VirtualDesign Network Adds New CEO to Spearhead Growth in Collaboration Market

Steve Baird will drive the expansion of the companys unique collaboration services to businesses, governments and consumers worldwide

PORTLAND, Ore. Feb. 11, 2003 VirtualDesign Network, the leading collaboration service provider, announced today that Steve Baird has been appointed the companys new president and CEO. Baird has more than 25 years of success in high technology sales, management and consulting, working for successful start-ups and Fortune 500 corporations, such as IBM, Xerox and Sprint. With Bairds appointment, former president and CEO Robert Ebert has assumed the role as founder and will continue to guide the companys growing vision of browser-based collaboration.

Bairds appointment reflects the strong growth of the company and the overall collaboration market. According to recent studies by Forrester research, the market need for cross-enterprise collaboration is on the rise. Organizations have increased the use of collaboration tools by more than 30 percent since September 2001. Additionally, 72 percent of organizations see supplier collaboration critical to their success in 2003.

The companys collaboration service, Virtual-WorkSpaces, offers a total solution with a suite of strategic, and easy-to-use tools that help companies communicate with their resources, move products to market faster, and reduce the costs of doing business.

Collaboration is about building relationships and working together on joint intellectual efforts. I look forward to helping extend VirtualDesigns groundbreaking collaboration tools into many new markets, including government, non-profits, manufacturing, and off-shore production," said Baird. Creating a well-connected collaboration environment for organizations that improves productivity and streamlines operational costs is key to conducting business in the twenty-first century."

Steve Bairds background in sales, marketing and management began in 1981 as a systems integrator where, in his first year, he sold more Apple II computers than any other vendor in the United States. He then went out on his own as a private technology consultant, working with such clients as Price-Waterhouse, Safeway, ESCO, Payless, Fred Meyer, IBM, Mattel Toys, Bergen Brunswig (now known as AmerisourceBergen) and the Oregon Heath Plan. From 1998 to 2000, Baird played an instrumental role in the growth of Braintank as the companys vice president of strategy and development, which, under during his tenure, merged with e-Media to facilitate $28 million in venture capital funding. He served as a sales manager for Sprint E|Solutions and, most recently, as general manager of a known local office furniture company, where he increased sales by more than 20 percent in less than one year and helped the company reach profitability in a downturn market.

About Virtual-WorkSpaces
Virtual-WorkSpaces wraps all the needed tools for collaboration into one neat Web-based solution. It features a full set of tools to make an all-digital, shared collaborative environment the preferred way of working. Subscribers of the browser-based service gain instant access to on-demand, multi-point videoconferencing; calendaring and scheduling; file sharing and mark-up; application sharing; data transfer; and real-time viewing over 260 file formats, including AutoCAD drawings, project planning documents, live and recorded training videos, a 3D viewer, and synchronization with Microsoft Outlook. And Virtual-WorkSpaces subscribers can access the network anywhere that offers access to a broadband Internet connection, even a wireless connections available at Starbucks.

About VirtualDesign Network
VirtualDesign Network is a global provider of real-time, cross-enterprise collaboration solutions. Based in Portland, Ore., the company was founded in 1997 by creative professionals, engineers, designers and programmers. Virtual-WorkSpaces is a browser-based videoconferencing solution where people can meet and work together in real-time, anytime, anywhere on both LAN and wireless networks. The service provides members, worldwide, browser-based connections to their collaborative groups, easy access to all of the toolsets and a meeting place for effective, efficient communications. More information on VirtualDesign Network and Virtual-WorkSpaces can be found at www.virtualdesign.net.
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