SYL SEMANTICS APPOINTS A BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
Wellington-based software company SYL Semantics has appointed Chris Johnston as its business development manager
following the recent launch of the company’s next generation enterprise search platform.
Chris started his career in telecommunications before moving into the software field. A former New Zealand hockey
representative, he has held senior roles with Ascom Timeplex, Synet Communications, Sybase, Business Objects and, most
recently, Mastersoft Systems.
At SYL Semantics, Chris will be responsible for leading the market expansion of the company’s new enterprise search
product, known as Syl Semantics.
SYL Semantics’ chief executive Sean Wilson said, “We are fortunate to have secured Chris for this role. He is well known
and highly regarded throughout the industry, having worked with a number of this country’s leading ICT companies.”
SYL Semantics’ point of difference is that its search engine is an information access tool enabling enterprises to find
information based on the context of words in any text document, automatically understanding synonyms, acronyms and
relationships. The semantic search engine is capable of evaluating a much wider portion of content and its context when
evaluating a search request, much as the human brain does.
This has already generated considerable market interest, with three significant government agencies signing contracts
with the company in the last quarter.
Formed in 2008, SYL Semantics is a privately held company. The three-and-a-half year development programme behind Syl
Semantics was co-funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation.
ENDS