AUNET LANDS KEY AT&T EXEC TO GROW ASIAN INTERNET BUSINESS SILICON VALLEY COMPANY NAMES JOANN PATRICK-EZZELL CHAIRMAN AND CEO MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Aug. 11 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ -- AUNET, a Silicon Valley Internet company focused on Asia/Pacific, announced today that it has recruited AT&T's JoAnn Patrick-Ezzell as chief executive officer. AUNET is a privately owned, venture-backed company that delivers innovative Internet services and solutions to companies doing business in Asia. Under Patrick-Ezzell's leadership, it will expand its charter considerably to become one of the region's leading full-service e-commerce enablers. Patrick-Ezzell, who will be both chairman and CEO, was president and CEO of AT&T's operations across Asia. In a WebCast announcement on AUNET's Web site (www.aunet.net) today, Bill Tai, AUNET founder, noted that she is uniquely qualified to lead the growing company and realize its expanded ambitions. "JoAnn has a terrific track record of growing global businesses and championing innovation, particularly in worldwide packet-based services," said Tai, a general partner of Institutional Venture Partners, a Silicon Valley venture-capital firm. "She is a recognized leader in the Internet space in Asia, with the vision and ability to take AUNET to the next level." Patrick-Ezzell said, "I'm delighted at this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build a dynamic business in the world's largest but least-tapped Internet market. We believe AUNET can be the leading Pan-Asian Web services company." Change Agent and Innovator Patrick-Ezzell, who is 45 years old, has 24 years of experience in telecommunications, and expertise in global markets, business development, strategy, sales, marketing and operations. In the early 1990s, she led the acquisition and establishment of AT&T's global messaging service. Following that, she launched and led AT&T's market-leading frame relay service business. She drove the development of AT&T's Internet business throughout Asia/Pacific, including groundbreaking Internet telephony, electronic commerce and global clearinghouse services. She also served as chairman of AT&T Jens, a joint venture between AT&T and 25 Japanese corporations. Before heading up AT&T's operations across Asia, she was president of AT&T Online Services, Asia/Pacific. Patrick-Ezzell has been a frequent presenter and keynote speaker at conferences and industry events across Asia, including Internet World, the Asia Pacific Economic Council (APEC) and the Pacific Basin Economic Council (PBEC). "We at Enterprise Partners have tremendous enthusiasm for JoAnn's vision for the Internet in Asia," said Bill Stensrud, an AUNET director and a general partner at the California-based venture-capital company. (Stensrud is also a founder of StrataCom, and a founding director of Juniper Networks, Rhythm Netconnections, GlobeSpan and Paradyne.) "With JoAnn at the helm, AUNET will be the leader in providing tailored, localized Internet services to businesses that need to thrive in the complex web of unique Asian markets." Patrick-Ezzell graduated from Bucknell University in 1975 with a bachelor's degree in economics. A Sloan Fellow, she received a master's degree from Stanford University Graduate School of Business in 1987 and is a member of the board of the Stanford Sloan Program. She will continue to be based in Hong Kong. The Asian Marketplace Asia accounts for half of the world's population and 40 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP). By 2003, the region's online population is projected to reach 64 million. By then, according to International Data Corporation (IDC), the Asian e-commerce market will have exploded to US$32 billion from its current US$720 million. AUNET is a privately held, venture-backed Internet company focused on Asia. It is headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., with operations in Hong Kong, Korea and Taiwan. AUNET delivers a broad range of services to customers in those countries and the United States, including Internet access, co-location, global roaming, e-commerce, Web hosting and a variety of value-added services. Shareholders include leading U.S. venture-capital companies such as Institutional Venture Partners, New Enterprise Associates, Enterprise Partners and Zesiger Capital and Generation Partners. Other shareholders include Salomon Brothers and BT/Alex Brown. Partners include Cisco Systems, iPass and Portal. For more information, please visit the company's Web site at www.aunet.net. SOURCE AUNET CONTACT: Linda Saytes of JONA Group, 415-552-1515, or [email protected], for AUNET; or Tyler Kim of Shandwick (News Communications), 822-310-2112, or [email protected]; or Emma Smith, [email protected], or Aster So, [email protected], both of Shandwick International, 852-2845-1008; or Lume Liao of Shandwick Taiwan, 866-2-2579-0225, or [email protected], all for AUNET Web site: http://www.aunet.net