Jessica McNulty, USWeb/CKS, 415/369-6722 or
[email protected]
USWeb/CKS Adds John R. Torell III to Board of Directors
Former President of Manufacturers Hanover Corporation, John R. Torell III Brings Financial Management Expertise to Company
SAN FRANCISCO - September 9, 1999 - USWeb/CKS (Nasdaq: USWB), a leader in Internet professional services, announced today the addition of John R. Torell III to its board of directors.
"Torell is a financial industry powerhouse," said Robert Shaw, CEO of USWeb/CKS. "His knowledge of the financial markets will add tremendous expertise to our board of directors."
John R. Torell III served with Manufacturers Hanover Corporation and Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company, America's fourth largest bank, for 27 years, the last 10 of which he was the institution's second highest-ranking officer. He joined the company as a management trainee in 1961 and became President in 1982. He supervised the Metropolitan, National, International, Investment Banking, Real Estate and Trust Divisions, as well as the Consumer, Commercial Finance, Factoring and Mortgage Banking Subsidiaries.
He has also served as the Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cal Fed, Inc., the nation's fourth largest savings and loan holding company. In 1990, he joined a New York group that had acquired a controlling interest in Fortune Bancorp, of Tampa, Florida and became Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of the company. Fortune was the largest financial institution on the West Coast of Florida and was sold to AmSouth Bank Corporation of Birmingham, Alabama in June of 1994. He was also Chairman of Telesphere Inc., a digital supplier of execution quality trading data on equity securities.
Torell has been a Director of Columbia University's Graduate School of Business, the Julliard Foundation, the Financial Services Corporation of New York, the New York State Banker's Association and the New York State Banking Board. He was also a member of former New York Governor Mario Cuomo's commission on the Financial Service Industry. He graduated from Princeton University with a B.A. in Economics and studied at New York University's Graduate School of Business and at Dartmouth's Graduate School of Credit and Financial Management.
Currently, Torell is chairman of Torell Management, Inc., an investment company that specializes in principal acquisitions. He is a Director of American Home Products Corporation, Heartland Technology Inc., The Paine Webber Group and Volt Information Sciences.
The company also announced that Toby Corey has stepped down from the board of directors but will remain active with the company, providing strategic counsel to the executive team and assisting with strategic clients. The company's board of directors now consists of Torell; Shaw; chairman Mark Kvamme, who is also a partner of Sequoia Capital; Robert Hoff, a partner of Crosspoint Venture Partners; Joe Marengi, senior vice president of Dell Computer Corporation; Peter Sealey, principal of the Los Altos Group; and Professor Klaus Schwab, president of the World Economic Forum.
About USWeb/CKS
USWeb/CKS (Nasdaq: USWB) seeks to transform businesses in the digital economy and create sustainable market leadership for its clients. As a leading Internet professional services firm, USWeb/CKS has created a new standard for success in the digital economy-Time-to-Value. Time-to-Value means USWeb/CKS applies its extensive insight, experience and scale to deliver breakthrough results quickly. The Company is headquartered in San Francisco, California, with more than 3,800 professionals in over 50 locations worldwide. Additional information about USWeb/CKS is available by calling 415/284-7070.