Friday, October 22, 1999


A SCOOP___________________________________________

Methodfive announced that PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is making a significant minority investment in the company and setting up a strategic relationship worldwide. This deal bears many similarities to the Omnicom investment into Agency.com, Razorfish, Organic, etc., with some key differences.: Methodfive is the first strategic Web development company of its type that PwC has invested in and will play a prominent role in any other acquisitions made in the sector by PwC, including, potentially, rolling them under methodfive. This is not a means to diversify a portfolio of companies. PwC and methodfive have been crafting a joint "go to market" offering that will be presented to both PwC and methodfive clientele, as well as new business prospects worldwide. There will be no artificial boundaries concerning companies that methodfive or PwC can and cannot approach due to political issues that arise in a holding company situation, such as with Omnicom. In most cases, methodfive and PwC will set up joint project teams.- methodfive will agree to train all of PwC e-business consultants worldwide on their best of class online development planning process. In exchange, PwC will agree to keep the process branded "methodfive" in all engagements and methodfive will receive access to all PwC training programs worldwide. Adeo Ressi : CEO of methodfive said "essentially, methodfive is syndicating its methodology worldwide into one of the largest consulting companies."

CORREKSHIONS
Being the old-schooler I am, I blanked out on Deja.com's big ad campaign and name change and wrote them up as DejaNews.

SHAKERS & STIRRERS ________________________

Send your announcements to: shakers@TheCyberScene.com
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Sunny Bates Associates, which specializes in recruiting the senior-level talent in demand at Internet businesses, has just added Robert Egan and Troy Maier to its team of influential players in the digital community.
Rob Egan comes to SBA from a top-ten search firm where he served on the management committee and filled executive positions in a range of industries worldwide. With 14 years of experience in marketing and sales at Atari, Procter & Gamble, Kraft General Foods, and Grand Metropolitan, Egan brings an insider's understanding of brand-building and the contacts to strengthen SBA's network in Boston and beyond. A world traveler and Outward Bound Board Member cleverly disguised as a Kellogg B-school ('87) packaged goods traditionalist, Rob relishes his leap into the hot space where media meets technology.

Troy Maier brings hands-on technical know-how to SBA, having spearheaded the installation of a new Y2K-compliant operating system across all the divisions of Bankers Trust (Deutsche Bank/Bankers Trust). In light of that experience, Maier maintains, "The two most important qualifications for senior tech positions are great interpersonal skills and the ability to manage chaos."

Christopher Kresge has been named vice president of sales and marketing for Openshop.com, an eCommerce solution provider based in Germany. Christopher will be working out of the New York City office and will be responsible for the northeast territory.

Michael Coggins has been named Global Account Manager for Openshop.com. He was recently promoted from vice president of channel development. Michael will also be working out of the New York City office

Walter Karol has been appointed CTO of Openshop.com . His responsiblities will include product development and training.

R/GA Interactive has made 2 further additions to its team, naming Michelle Cheesman as account director, and John Antinori as senior producer. Cheesman is responsible for providing strategic direction on the IBM account, and oversees the IBM account management team. She comes to R/GA from Playboy Online, where she was business development manager, specializing in the broadband and interactive television markets. Antinori is the senior producer on the Bed, Bath & Beyond account. He was most recently senior producer/creative director at Engineering Animation, Inc., a PC games developer. He brings to his new position twelve years of experience developing computer games and children's software for a variety of platforms.

Dominique Ellner has been in London for the past 7 months setting up the Pixelpark UK office as their Director of Operations. She writes in "it has been really extraordinary. Now this office is fully underway, Pixelpark has gone public on the Neuer Markt (pxl.fse) and now I am off on a 2-year leave of absence to earn my MBA at Harvard University. Look out new media..." Contact her via email, dom@ellner.net