MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., April 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Audience, Inc., the leading provider of advanced voice and audio processors for the mobile and telecom marketplace, today announced that Robert Schoenfield has been named vice president of business development, effective immediately.  

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110413/LA82250)

In his new role, Schoenfield will manage the company's relationships with mobile operators worldwide and oversee partnerships with information service providers.  He also assumes responsibility for assessing and developing new market opportunities and identifying avenues for growth for Audience intelligent voice technology solutions.

"Bob is a strong addition to our leadership team and he joins at a critical point in our company's rapid growth and expansion," said Peter Santos, president and chief executive officer.  "Bob brings a wealth of experience in the wireless industry and a record of business leadership driving revenue-generating strategies.  His vision and expertise are uniquely suited to accelerate our engagement with leading wireless operators, identify new strategic partnerships, and capitalize on developing applications and markets for our technology, to meet our goals for continued growth."

Schoenfield has more than 20 years of experience in executive management, business development, and sales.  Prior to joining Audience, he was vice president of sales for North America at Polaris Wireless, a software-based wireless location solutions provider.  At Polaris, he was responsible for revenue generation and managing customer relationships with wireless carriers, infrastructure providers, and other strategic partners across North America. Before that, he was senior vice president of sales, marketing and business development at Aeris Communications and earlier, led the company's expansion into new markets as president of South America.  He also held various executive roles managing sales and business development for Tetra Tech, Inc., a global consulting, engineering and construction firm, and Nextel Communications.  He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from San Francisco State University.

About Audience  

Audience is a leading global provider of intelligent voice and audio processors for the mobile marketplace, based on pioneering work to reverse-engineer human hearing.  The company's technology is redefining the mobile voice experience by enhancing call quality, and suppressing noise to enable clear communications in any environment and optimizing performance of speech-based applications.  Audience technology is featured in mobile handsets from leading manufacturers in markets across Asia-Pacific, Europe and the U.S.  The company was the Silver Winner in the 2008 Wall Street Journal "Technology Innovation Awards" and the Winner of the Semiconductor category.  It was also selected as the Most Innovative True Mobile Start-Up for the "2008 GSMA Mobile Innovation Global Awards." Audience is one of 34 founding member companies of the Open Handset Alliance and the only one with advanced noise suppression technology.  Investors in Audience include Vulcan Capital, NEA, Tallwood Venture Capital and VentureTech Alliance. The company is based in Mountain View, California.  www.audience.com

SOURCE Audience, Inc.