Centillium Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTLM), a leading provider of broadband access solutions, today announced that it has appointed Olivier Robert as its new sales director in Europe.

"As Centillium increases its reach across the globe, it is imperative that we have strong regional sales leadership," stated Faraj Aalaei, Centillium''s co-founder and CEO. "Olivier''s 23 years experience in engineering and sales in the telecommunications and semiconductor industries throughout France, Benelux, Italy, Spain and Portugal make him an excellent fit for Centillium as we expand our offerings of DSL, VoIP and Optical solutions across the European continent."

Prior to joining Centillium, Robert was European sales director for Wintegra, where he defined and managed the company''s sales strategy to win a majority of competitive bids with major European tier-one original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Previously, he served as Southern Europe area sales director for Conexant Systems. Before the spin-off of its semiconductor business as Conexant, Robert worked at Rockwell Semiconductor Systems, most recently as area sales manager for Benelux and France. He began his career at Telecommunication Radioelectrique & Telephonique (TRT), where he held a variety of field and product application engineering positions in France and the United States. He received his M.B.A. from Ecole Superieure de Commerce de Paris.

"Centillium''s reputation as an industry leader in a wide range of broadband access solutions made it a natural choice for me," Robert stated. "I look forward to helping the company grow its already strong presence throughout Europe."