<PAGE>

                                                                    Exhibit 99.1

                                 CERTIFICATIONS

I, Rimas P. Buinevicius, certify that:

     1.   I have reviewed this report on Form 10-Q of Sonic Foundry, Inc.;

     2.   Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue
          statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact
          necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances
          under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to
          the period covered by this report;

     3.   Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial
          information included in this report, fairly present in all material
          respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows
          of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this
          report;

     4.   The registrant's other certifying officers and I are responsible for
          establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as
          defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-14 and 15d-14) for the registrant
          and we have:

          a) designed such disclosure controls and procedures to ensure that
          material information relating to the registrant, including its
          consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those
          entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being
          prepared;

          b) evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls
          and procedures as of a date within 90 days prior to the filing date of
          this report (the "Evaluation Date"); and

          c) presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of
          the disclosure controls and procedures based on our evaluation as of
          the Evaluation Date;

     5.   The registrant's other certifying officers and I have disclosed, based
          on our most recent evaluation, to the registrant's auditors and the
          audit committee of registrant's board of directors (or persons
          performing the equivalent function):

          a) all significant deficiencies in the design or operation of internal
          controls which could adversely affect the registrant's ability to
          record, process, summarize and report financial data and have
          identified for the registrant's auditors any material weaknesses in
          internal controls; and

          b) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or
          other employees who have a significant role in the registrant's
          internal controls; and

     6.   The registrant's other certifying officers and I have indicated in
          this report whether or not there were significant changes in internal
          controls or in other factors that could significantly affect internal
          controls subsequent to the date of our most recent evaluation,
          including any corrective actions with regard to significant
          deficiencies and material weaknesses.

Date: April 30, 2003

                               By:  /s/ Rimas P. Buinevicius
                                   -------------------------
                               By:    Rimas P. Buinevicius
                               Title: Chairman and CEO