Jan Lakin, USWeb/CKS, 212/989-4050
[email protected]
James Espinas, USWeb/CKS, 415/369-6717
[email protected]
USWeb/CKS Deepens Expertise in New York City Region
New Branding, Strategy, and Entertainment & Media Experts Join Internet Professional Services Leader
New York - November 29, 1999 - USWeb/CKS (Nasdaq: USWB), the leader in Internet professionals services, today announced the appointment of three new partners in the New York City region to augment the company�s expertise in branding, entertainment and & media, and strategy. The partners � Luis Barreto, John Bowen, and Louis Giliberti � join the firm from Oracle Corporation, Bowen Consulting and Booz-Allen & Hamilton, respectively.
During the past year, USWeb/CKS augmented its technology, creative and strategy teams in the New York City region with a large number of new hires as well as the addition of over 500 strategy experts from the recently acquired Mitchell Madison Group. �We�re strategically building teams that extend the full spectrum of capabilities we offer to clients,� said Nancye Green, executive partner for the New York region. �USWeb/CKS is attracting top professionals, which helps us to scale and to deliver on the company�s Time-to-Value proposition.�
About Luis Barreto � Expert in Business Transformation
Barreto brings over twenty years of multiple-industry strategy and operations experience to USWeb/CKS, where he will help clients define opportunities and challenges related to creating online businesses and new channels. As vice president at Oracle, in its consumer-sector applications consulting group, Barreto worked with clients undergoing complex, enterprise-wide business transformations characterized by multiple business processes, global operations, multi-tiered application solutions, and numerous technology partners.
While at Oracle, Barreto also managed the company�s Worldwide Industry Strategy group. Prior to Oracle, Luis was a principal with Booz-Allen & Hamilton where he advised U.S. and Latin American clients on information technology, operational and organizational strategies.
�Clients need to look beyond the traditional scope of web projects and integrate offline business capabilities, such as store locations, distribution centers, and customer support, among others, to enhance a customer�s overall interaction with the brand. I see USWeb/CKS as the company that understands and can respond to the full spectrum of today�s business opportunities and challenges,� said Barreto.
About John Bowen � Expert in Branding in the Digital Economy At USWeb/CKS, Bowen will help clients with brand positioning, product identity, new product development, environmental design, and online brand-building.
Bowen�s approach starts with understanding the customer and then extending that understanding to the user experience and beyond. The goal is to translate brand culture through both real and virtual environments to reinforce the company-customer relationship.
�Companies are facing huge branding challenges as the Internet transforms how all industries communicate and do business. At USWeb/CKS, we see effective branding as critical to building successful businesses online as well as offline,� said Bowen.
Bowen joins USWeb/CKS after serving as an independent branding consultant to the company for several years. Bowen, a 20-year advertising veteran, most recently led accounts for Lowe & Partners/SMS in New York City. His clients have included A. H. Robins pharmaceuticals, Baileys Irish Cream, Castrol, Kmart, Marriott Corporation, The Prudential, Smirnoff, and tourism for the U.S. Virgin Islands.
About Louis Giliberti � Expert in Entertainment and Media Strategy
Giliberti will play a critical role in helping USWeb/CKS clients in the entertainment and media industry transform their businesses and identify opportunities created by the Internet and new technologies. Giliberti�s intimate understanding of industry issues and leaders, combined with his strategic and technical expertise, provide clients with Internet counsel from an industry-insider vantage point.
�Louis brings great depth to our entertainment and media capabilities. With his profound industry knowledge and operations experience, he is an important contribution to our team,� said Green. Before joining USWeb/CKS, Giliberti was a partner in the media and entertainment practice at Booz Allen, & Hamilton, where he worked with clients in the motion pictures, music, publishing, and television industries. His clients included ASCAP, BMG, Commerce Clearing House, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures, PaxTV, Times Mirror, and Universal Studios. For these clients, he assisted in furthering the industry�s transformation, providing insight into new opportunities created by the Internet through targeted media strategies, product launches, and greater business efficiencies.
Earlier in his 20-year career, Giliberti held marketing positions and was a systems analyst for a software company.
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 is available by calling 415/284-7070.