Jessica McNulty, USWeb/CKS, 415/369-6722
[email protected]
USWeb/CKS Expands Presence in Scandinavian Region
Leading Internet Professional Services Firm Appoints Management Team to Establish Presence in Sweden
- November 15, 1999 - USWeb/CKS (Nasdaq: USWB), the leading Internet professional services firm, announced today plans to expand into Sweden. Earlier this year the company established a presence in Norway. This latest move marks the firm�s commitment to serving the burgeoning market for Internet professional services in Scandinavia. The company has brought on six seasoned professionals from strategic consulting and technology-based companies to open a Stockholm office and establish a foothold in Sweden.
Paal Roppen will remain the managing partner of the Scandinavian region and is joined by Carl Alstromer, Thomas Andersson, Kevin Doyle, Mattias Franke, Anders Martensson and Philip Sjogren, all of whom will be based in Stockholm.
�This move will allow us to extend our insight, experience and scale to the local market,� said Paal Roppen, managing partner of the Scandinavian region. �As in other regions, we will strive to provide clients with Time-to-Value � breakthrough results that quickly provide value to a business. We are scaling quickly in this market by recruiting top Internet experts from various communities and giving companies in the region access to the depth and breadth of strategy, marketing and technology services USWeb/CKS offers.�
�By capitalizing on our experience in helping companies around the world leverage the Internet to transform their businesses, and by delivering Time-to-Value, USWeb/CKS hopes to become the leader in the Scandinavian market,� said Thomas Metz, executive partner for Europe. �As we continue to expand our presence in Europe, we intend to grow our expertise organically and through acquisition.�
USWeb/CKS currently has more than 50 locations worldwide in 13 countries and is one of the largest Internet professional services firms in Europe with more than 1,000 employees in 9 European countries. �The timing of establishing a USWeb/CKS� presence in Sweden is perfect � the Swedish market is has been growing at an accelerated pace,� said Anders Martensson, who joins as head of the USWeb/CKS Stockholm office. �I am excited to be part of this move and am convinced our clients will benefit substantially from USWeb/CKS� unique insight and experience.�
About the Management Team
The management team in Sweden has strong experience and an excellent track record in business development and management for both strategy consulting and technology-based companies.
Anders Martensson will be the Managing Director of the Stockholm office. He joins USWeb/CKS from Oracle where he was a senior consultant and project manager for the company�s Internet and Electronic Commerce Division in Sweden. Previously he served IBM in several European countries, focusing on the Financial Services industry.
Mattias Franke will be responsible for USWeb/CKS� business development efforts in Sweden. He joins from CMA Comedia, a Swedish Internet Service firm where he ran business development. Previously he was an account manager for Oracle�s e-commerce efforts in Sweden and Ireland. Prior to that he served as a new media strategy consultant for various media companies.
Kevin Doyle, known as �Dr.Thaddeus Ozone� on the Web (www.ozones.com), has been appointed Creative Director of the USWeb/CKS office in Stockholm responsible for building the office�s creative expertise. Doyle also hails from CMA Comedia where he was the company�s Information Architect specializing in the graphical design and the associated technological requirements for large and dynamic Internet projects. Before that he was Creative Director at Vector Internet Services, Inc., a Minnesota-based ISP and was also the founder and president of Apocalypse Studios, a graphic design studio specializing in graphics and interface design for the Internet.
Tomas Andersson joins USWeb/CKS as Managing Architect. He too is joining USWeb/CKS from CMA Comedia, where he was the company�s lead database designer and system architect responsible for the creation of e-commerce solutions for a Nordic media conglomerate. He also created the application server called Galactica, which is used by major Swedish organizations. Andersson will drive the technological direction of USWeb/CKS� Swedish presence.
Philip Sjogren will join as Senior Strategy Consultant. Previously Sjogren was a management consultant for McKinsey & Company in Stockholm, focusing on strategy and process redesign studies. Sjogren also focused on designing and implementing communication strategies. Before that he was a diplomat at the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Carl Alstromer also joins the USWeb/CKS team from CMA Comedia and will assume responsibility of project management. Previously, he led a number of high profile Internet projects at CMA Comedia.
About USWeb/CKS
USWeb/CKS (Nasdaq: USWB) seeks to transform businesses in the digital economy and create sustainable market leadership for its clients. As the 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 4,000 professionals in 13 countries around the world. Additional information about USWeb/CKS operations in Scandinavia is available by sending an email to [email protected] or by calling 415/284-7070.
This press release contains �forward-looking statements� (as defined under securities law) about USWeb/CKS� plans and expectations regarding its business in Nordic Regions. International operations entails inherent risks and unless the Company overcomes the challenges of initiating operations in a new country, its success will fall short of its plans and expectations and its business will suffer. For additional information about factors that could affect the businesses of USWeb/CKS, see the documents filed by the companies with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.