Background,~

AsHTON TATE

For release: April 1, 1986 20101Hamilton Avenue

Torrance, California 90502-1319

Telephone: 213-329-8000Telex: 669984 ASHT TATE LSA

Contact: Christine ThomasAshton-Tate(213) 538-7783

Stephen CooperMiller Communic~tions(213) 822-4669

MANAGEMENT BACKGROU~ID

Edward M. Esber Jr. PRESIDENT, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Esber, 33, has a solid managerial backgroundwhich includes key positions at IBM, TexasInstruments, and VisiCorp. That experienceis complemented by his strong technicalexpertise. Esber holds an MSEE from SyracuseUniversity, a BS in computer engineeringfrom Case Institute of Technology, and an ~rnAfrom Harvard. He joined the company in May1984 as executive vice president of marketingand sales, responsible for pricing strategiesand positioning of products. In August 1984he was named president of Ashton-Tate, andthree months later he was appointed chiefexecutive officer. He began his career in1974 at IBM as an engineer, where he developedthe first course that taught IBM engineers howto design systems utilizing a microprocessor.In 1978 he joined Texas Instruments' Consumer

. Products Division, where he was a third-partysoftware manager and a marketing manager fortwo of the company's personal computers. In1979 he joined VisiCorp as vice president ofmarketing and sales, where he established thefirst marketing and distribution network in themicrocomputer software industry -- a successthat resulted in his promotion to executivevice president, responsible for the entirestrategic direction of the company.

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Management Background 2-2-2

Roy E. Folk EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, MARKETING ANDSTRATEGIC PLANNING

Folk, 39, brings to Ashton-Tate more than 16years of marketing and management experiencein the computer industry. Folk joined Ashton-Tate in August 1985 to oversee productmarketing and marketing communications,including advertising, sales promotion, publicrelations, market research, strategic planning,product strategy and product acquisition.Prior to joining Ashton-Tate, Folk waspresident and CEO of Paladin SoftwareCorporation, which he founded in October 1983.From February 1981 through May 1983, he wasmarketing manager for VisiCorp. He also hasserved in key marketing positions with DEC,Xerox and Applicon. Folk holds a BS and MS incomputer scie~ce and an MBA in management fromthe Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Ronald S. Posner EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, SALES ANDINTERNATIONAL

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Posner, 43, has years of experience in themicrocomputer industry, with an expertise intraining and support. Posner joined thecompany in April 1984, heading the company'sinternational operations as acting vicepresident and general manager before beingnamed executive vice president, marketing,sales and international. He assumed hiscurrent position in August 1985 and is also amember of Ashton-Tate's board of directors.Previously, Posner was founder, chairman andchief executive officer of National TrainingSystems (NTS), a leading provider ofmicrocomputer training programs to largecorporations, computer dealers, manufacturersand end users. Prior to founding NTS in 1974,Posner was vice president of marketing and adirector at Tratec, a computer sales trainingcompany. He also held various marketing andsales positions with Xerox Data Systems andCoca-Cola Company. He holds an MBA from HarvardBusiness School.

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Management Background

Norman H. Block

E. Charles Ellison

Harvey Jeane

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EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, FINANCE ANDADf.IINISTRATION

Block, 44, joined Ashton-Tate in December 1983and has more than 20 years of experience incorporate finance. He oversees all financialoperations of the company. His previouspositions included corporate vice president,MatteI, Inc.: executive vice president, financeand administration at Dominion Textile (USA), amultinational corporation: and controller forITT Data Services. Also, he was a seniorfinancial executive at General ConsumerElectronics, where he supervised the company'sgrowth to $28 million in revenues in 14months. Block holds an MBA from New YorkUniversity, and a BA in management andaccounting from Fairleigh-Dickinson.

VICE PRESIDENT, DOMESTIC SALES

Ellison, 31, brings to Ashton-Tate valuableexperience in sales and managerial positions.He joined Ashton-Tate in February 1984 asdistrict sales manager. He also served asdirector of national sales before becomingvice president of domestic sales in August1985. Prior to joining Ashton-Tate, Ellisonwas national accounts manager with MicrosoftCorporation. Before that he served more thanfour years as branch manager of federal saleswith Canon USA. Ellison holds a BA degree fromSyracuse University.

VICE PRESIDENT, PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

Jeane, 40, has extensive management andtechnological expertise, having worked mostrecently at Jet Propulsion Laboratories (JPL).One of his many positions at JPL during hisl3-year tenure was manager of softwaredevelopment activities, supervising a staff of150. He also has worked at RCA where he wasinvolved in logic design projects. Jeane, whoholds a BS in electrical engineering from theUniversity of Texas, joined Ashton-Tate inAugust 1983. He supervises all developmentwork at the company's product developmentcenters.

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Management Background

Robert Carr

Robert D. Gafford

Lawrence Benincasa

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CHIEF SCIENTIST

Carr, 29, is the designer and principaldeveloper of Framework II and its predecessor,the award-winning Framework. Previously, Carrserved as chairman of Forefront Corporation, acompany he co-founded in July 1983 to completethe development of Framework that he had begunon his own fifteen months earlier. Beforeco-founding Forefront, Carr worked as aprogramming consultant on the development ofContext MBA, one of the first integratedpackages introduced. Previously, Carr servedwith Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center, wherehe worked on predecessors of the Xerox Starand Small Talk products. He holds a BS incomputer engineering and an MS in computerscience from Stanford University.

VICE PRESIDENT, CONSUMER COMMUNICATIONS

Gafford, 43, is the first senior manager in themicrocomputer software industry to head adocumentation and support group -- makingAshton- Tate's commitment to this areaunprecedented. Gafford joined the company inDecember 1984 and supervises a staff of morethan 100. Previously, he worked at VisiCorpwhere he was director of product services. Healso worked at Intel Corporation as manager ofpublications and engineering services, and atDEC as manager of software documentation. Heholds a BA from the University of Alabama.

VICE PRESIDENT, NEW BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Benincasa, 41, joined Ashton-Tate in August1983 following 10 years as vice president ofReston Publishing Company. Reston, a publisherof computer-related books and software, is asubsidiary of Prentice-Hall, Inc. He holds aBS from the Maritime Academy.

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Management Background 5-5-5

Barry Berke VICE PRESIDENT, OPERATIONS

David Russian

Berke, 38, joined Ashton-Tate from VisiCorpwhere he was director of operations until June1984. Previously he was materials manager forRolm Corp. He holds an MBA from the Universityof Santa Clara and a BS in engineering fromOhio State University.

VICE PRESIDENT, CONTROLLER

Russian, 33, joined the company in November1984 as corporate controller. Prior to that heheld a number of accounting and financepositions with DiGiorgio Corporation of SanFrancisco. He also held the post of senioraccountant for Price Waterhouse. A certifiedpublic accountant, he received his BS inaccounting from San Diego State University.

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