OTTAWA, Dec. 4, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - Quarterhill Inc. ("Quarterhill" or "the Company") (NASDAQ: QTRH) (TSX: QTRH) today announced the appointment of Douglas (Doug) Parker, an executive with extensive experience in acquisitions of technology and diversified software companies, as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective January 1, 2018.  Mr. Parker is expected to join Quarterhill's Board of Directors later in 2018.  Mr. Parker will operate out of Quarterhill's Toronto office.

Jim Skippen, Executive Chairman of Quarterhill said, "Doug is a seasoned executive with solid international credentials in buying and integrating companies in a similar environment to Quarterhill.  His deep industry knowledge, energy, experience and reputation will enable Quarterhill to continue its growth and development as a diversified investment holding company focusing on investments in the Internet of Things, enterprise software and other attractive technology spaces.  After an extensive search process, the Board believes Doug is the best candidate to lead us into the future.  We expect Quarterhill, with Doug's leadership, to continue to make exciting company acquisitions in the future which build upon the acquisitions already made."

Prior to Quarterhill, Mr. Parker was Senior Vice President, Corporate Development of Open Text Corporation ("Open Text"), a Canadian based US $2 billion global leader in enterprise information management. In this role Mr. Parker was a member of the Executive Leadership Team and managed a seasoned group of corporate development professionals with operational responsibility for the company's corporate development, M&A, integration and venture capital activities.  Doug's professional experience includes leading or involvement in dozens of company acquisitions.  During his tenure as head of corporate development, Open Text deployed approximately $2.5 billion into acquisitions, onboarded over 3,500 employees, and added significant accretive revenues.  Prior to this position, Mr. Parker held senior roles as General Counsel and Assistant Secretary of Open Text and Associate General Counsel of Nortel, where he was responsible for all legal aspects of global M&A.

Mr. Parker holds an MBA (Executive) from the Richard Ivey School of Business, the University of Western Ontario, an LLB from Queen's Law School, and a BA from Trinity College, the University of Toronto.

"I am thrilled to join Quarterhill and to be part of its dynamic evolution into a leading technology business aggregator," said Doug Parker.  "Backed by a solid balance sheet, we have a strong initial platform and strategy to leverage, service and expand across various verticals and adjacencies.  I look forward to growing the Company's capabilities and assisting customers to save costs, optimize assets, and maximize revenue through data driven decision-making.

Mr. Parker succeeds Shaun McEwan who has been Interim CEO of Quarterhill for approximately seven months.  Mr. McEwan will return to his prior position of Quarterhill CFO, effective January 1, 2018.

Mr. Skippen said, "We want to thank Shaun for an incredible amount of work, effort and leadership over the past seven months.  Shaun has been with our Company since 2008 as CFO and we would not be where we are today without Shaun.  In particular, completing the closing of the three Company acquisitions made during the past seven months required a phenomenal amount of work and we owe Shaun a debt of gratitude.  We are certain that Doug and Shaun working as a team are the right combination of top executive talent to lead us into the future."

Added Skippen, "We continue to search for an appropriate CEO for the WiLAN patent licensing part of our business and I will continue as acting CEO of WiLAN, in addition to my other duties, until that position is filled."