gen-i Targets International Growth under New Board

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

gen-i Targets International Growth under New Board

AUCKLAND, 30 October, 2000 – Leading Internet Integrator gen-i limited today announced a new Chairman and new board appointments to guide the company into an international growth phase.

Following Cullen Investments’ move to 100% ownership of gen-i earlier this month, the company has strengthened its board with the appointments of experienced IT strategist Mark Lunt as Chairman and corporate finance specialist Simon Clatworthy as Director. They join Eric Watson, his alternate, Maurice Kidd, and CEO Garth Biggs and will focus on growing the company, both operationally and geographically.

“Now that gen-i has a single shareholder committed to the business and this market, our aim is to grow the company and its capabilities,” says Cullen Investments’ Executive Chairman, Eric Watson. “The first sign of that commitment is the appointment of a lean, experienced and expansion oriented board, focused on building a strong platform to drive revenues and support its continued growth strategy.”

The new board will concentrate on growth-enabling initiatives, including strategic partnerships, acquisitions and the development and marketing of gen-i’s intellectual property.

Under the direction of Chief Executive Garth Biggs, gen-i will concentrate on providing high-value Internet integration services, increasingly international in flavour, to an expanding base of enterprise customers.

Mark Lunt will work closely with Garth Biggs on strategy development to drive revenue and profit growth and identify new opportunities for expansion in the New Zealand and Australian markets.

With over 20 years industry experience in hardware, software, communications and services, he has held a number of Managing Director and CEO roles for both start-up companies and large corporate organisations undergoing significant growth and change.

Mark was previously Managing Director for financial services organisation Misys IFA Services plc and Managing Director of datacommunications equipment manufacturer Case Technology Ltd. He has also held senior sales, marketing and general management positions for Object Technology/Sybase NZ (which he founded in 1991), Miles 33 plc and Data General Ltd and was an investor and Director in Netbyte Ltd, one of the first NZ ISPs to specialise in e-business applications.

Simon Clatworthy will provide expertise in capital raising, merger and acquisitions and working with the gen-i senior management team to maximise the company’s specialist capabilities in a fast growing industry.

His commercial background spans fifteen years in banking, consulting, retail and telecommunications industries. Simon has been a merger and acquisition specialist for the Corporate Finance Team at Bancorp New Zealand Limited and held positions with US based consulting firm, Sibson & Company, Telecom NZ Limited, Gates Opticians and NZI Bank Limited. He is National President of the New Zealand MBA Association Inc.

gen-i limited’s blue chip client list includes Telecom, New Zealand Insurance, Air New Zealand, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, WestpacTrust, Ministry of Agriculture & Forestry, Transfund, New Zealand Fire Service, National Bank, Focus Travel, Bell Gully and Simpson Grierson.

ENDS

About gen-i
gen-i limited is the first and largest New Zealand-based e-business Internet integrator, focussing on designing, building, implementing and supporting e-business solutions and systems for large corporate customers. With more than 400 people at offices in major centres in New Zealand, gen-i extends customer support worldwide – both online and through a network of service partners.
gen-i has four major areas of focus and expertise: Infrastructure, Ventures, Field Force and Procurement.
gen-i Infrastructure is geared to providing and supporting all the hardware, software and networks required for today’s e-business – and to achieve that in a number of new ways. gen-i Ventures is an Internet innovation operation geared to providing knowledge and experience, including building e-commerce sites, Intranets, extranets and implementing and supporting a wide range of e-business and traditional applications. gen-i field Force is New Zealand’s leading technology engineering onsite capability, expertly trained and ready to deploy or maintain the country’s leading technology networks. gen-i Procurement provides a fast, easy and cost-effective way to select, purchase, install and maintain office technologies.
Prior to its name change in 2000, gen-i traded successfully for more than 20 years as Wang New Zealand.

For further information please contact:
Garth Biggs, Chief Executive, gen-i limited, tel: +64 9 306 4603, email: garth.biggs@gen-i.co.nz
Allan Botica, Botica Conroy & Associates, tel: +64 9 303 3862, email: allanb@bca.co.nz

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