Ottawa-based Protus, a developer of software-as-a-service (SaaS) business communications tools for SMEs and enterprise organizations, on Tuesday announced that its board of directors has appointed Michael Hollend as chairman.

"It has been exciting to be part of one of largest and fastest growing technology companies in Canada," said Mr. Hollend, a five-year veteran of the company as a shareholder and director, in a statement. "The company has been executing effectively and successfully on a rapid growth strategy.

"I look forward with confidence and enthusiasm to contributing to future growth."

Mr. Hollend is a partner at EdgeStone Capital Partners, one of Canada's leading private equity firms, and also serves on the boards of Overlay TV, Maximum Throughput, MusicIP and pVelocity. He's also an observer on the boards of RedMere and Shoplogix.

"Michael's enthusiasm and strategic thinking is a great advantage for Protus," said Joseph Nour, CEO of Protus. "We will continue to lead the company's strategic focus to provide the highest quality software as a service communications tools for small-to-medium-businesses (SMB) and enterprise organizations."

Most recently, Protus has been involved in ongoing legal battles with competitor j2 Global Communications, who earlier this month filed a patent infringement suit against the Ottawa company. j2 has accused Protus of infringing upon two patents.

Protus, who defeated j2 Global Communications in a similar suit in late 2007, has denied any infringement adding ". . . the asserted patents are not relevant to the company or any of its products."