John R. Barr

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) today announced the appointment of John R. Barr, Ph. D., of Motorola, to the position of Chairman of the Board. As chairman, Barr will lead the group of eight board members as they provide guidance to the Bluetooth SIG on the creation and promotion of Bluetooth wireless technology.

"John brings a significant level of expertise to the Bluetooth SIG at a pivotal and exciting time in the evolution of Bluetooth technology," said Michael Foley, Ph. D., executive director of the Bluetooth SIG. "He and Motorola have been involved in Bluetooth technology since the beginning and we are excited to have his sound leadership in this position."

Barr is Director of Standards Realization for Motorola and has been with the company for 22 years. In his present role, he is responsible for directing service delivery and wireless consumer multimedia standards efforts within Motorola. Barr is also responsible for coordinating the adoption of alternative MAC/PHY solutions within Motorola through the Bluetooth SIG. He is charged with strengthening strategic relationships with consortia and standards development groups to ensure that Motorola incorporates technologies that fundamentally change the way people communicate and interact while mobile, at home and in their vehicles. Barr has a Ph.D. from UCLA and previously was a staff engineer at Hughes Aircraft and a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Montana.

Stated Barr: "The potential for and momentum behind Bluetooth wireless technology is increasing steadily as consumer awareness around the world continues to rise and new industries like the health and fitness market embrace the advantages of Bluetooth technology in exciting new applications. My goals include the adoption of an alternative MAC/PHY to address high speed Bluetooth applications, increasing the level of interoperability and ease of use of Bluetooth enabled products, and expanding the adoption of Bluetooth wireless technology. It's a promising stage for the technology and I look forward to working with my fellow board members and the Bluetooth SIG staff as we move Bluetooth wireless technology ever forward."

In addition to his position as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bluetooth SIG, Barr is a member of the IEEE Communications Society Standards Board, past President and board member of the OSGi Alliance, Chairman of the IEEE 802.15.3b Task Group, Treasurer of the IEEE 802.15 Working Group, and Fellow of the Technical Staff at Motorola.

Barr's appointment is effective immediately. Barr will lead the Board for one year before they vote again to elect or reelect a Chairman.