Three Prestigious Organizations Honor SGI for Advancement of Women in the Workplace

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., May 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Three prestigious organizations have significantly recognized the commitment of Silicon Graphics to equal opportunity and the advancement of women in the workplace.

-- For the third year in a row, the Professional BusinessWomen of California (PBWC) has selected SGI to receive the 2005 PBWC Pacesetter Award, which honors the top 14 San Francisco Bay Area companies that embody the mission of PBWC and that work to advance women on an ongoing basis. -- SGI is also pleased to announce that the Silicon Valley YWCA, which will honor 44 outstanding women from Silicon Valley companies at its 21st annual Tribute to Women and Industry (TWIN) Awards, has, for the fifth consecutive year, selected SGI employees as recipients. The SGI TWIN award winners are finance director Tracy Hanson and marketing director Susan Tellep. -- Additionally, SGI's human resources global benefits manager Ginny Schimmel has received the 2005 HR Innovators Award.

"Great people make a great company," said Bob Bishop, chairman and CEO of SGI. "At SGI we are delighted that people positively differentiate our company just as much as the technology and products. Hat's off to Tracy, Susan and Ginny!"

The PBWC Pacesetter Awards

The PBWC Pacesetter Award winners were selected from 53 of the largest public companies from nine Bay Area counties that promote women into the highest ranks of their organizations and encourage women to take leadership roles on an ongoing basis. The criteria used in determining Pacesetter Award winners are: percentage of women executives defined as vice president or equivalent and above; percentage of women corporate officers; percentage of women directors on the board; percentage of women employees; and development and continuing support of programs that benefit women in the workplace.

State Senator Jackie Speier, founder of PBWC, presented the 2005 Pacesetter Awards during the keynote luncheon at the 16th Annual PBWC Conference on May 3, at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco.

"As the leading organization in California supporting the advancement of women, PBWC is proud to recognize companies that promote women into the highest ranks of their organizations and demonstrate an ongoing commitment to their professional development," said Debra Boblitt, president of PBWC and vice president-agency, State Farm Insurance. "We are pleased to name SGI to this prestigious list of companies that embody the mission and values of PBWC."

TWIN Awards

Forty-four outstanding women from Silicon Valley will be honored by the YWCA of Silicon Valley, today at the 21st Annual Tribute to Women and Industry (TWIN) Awards Program at the San Jose Fairmont. The 2005 TWIN Honorees reflect top leadership in their companies. Selection criteria include having senior-level functional management responsibility, possessing outstanding leadership qualities and serving as a successful role model for other women transitioning into executive positions. The YWCA of Silicon Valley's TWIN Awards Program honors not only women who demonstrate excellence, but also the companies that employ these women.

For the fifth year in a row, the Silicon Valley YWCA honored SGI, selecting finance director Tracy Hanson and marketing director Susan Tellep, both of Mountain View, Calif.

"This has been an impressive year for TWIN. We received a large number of nominations from top-level companies. I hold these women in high regard because they truly are the best of the best," said Dr. Keri Procunier McLain, chief executive officer of the YWCA of Silicon Valley.

Hanson has been with SGI for nine years and is presently assistant controller. In her nomination, SGI's vice president and corporate controller Kathy Lanterman, recipient of a 2003 TWIN award, stated, "In the current finance environment, driven by well-publicized cases of corporate corruption and scandal, Tracy plays an extremely critical role in securing SGI's success. Her deep expertise benefits us as she serves as SGI's primary internal technical accounting expert." The nomination also lauded Tracy's effective cross-geographic partnerships, her strong leadership within the Finance organization, and her contributions to the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors.

Tellep is a 14-year SGI veteran and is a part of the Corporate Marketing organization where she directs SGI's branding, advertising, marketing communications, corporate events, external web presence and customer briefing experience worldwide. In her nomination for the TWIN award, vice president of marketing Greg Estes said, "Susan has demonstrated exceptional breadth and depth at SGI. Her influence and control span the early stages of the product lifecycle as she collaborates with product groups on naming and branding, works with field sales on demand generation programs and events, and supports a high-quality end user experience in her role as the corporate liaison to the SGI User Group."

HR Innovators Award

Ginny Schimmel, SGI's human resources global benefits manager, has received the 2005 HR Innovators Award, which was presented at the 19th annual HR Symposium on May 11, in Santa Clara, Calif. This Innovators Award recognizes professionals who have championed an innovative Human Resource program, idea or system that has produced positive, fundamental change; or, whose ideals have lead to a major business impact within their organization.

SGI nominated Schimmel for this award based on her work in leading the Wellness Connection task force, an interdisciplinary "grass roots" team of Human Resources and Facilities & Services employees. This team focuses on improving employee morale and wellness through health-conscious communications and education. Their efforts are positively impacting how SGI employees utilize the benefits programs and are providing measurable cost savings to the company. Thanks to efforts like those of the Wellness Connection team, SGI has been able to continue to provide a competitive and cost-effective benefits model with an expense per employee that is lower than most similar companies.

About PBWC

The Professional BusinessWomen of California is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing the professional and personal development of Bay Area women by providing tools, resources, training and inspiration. For more information, visit the PBWC Web site at http://www.pbwc.org/.

About the Silicon Valley YWCA

The YWCA provides services to over 28,000 local residents in child care, employment assistance, assault prevention and intervention, teen pregnancy prevention, youth empowerment, counseling services and parent education programs. Funds generated through the Annual Awards Dinner allow the YWCA to further fulfill its mission to empower women and their families to become strong, productive, healthy members of our community. For more information, visit the YWCA Web site at http://www.ywca-scv.org/.

About HR Symposium

The HR Symposium has become an annual forum to bring together business experts, leaders and human resources professionals to discuss issues and trends affecting HR and the Silicon Valley. The mission of the HR Symposium is to advance the development of the human resources profession in Northern California. For more information, visit the HR Symposium Web site at http://www.hrsymposium.com/.

SILICON GRAPHICS | The Source of Innovation and Discovery(TM)

SGI, also known as Silicon Graphics, Inc., is a leader in high-performance computing, visualization and storage. SGI's vision is to provide technology that enables the most significant scientific and creative breakthroughs of the 21st century. Whether it's sharing images to aid in brain surgery, finding oil more efficiently, studying global climate, providing technologies for homeland security and defense, or enabling the transition from analog to digital broadcasting, SGI is dedicated to addressing the next class of challenges for scientific, engineering and creative users. With offices worldwide, the company is headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., and can be found on the Web at http://www.sgi.com/.

NOTE: Silicon Graphics, SGI, the SGI cube and the SGI logo are registered trademarks and The Source of Innovation and Discovery is a trademark of Silicon Graphics, Inc., in the United States and/or other countries worldwide. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.

MEDIA CONTACTS Caroline Japic SGI caroline@sgi.com 650-933-7210 SGI PR HOTLINE 650-933-7777 SGI PR FACSIMILE 650-933-0283