PROXY STATEMENT
GENERAL INFORMATION
This Proxy Statement is furnished in connection with the solicitation by the board of directors of Monolithic System Technology, Inc., a Delaware
corporation (the "Company"), of proxies, in the accompanying form, to be used at the 2005 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the "Annual Meeting") to be held at the Company's corporate headquarters
located at 1020 Stewart Drive, Sunnyvale, California 94085 on May 24, 2005, at 9:30 a.m., local time, and any adjournments of the Annual Meeting. Unless the context otherwise
requires, the "Company," "we," "us," and similar terms refer to Monolithic System Technology, Inc.
This
Proxy Statement and the accompanying proxy card are being mailed on or about April 21, 2005 to all stockholders entitled to notice of and to vote at the Annual Meeting.
SOLICITATION AND VOTING PROCEDURES
Shares represented by valid proxies in the form enclosed, received in time for use at the Annual Meeting and not revoked at or prior to the Annual Meeting, will
be voted at the Annual Meeting, as discussed below. The presence, in person or by proxy, of the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our common stock is necessary to constitute a quorum
at the Annual Meeting. Holders of our common stock are entitled to one vote per share on all matters. To vote in person, a stockholder must attend the Annual Meeting, and then complete and submit the
ballot provided at the meeting. To vote by proxy, a stockholder must either mark, sign, and date the enclosed proxy card and mail it to the Company's transfer agent or submit a proxy electronically by
using the Internet and logging on to
www.eproxyvote.com/mosy/
by following the instructions provided on the proxy card. An automated system administered
by the Company's transfer agent tabulates stockholder votes submitted by proxy, and an officer of the Company will tabulate votes cast in person at the Annual Meeting.
Brokers
holding shares in street name for customers have the authority to vote on certain matters when they have not received instructions from the beneficial owners of shares. Brokers
that do not receive instructions from the beneficial owners are entitled to vote on Proposal No. 1 (the election of directors) and Proposal No. 2 (the ratification of appointment by the
Audit Committee of BDO Seidman, LLP as the Company's independent registered public accounting firm for the 2005 audit).
The
voting requirements for the proposals that we will consider at the Annual Meeting are as follows:
-
-
Election of Directors.
Directors are elected by a plurality, and the six directors who receive the most votes will be elected
to our board of directors. Votes withheld will not affect the election of directors.
-
-
Ratification of Appointment of BDO Seidman, LLP as Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm.
An affirmative vote of the
holders of a majority of the shares present or represented by proxy and entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting is necessary for approval of Proposal No. 2 to ratify the Audit Committee's
appointment of BDO Seidman, LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the audit of our fiscal 2005 financial statements. Abstentions will have the same effect as voting against the
proposal.
All
proxies will be voted as specified on the proxy cards submitted by stockholders, if the proxy is properly executed or electronically submitted and is received by the Company prior to
the close of voting at the Annual Meeting or any adjournment or postponement of the Annual Meeting. If no choice has been specified, a properly completed and timely returned or electronically
submitted proxy card will be voted for our board of directors' nominees and for Proposal No. 2, which are described in detail elsewhere in this Proxy Statement. In addition, all properly
completed and timely returned or electronically submitted proxy cards will be voted by the proxy in his discretion for any other matters properly and timely submitted for a vote at the Annual Meeting.
The
close of business on March 25, 2005 has been fixed as the record date for determining the stockholders entitled to notice of and to vote at the Annual Meeting. Only holders of
our common stock at the close of business on March 25, 2005 will be entitled to notice of and to vote at the Annual Meeting. As of that date, we had 30,456,212 shares of common stock
outstanding and entitled to vote. Each share of our common stock is entitled to one vote per share.
The
cost of soliciting proxies, including expenses in connection with preparing and mailing of this Proxy Statement, will be borne by the Company. Copies of solicitation material will be
furnished to brokerage houses, fiduciaries and custodians holding shares in their names that are beneficially owned by others so that they may forward this solicitation material to such beneficial
owners. The Company will reimburse brokerage firms and other persons representing beneficial owners of common stock for their expenses in forwarding proxy material to such beneficial owners.
Solicitation of proxies by mail may be supplemented by telephone, telegram, electronic facsimile transmission and other electronic means, and personal solicitation by the directors, officers or
employees of the Company. No additional compensation will be paid to directors, officers or employees for such solicitation. The Company has retained Wells Fargo Shareowner Services to assist in the
distribution of proxies for a fee estimated to be approximately $4,000.00 plus reasonable out-of-pocket expenses.
Copies
of the Company's 2004 annual report on Form 10-K are being mailed to stockholders with this Proxy Statement. Additional copies of the Company's 2004 annual
report on Form 10-K, excluding exhibits, may be obtained by any stockholder without charge by making a request through the Company's website "Investor Information" pages at
www.mosys.com
or by written request addressed to: Investor Relations, Monolithic System Technology, Inc., 1020 Stewart Drive, Sunnyvale, California 94085.
REVOCABILITY OF PROXIES
You can revoke your proxy at any time before the voting at the Annual Meeting by sending a properly signed written notice of your revocation to the Secretary of
the Company, by submitting another proxy that is properly signed and bearing a later date, by following the specified procedures for submitting a proxy electronically and changing your vote, or by
voting in person at the Annual Meeting. Attendance at the Annual Meeting will not itself revoke an earlier submitted proxy. You should direct any written notices of revocation and related
correspondence to Monolithic System Technology, Inc., 1020 Stewart Drive, Sunnyvale, California 94085, Attention: Secretary.
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MANAGEMENT
Directors and Executive Officers
The names of our directors and executive officers at March 31, 2005 and certain information about them are set forth below.
Name
|
|
Age
|
|
Position(s) with the Company
|
|
Wingyu Leung
|
|
50
|
|
Executive Vice President, Chief Technical Officer and Director
|
Carl E. Berg(1)(2)
|
|
67
|
|
Director
|
Tommy Eng(1)(3)
|
|
47
|
|
Director
|
Chi-Ping Hsu(2)(3)
|
|
50
|
|
Director
|
James D. Kupec(1)(2)(3)
|
|
50
|
|
Director
|
Chenming Hu
|
|
57
|
|
Director
|
Mark Voll
|
|
50
|
|
Vice President, Finance & Administration, Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and Interim Chief Executive Officer
|
Karen Lamar
|
|
43
|
|
Vice President Sales and Marketing
|
-
(1)
-
Member
of Audit Committee
-
(2)
-
Member
of Compensation Committee
-
(3)
-
Member
of Technology Strategy Committee
Wingyu Leung.
Dr. Leung has served as our Executive Vice President, Engineering, and Chief Technical
Officer and as a member of our board of directors since April 1992. Dr. Leung also served as our Secretary from April 1992 until May 1996 and again from May 1997
until August 2000. Prior to joining us, Dr. Leung served as a technology consultant to several high technology companies, including Rambus, Inc., a developer of a
high-speed chip-to-chip interface technology. Prior to that time, Dr. Leung served as a member of the technical staff of Rambus, and as a senior engineering
manager at Integrated Device Technology, Inc., where he managed and participated in circuit design activities. Dr. Leung holds a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of
Maryland, a M.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from the University of California at Berkeley.
Carl E. Berg.
Mr. Berg has served as a member of our board of directors since September 1992. Since 1997,
Mr. Berg has been the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Mission West Properties, Inc., a real estate investment trust. Mr. Berg has been actively engaged in the
ownership, development and management of industrial real estate and in venture capital investment for over 30 years. He currently serves as a member of the board of directors of Mission West
Properties, Inc., Valence Technology, Inc., a developer of advanced rechargeable battery technology, and FOCUS Enhancements, Inc., a developer of video scan conversion products.
Mr. Berg holds a B.A. in business from the University of New Mexico.
Tommy Eng.
Mr. Eng was appointed to our board of directors on August 12, 2004. Mr. Eng is the founder of
Tera Systems, a privately-held EDA company. He held various management positions, including President, CEO and Vice Chairman from 1996 to 2004. Prior to founding Tera Systems,
Mr. Eng was General Manager of Mentor Graphics' Advanced IC Design Automation and Design Consultation
3
division
as the result of the acquisition of Silicon Compiler Systems. Mr. Eng received a M.S. in electrical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley. Mr. Eng also
serves on the board of directors of Focus Enhancements, Inc.
Chi-Ping Hsu.
Dr. Hsu was appointed to our board of directors on August 12, 2004. Dr. Hsu is
currently a Vice President at Cadence Design Systems in charge of the company's synthesis product lines which position he has held since April 2003. From November 2001 to
April 2003, Dr. Hsu was President and Chief Operating Officer of Get2Chip, a supplier of high-performance system-on-chip (SOC) synthesis, which was
acquired by Cadence. From January 1995 to November 2001, Dr. Hsu was a member of the Executive Staff at Avant! where he was responsible for directing the company's product and
business strategy. A graduate of the Taiwan National University with a B.S. in electrical engineering, Dr. Hsu holds a Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from the University
of California at Berkeley.
James D. Kupec.
Mr. Kupec was appointed to our board of directors on August 12, 2004. Mr. Kupec is
currently Chief Operating Officer of eSilicon Corporation, a custom semiconductor chip supplier. From April 2003 to September 2004, Mr. Kupec was President of JDK Group, a
semiconductor consultancy firm that he founded since April 2003. From April 2002 to April 2003, Mr. Kupec served as CEO of Ammocore, a privately-held EDA
company. Mr. Kupec was President of UMC (USA) the U.S. subsidiary of the wafer foundry United Microelectronics Corporation from 1998 to 2002. Mr. Kupec served in senior management
positions at Cypress Semiconductor for 14 years, last serving as Senior Vice President where he directed the activities for four major product groups.
Mr. Kupec has a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois and a M.B.A. from Southern Methodist University.
Chenming Hu.
Dr. Hu was appointed to our board of directors on January 31, 2005. Dr. Hu is currently the
TSMC Distinguished Chair Professor in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley. From 2001 to 2004, Dr. Hu was the Chief Technology Officer of
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC); the world's largest dedicated integrated circuits (IC) manufacturing company.
Mark Voll.
Effective on December 30, 2004, our board of directors authorized Mr. Voll to serve as interim Chief
Executive Officer and report directly to the board. Mr. Voll has served as our Vice President of Finance and Administration and Chief Financial Officer since June 2002. Mr. Voll
previously held the same position with us from March 1998 to June 2000. From June 2000 to May 2002, Mr. Voll served as the Chief Financial Officer for Axis
Systems, Inc., a developer of semiconductor verification tools. Mr. Voll holds a B.S. in business administration from Providence College.
Karen Lamar.
Ms. Lamar became our Vice President of Sales and Marketing on September 8, 2004. Ms. Lamar
held the position of Vice President of Sales at SuperH, a semiconductor intellectual property licensing company that is a joint venture between Renesas Technology and ST Microelectronics from
June 2003 to August 2004. From September 2000 to June 2003, Ms. Lamar held the position of Vice President of Worldwide Strategic Account Sales at Arc International.
Ms. Lamar held the position of Senior Partner Manager at Advanced RISC Machines (ARM) and was responsible for negotiating licensing transaction with strategic customers from May 1999 to
September 2000. Ms. Lamar holds a B.S. in Biology and a M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Boston University.
Composition of the Board and Committees
Our bylaws provide that the number of directors is determined by resolution of the board of directors until changed by approval of the stockholders or a majority
of the directors. The number of
4
directors
is currently set at six. Each director is elected to serve until the next annual meeting of stockholders, and until the election and qualification of his or her successor or his or her
earlier resignation or removal.
Our board of directors has determined that Carl E. Berg, Tommy Eng, Chi-Ping Hsu, James D. Kupec and Chenming Hu are "independent," as defined under
the rules of the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc., "NASD"). Our board of directors has standing Audit, Compensation and Technology Strategy Committees, each of which is
comprised solely of independent directors in accordance with the rules of the NASD.
Messrs. Berg, Eng and Kupec are the current members of the Audit Committee. Mr. Berg serves as the Chairman of the committee. The board of directors
has determined that Mr. Berg is the "audit committee financial expert," as defined by applicable SEC rules, but that status does not impose on him duties, liabilities or obligations that are
greater than the duties, liabilities or obligations otherwise imposed on him as a member of the Audit Committee and the board of directors. Our board of directors established the Audit Committee for
the purpose of overseeing the accounting and financial reporting processes and audits of the Company's financial statements. The Audit Committee also is charged with reviewing reports regarding
violations of our Code of Ethics and complaints with respect thereto and internal control violations under our whistleblower policy are directed to the Chairman of the Audit Committee. The Audit
Committee has delegated authority to Mr. Berg for review and approval of non-audit services proposed to be provided by our principal auditors.
Messrs. Berg, Chi-Ping Hsu and Kupec are the current members of the Compensation Committee, with Mr. Kupec serving as the Chairman of
the committee. Our Compensation Committee is responsible for reviewing, recommending and approving our compensation policies and benefits, including the compensation of all of our executive officers.
Our Compensation Committee also has the principal responsibility for the administration of our stock option plan, including approving stock option grants to executives, and stock purchase plan.
We do not have a nominating committee. Our board of directors instead has appointed Messrs. Berg, Eng, Chi-Ping Hsu, Kupec and Hu, who are the
board's independent directors, to search for and evaluate qualified individuals to become nominees for director and board committee members. The independent directors recommend to the board candidates
for nomination for election or reelection for each annual meeting of stockholders and as necessary to fill vacancies and newly created directorships, and candidates for appointment to and removal from
committees. The independent directors operate by resolution of the board, rather than by charter.
The
independent directors evaluate each candidate for nomination as director within the context of the needs and the composition of the board as a whole. The independent directors
conduct any appropriate and necessary inquiries into the backgrounds and qualifications of candidates. When evaluating a candidate for nomination as director, the independent directors consider the
candidate's business experience and skills, independence, judgment and ability and willingness to commit sufficient
5
time
and attention to the activities of the board. At a minimum, candidates recommended for nomination must possess the highest personal and professional ethics, integrity and values and be committed
to representing the long-term interests of the Company and its stockholders. To date, the Company has not paid any fee to a third party to assist in the process of identifying or
evaluating director candidates.
The
independent directors will consider candidates for nomination as director who are recommended by the Company's stockholders. The independent directors will not evaluate any candidate
for nomination as director differently solely because the candidate was recommended by a stockholder. To recommend a prospective candidate for consideration by the independent directors, stockholders
of the Company should submit the candidate's name and qualifications to the independent directors in writing at the following address: Monolithic Systems Technology, Inc., 1020 Stewart Drive,
Sunnyvale, California 94058, Attention: Secretary. The Secretary will then forward this information to each of the independent directors. To date, the Company has not rejected any candidate timely
recommended by any stockholder or group of stockholders owning more than 5% of our common stock.
Messrs. Eng, Chi-Ping Hsu and Kupec are the current members of the Technology Strategy Committee. Mr. Eng is Chairman of this Committee.
Our board of directors established the Technology Strategy Committee in August 2004 to oversee the development, planning and implementation of the Company's long-term intellectual
property strategy.
Stockholders who desire to communicate with the board, or to a specific director, may do so by delivering the communication addressed to either the board of
directors or any director, c/o Monolithic System Technology, Inc., 1020 Stewart Drive, Sunnyvale, California 94085. These communications will be delivered to the board, or any individual
director, as specified.
We
have a policy that each director should make every reasonable effort to attend each annual meeting of stockholders. At the Company's 2004 annual meeting of stockholders, none of our
directors were in attendance.
During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2004, including telephonic meetings, there were 11 meetings of the board of directors, four meetings of the Audit
Committee and one meeting of the Compensation Committee. Every current director attended at least 75% of the meetings of the board and each committee held during the period for which he was a director
during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2004. In addition, the members of the board of directors, the Compensation Committee and the Audit Committee acted at times by unanimous written
consent pursuant to Delaware law.