MINNEAPOLIS, June 2 /PRNewswire/ -- William Lansing, Internet visionary and CEO of Fingerhut Companies, Inc., has joined Net Perceptions, Inc. (Nasdaq: NETP) as a director, effective May 28, 1999.
Lansing was named president and CEO of Fingerhut last month after just one year with the company as president. He has been widely credited with orchestrating Fingerhut's recent $1.7 billion acquisition by Federated Department Stores, and now oversees Federated Direct's operations which include Macy's By Mail and Macys.Com. In addition to his Internet leadership at Fingerhut, Lansing brings a broad base of business strategy, operational and management experience to the Net Perceptions' Board.
"I am delighted that Will has agreed to join the Net Perceptions' Board," said Steven Snyder, president and CEO of Net Perceptions. "Will brings an amazing blend of strategic and operational expertise to our Board, as well as a deep understanding of Internet technology and direct marketing. Will's unique perspective will be invaluable to Net Perceptions as we continue to create real-time personalization solutions that enable Internet retailers to reach customers at multiple touch points. I'm confident that Will's involvement as a director will help us meet and exceed our growth objectives," Snyder continued.
Ann Winblad, a partner at the venture capital firm Hummer Winblad and a board member of Net Perceptions said, "Will is a business superstar. He is an astute Internet strategist and visionary who has had a profound and positive impact on the companies in which he has played a leadership role. His stellar reputation is well-deserved and we are delighted to have him join the Board."
Lansing began his career in 1984 as a lawyer at Davis, Polk & Wardwell, a Wall Street firm where he practiced securities and mergers & acquisitions law. In 1986, Lansing joined the management-consulting firm of McKinsey & Company, where he focused on high technology companies. He was later named a partner and was a leader of the firm's Internet practice. After nine years at McKinsey, Lansing joined Prodigy Services Company, a joint venture of Sears and IBM Corporation. At Prodigy, Lansing was responsible for the highly successful launch of Prodigy's Internet Service and subsequently led the management buyout of Prodigy that took the company private. In 1996, Lansing joined General Electric (GE) Corporation as vice president for business development and reported directly to CEO Jack Welch.
Lansing holds a BA in English from Wesleyan University and a JD from Georgetown University. He lives in Orono, Minnesota with his wife and three children.
Net Perceptions is one of the world's preeminent developers and suppliers of real-time personalization solutions that enable Internet retailers to market to customers on a true one-to-one basis. It is the originator of online collaborative filtering technology, the most accurate predictor of individual behavior available. Net Perceptions' founders include the original team of University of Minnesota researchers who pioneered the concepts and applications of collaborative filtering. Net Perceptions products include Net Perceptions for E-Commerce, Net Perceptions for Ad Targeting (powered by Neural), Net Perceptions for Call Centers and Net Perceptions Recommendation Engine.
Net Perceptions, based in Minneapolis, is a publicly traded company (Nasdaq: NETP) which operates additional offices in New York and San Francisco. Over 85 Internet innovators have selected Net Perceptions solutions including: ART.com, Audio Book Clubs, Bertelsmann Online, Billboard Talent Net, CDnow, E!Online, iVillage, Planet Direct, Ticketmaster Online and Tower Records.
Net Perceptions can be reached by calling 1-800-466-071l or on the World Wide Web at www.netperceptions.com.
Legal Notice Regarding Forward Looking Statements Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release, including, without limitation, the relationship between Will Lansing and Net Perceptions, are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in or implied by such statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, those relating to: the size and rate of growth of the online interactive marketing market; Net Perceptions' ability to develop, on a timely basis, improvements to or new releases of its solutions and Net Perceptions' ability to successfully market and gain customer acceptance of its products and services (both alone and on a bundled basis). Certain of these and other important risk factors are described in detail in the "Risk Factors" section of Net Perceptions' Registration Statement on Form S-1 (No. 333-71919) and certain other of the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission available online at http://www.sec.gov.
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