Saptharishi to lead Avigilon's Center of Excellence initiative

VANCOUVER—Avigilon CTO and SVP Mahesh Saptharishi will lead the video and security solution provider's Centers of Excellence initiative, Avigilon announced May 11.

The initiative is focused on research and development at its three North American office locations: Vancouver, Boston and Dallas.

Avigilon's global headquarters here will serve as the company's Video and Enterprise Security Center of Excellence. Boston, home to many of the world's leading university engineering and research programs, will serve as the Analytics and Data Sciences Center of Excellence. Dallas, one of the top U.S. markets for emerging technology, will host Avigilon's Customer Experience and Ecosystem Center of Excellence.

As part of this initiative, Avigilon will expand its presence in Boston and open a new technology center in Dallas.

As Avigilon's CTO, Saptharishi oversees product and intellectual property portfolios, identifies strategic technology capabilities and explores new business opportunities.

"The most successful companies in the world maintain an entrepreneurial spirit as they scale," said Avigilon founder and CEO, Alexander Fernandes, in a prepared statement.

"Mahesh is a proven technology leader and innovator who has created successful companies from the ground up and developed new technologies that have redefined the video industry. With his leadership of the Centers of Excellence, Avigilon will continue to lead the industry while solving the problems that matter the most to our customers."

Separately, Avigilon announced May 8 that the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) has approved a normal course issuer bid.

Avigilon's Board of Directors believes the current price of Avigilon's common shares does not properly reflect the underlying strength, operational track record, and growth potential of the business. The board believes the purchase and cancellation of shares under the bid will be in the best interests of the company and its remaining shareholders.

Pursuant to the bid, the company may purchase up to 3,789,740 shares, representing approximately 10 percent of the public float. As of May 5, 2015, there were 46,638,069 issued and outstanding shares, of which 37,897,409 shares were in the public float. The bid was scheduled to conclude in mid-May. Shares purchased pursuant to the bid will be returned to treasury and cancelled.