degree in Applied Mathematics at the Institute Joseph Fourier and, in 1991, completed a PhD in computer sciences at the National Polytechnic Institute of Grenoble, France. From 1992 to 1996, he managed major R&D projects in the field of haptics and simulation with Industry Canada, the Canadian Space Agency, McGill University, and private companies. He authored many patents and innovative technical papers presented at international conferences. In 1994, he demonstrated the first multimodal system allowing visually impaired users to freely navigate the Windows desktop with a haptic mouse. In 1996, he founded Haptic Technologies, Inc. focusing on the engineering and production of programmable haptic systems. When Immersion Corporation acquired Haptic Technologies in 2000, Ramstein became senior director of software and driver development. In 2001, he became general manager of Immersion Canada and in October 2002 was promoted to vice president of Immersion's engineering group.

Organization Position Status
Immersion Medical Senior Vice President, Research and Engineering Current
Immersion Corporation Senior Vice President, Research and Engineering Current
Immersion Corporation Senior Director Former

Mr. Zuckerman is responsible for all aspects of marketing and business development at I-many and brings extensive experience in the development and execution of marketing programs for enterprise software companies. Zuckerman was previously senior vice president and general manager of the 3D business group at Immersion Corporation, a publicly-traded technology company, after first serving as senior vice president and general manager of its industrial business group, as well as senior vice president of marketing. Prior to Immersion, Zuckerman was vice president of marketing for Verity, Inc., a publicly-traded enterprise software company (now part Autonomy Corporation plc), where he was instrumental in making Verity an international leader in infrastructure software for search, categorization and personalization for the Global 2000. Mr. Zuckerman holds a BSEE in electrical engineering from University of Maryland College Park.

Organization Position Status
Edge Dynamics, Inc. Senior Vice President, Marketing (Executive Team Member) Current
I-many, Inc. Senior Vice President and General Manager Current
Immersion Corporation Senior Vice President Current
Edge Dynamics, Inc. Board of Directors Current
Verity, Inc. Vice President of Marketing Former
Immersion Corporation Manager Former
University of Maryland Bsee In Electrical Engineering Former

Organization Position Status
Immersion Corporation Senior Vice President Current
Kinetic Concepts, Inc. Former
Harvard Business School MBA Former
Middlebury College bachelor's degree Former

Organization Position Status
Immersion Corporation Vice President & General Manager Current

Gayle Schaeffer joined Immersion in February 2004 and is responsible for corporate marketing and the 3D Business Group. Previously, she was worldwide vice president of business development for consumer electronics at Material Sciences Corporation and vice president of worldwide marketing for Elo TouchSystems. Prior to Elo, she held various marketing, engineering, and operations management positions for Raychem Corporation and Exxon Company U.S.A. She has a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Idaho and an MBA from University of California, Berkeley.

Organization Position Status
Immersion Medical Vice President, Corporate Marketing Current
Immersion Corporation Vice President, Corporate Marketing Current
Material Sciences Corporation vice president of worldwide marketing Former
University of California, Berkeley Mba Former
University of Idaho Bachelor's Degree In Chemical Engineering Former

Organization Position Status
Immersion Corporation Vice President, Sales Current

Organization Position Status
Immersion Corporation Vice President & General Manager, Mobility Current

Organization Position Status
Immersion Corporation General Counsel & Vice President Current
Foundry Networks, Inc. director of intellectual property Former
University of Chicago master's degree Former
Cornell University bachelor of science degree Former

Mark Belinsky is vice president and general manager of Immersion's Mobility and Gaming business groups, responsible for products and technology targeted at the mobile phone, PDA, personal navigation, and other mobile device markets, and at the PC and video console gaming market. Belinsky joined Immersion in October 2003 as vice president of marketing strategy to oversee Immersion's strategic direction. Previously at Macrovision Corporation, he served eight years as senior vice president and general manager of the company's video technology, e-licensing, and music DRM divisions and also as senior vice president of business development, spearheading Macrovision's investment in digital watermarking leader Digimarc Corporation and its $800M acquisition of Globetrotter Software. Prior to his tenure at Macrovision, Belinsky served in senior marketing and operations capacities at Electronic Marketplace Systems, Interop Company, and Unisoft Corporation. Belinsky holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from Wayne State University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Organization Position Status
Immersion Corporation Vice President and General Manager, Mobility and Gaming Current
Immersion Medical Senior Vice President and General Manager Former
Digimarc Corporation Former
Interop Inc Former
Harvard Business School Mba Former
Wayne State University Bachelor's Degree In Business Administration Former

Organization Position Status
Immersion Corporation Vice President, Product Current

Anne DeGheest joined Immersion's board of directors on March 1, 2007. DeGheest has served since August 1986 as founder and principal of MedStars, an investment and executive management firm specializing in starting and developing new life sciences companies with innovative products and services, which have included Pyxis, Aspect Medical Systems, Visicu, Thermage, and Pixel Optics. She also serves on the device screening committee of Life Science Angels, Inc., an angel investment group focused solely on biotechnology and medical device companies. From March through November 1998, she was an entrepreneur in residence at Institutional Venture Partners, a venture capital firm. From November 1998 to September 2002, DeGheest founded and served as president and chief executive officer of medpool.com, Inc., an e-commerce hospital procurement company. Previously, she was vice president of marketing at OmniCell Technologies, a leader in automated point-of-use management systems for medical supplies, and marketing director for Nellcor, a manufacturer of pulse oximetry and critical care solutions. DeGheest also held a sales and marketing management position in Raychem's Computer and Telecommunication Division. She has a master's degree in general engineering and business from the University of Brussels, Belgium, and an MBA from Harvard University.

Organization Position Status
Immersion Corporation Founder and Principal Current
Medstars Founder Current
Immersion Medical Founder and Principal Current
Concept Ventures Current
Immersion Medical Director Current
Immersion Corporation Director Current
Pixeloptics, Inc. Board of Directors Current
Nellcor Marketing Director Former
Institutional Venture Partners Entrepreneur In Residence Former
University of Brussels Master In Commercial Engineering Former
Harvard University Master In Business Administration Former

Organization Position Status
Immersion Corporation Current
Authentidate, Inc. Former
Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania Former
Northeastern University degrees in electrical engineering, computer science Former

Organization Position Status
Apexon, Inc. CEO Current
Elo Touchsystems, Inc. CEO Current
Apexon, Inc. president Current
Immersion Corporation Board of Directors Current
Raychem Former
Stanford University master's degree in Engineering Former
Purdue University bachelor's degree in Engineering Former

Mr. Saltich has served as the Chairman of the Board since February 2009, and as a member of the Board since January 2002. Mr. Saltich also served as Lead Independent Director from October 2007 to February 2009. Since February 2006, Mr. Saltich has served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Vitex Systems, Inc., a developer of transparent ultra-thin barrier films for use in the manufacture of next-generation flat panel displays. From July 1999 to August 2005, he served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Three-Five Systems, Inc., a technology company specializing in the design, development, and manufacturing of customer displays and display systems. Three-Five Systems, Inc. filed a voluntary petition for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code on September 8, 2005. From 1993 to 1999, Mr. Saltich served as a Vice President of Advanced Micro Devices, where his last position was General Manager of its European Microelectronics Center in Dresden, Germany. Mr. Saltich also serves on the Board of Directors of Leadis Technology, Ramtron International Corporation, Atmel Corporation and on the Manufacturing Advisory Board for Cypress Semiconductor Corporation. Mr. Saltich received both a B.S. and an M.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois.

Organization Position Status
Immersion Corporation Board of Directors Current

Organization Position Status
AVI BioPharma, Inc. President and Chief Executive Officer, Cygnus, Inc. Current
InterMune, Inc. Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Current
AVI BioPharma, Inc. Chairman Current
Inflazyme Pharmaceuticals Ltd Board of Directors Current
Alpha Innotech Corporation Board of Directors Current
AeroGen, Inc. Board of Directors Current
Immersion Corporation Board of Directors Current
Cygnus, Inc. CEO Former
AeroGen, Inc. Chief Executive Officer Former
AeroGen, Inc. President Former
Cygnus, Inc. President Former
Cygnus, Inc. Chief Financial Officer Former
Cygnus, Inc. Vice President of Finance Former
Central Point Software Officer Former
Cygnus, Inc. Chairman Former
Immersion Corporation Chairman Former
University of Utah M.B.A. Former
Brigham Young University bachelor's degree Former
University of Utah B.S. Former
Brigham Young University bachelor's degree Former

Executive Chairman, Palm, Inc. As executive chairman of Palm, Inc., Jon Rubinstein is chairman of the company's board of directors. In addition, he is an executive officer of the company and leads the company's product-development efforts, focused on driving innovation in the mobile-computing market. Jon has helped launch some of the most influential computing products of the past decade. As a member of Apple Inc.'s executive staff and head of hardware engineering, he was instrumental in conceiving the iPod, one of the most successful consumer electronics products ever. He also led the team that built the iMac. Jon began his Apple career in 1997 as senior vice president for hardware engineering. He quickly made a mark by overhauling the company's engineering teams, product roadmaps and manufacturing processes. In 1998, Jon led his new, more nimble engineering team through a rapid rollout of the colorful, egg-shaped iMac, a machine that at once revitalized Apple and revolutionized personal computer design. As the success of the iPod soared, he became head of the iPod Division. Before joining Apple, Jon spent two decades building his career at a variety of other computer companies, including Hewlett-Packard and NeXT, and started his own computer company, Firepower Systems Inc. He developed many successful products and received a variety of patents during this period. Jon is a member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and a senior member of the IEEE. He received bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering from Cornell University and a master's degree in computer science from Colorado State University.

Organization Position Status
Palm, Inc. Chairman, CEO & President Current
Association for Computing Machinery Board of Directors Current
Immersion Corporation Board of Directors Current
Green Plug Inc. Board of Directors Current
Ieee Board of Directors Current
CoolSystems Inc. Advisory Board Member Current
Association for Computing Machinery Member Current
Apple Inc. Senior Vice President Former
NeXT Computer, Inc. Vice President of Hardware Engineering Former
Hewlett-Packard Company Former
Ipod Former
Jobs.Com, Inc. Former
Colorado State University master's degree in computer science Former
Cornell University BS degrees in electrical engineering Former
Colorado State University B.S. Former
Cornell University degrees in electrical engineering Former

Organization Position Status
Immersion Corporation Board of Directors Current

Rob Van Naarden joined Immersion's board of directors on October 23, 2002. He is currently executive vice president of business development for Verdasys, Inc., an enterprise software company. He has held numerous executive management positions at emerging hardware and software companies including AuthentiDate, Sensar, Netframe, FirePower Systems, Ardent Computer, and Convergent Technologies. Van Naarden holds bachelor's degrees in physics and electrical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and master's degrees in electrical engineering/computer science from Northeastern University.

Organization Position Status
Verdasys, Inc. Executive Vice President of Business Development Current
Authentidate, Inc. Current
Sensar Current
Convergent Technologies Inc. Current
Immersion Medical Director Current
Immersion Corporation Director Current
Northeastern University Master's Former
University of Pittsburgh Bachelor's Degrees In Physics and Electrical Engineering Former

Organization Position Status
Vampkitty Designs Current
Vsp Capital Current
Core Mobility Board of Directors Current
Immersion Corporation Board of Directors Current
Supermac Vice President of Marketing Former
Supermac Founder Former

Executive News

  • Palm lobs another volley at Apple in smartphone war

    Reuters - 7/24/09 - View Story

  • Bay Biz Buzz: Palm's Pre reconnects to iTunes

    Alameda Times-Star - 7/24/09 - View Story

  • Palm Pre reconnects with estranged iTunes

    Seattle Times - 7/24/09 - View Story

  • Research In Motion Crashes Apple's Party

    Motley Fool - 7/22/09 - View Story

  • Apple Disables iTunes Sync Feature on Palm Pre

    CIO Today - 7/21/09 - View Story

  • Apple Disables iTunes Sync for Pre

    CIO Today - 7/17/09 - View Story

  • Apple plays softball with Palm

    CNN Money - 7/17/09 - View Story

  • Apple disables iTunes sync feature on Palm Pre

    Seattle Times - 7/16/09 - View Story

  • Apple disables iTunes sync feature on Palm Pre

    San Jose Mercury News - 7/15/09 - View Story

  • Palm lines up carriers to launch Pre in Europe, Canada

    Venturebeat - 7/07/09 - View Story

  • Palm Pre Bound For Europe

    Information Week - 7/07/09 - View Story

  • What deals are in the works for Dell?

    Marketwatch - 7/07/09 - View Story

  • Telefonica and O2 Confirm Exclusive Rights to the Palm Pre

    Cellular-News - 7/07/09 - View Story

  • Palm Pre to Launch in Europe with O2 and Movistar

    Forbes.com - 7/07/09 - View Story

  • Palm Pre to Launch in Europe with O2 and Movistar

    Reuters - 7/07/09 - View Story

  • Palm Pre to Launch in Europe with O2 and Movistar

    Business Wire - 7/07/09 - View Story

  • Palm wants quality, not quantity, apps

    Delaware Online - 7/06/09 - View Story

  • O2 Rumoured to Have Exclusive Rights to Sell Palm Pre in UK

    Cellular-News - 7/02/09 - View Story

  • You, Palm Pre, Are No iPhone

    E-Commerce Times - 6/30/09 - View Story

  • Apple, Palm: When Silence Isn't Golden

    Barron's Online - 6/29/09 - View Story

     IMMR $4.07 +0.08 (2.01% )
Average Volume 176,891
Shares Outstanding 27.96M
Market Cap 113.8M
Year High 6.1
Year Low 2.31
Earnings Per Share -1.83
P/E Ratio -2.22
Dividend N/A
Yield N/A
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