George Conrades Named Chairman and CEO of Akamai Technologies
Before joining Polaris in 1998, Mr. Conrades served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BBN Corporation where he led the commercialization of this prestigious high-technology research and development company. He capitalized on BBN's pioneering role in the creation of the Arpanet, the forerunner of today's Internet, and its Internet-related core competencies, enabling BBN to quickly become one of the world's leading and largest Internet service providers with specific focus on business-to-business applications.
After BBN was acquired by GTE in 1997, he led the integration of GTE's overall Internet and data communications activities as Executive Vice President of GTE and as President of GTE Internetworking. Mr. Conrades began his career at IBM, rising to become the head of IBM United States, where he led the creation of IBM?s services business. Previously, he established IBM's headquarters in Asia/Pacific, where the region attained record growth in revenues and earnings, earning him the title of IBM Senior Vice President and member of IBM's Corporate Management Board.
Mr. Conrades is currently a director of CBS and Infinity Broadcasting, having served as a director of Westinghouse during its transformation from an industrial products firm to a top-tier media company.
"Akamai is destined to play a major role in enabling the world's largest Web sites to reliably deliver rich content with high-performance," noted Mr. Conrades. "I am thrilled and honored to join the exceptionally talented Akamai team full-time, which has enjoyed unparalleled support from two superb venture firms, Battery Ventures and Polaris Venture Partners. "
Founded last year by a leading group of MIT scientists, Akamai has deployed the world's largest fault-tolerant network for distributing Internet content. The company's FreeFlow service speeds up the delivery of rich Web content and allows high-volume Internet businesses to serve their audiences reliably and economically from a globally-distributed network of servers located close to end users. Akamai is currently beta-testing FreeFlow with some of the largest sites on the Internet, including five of the world's most-visited Web sites. The company's service trial began in January 1999 with the deployment of hundreds of proprietary content distribution servers.
"George brings immense experience, leadership and vision to our company just as we are bringing major customers onto the network," said Tom Leighton, Professor of Applied Mathematics at MIT, and Akamai's Co-founder and Chief Scientist.
Over the last several months, Akamai has recruited a top-notch team of experienced Internet business professionals to join its founding group of world-class scientists. In addition to Mr. Conrades, recent executive appointments include: Paul Sagan, former President of Time Inc. New Media, as Akamai Chief Operating Officer; Earl Galleher, former President of Digex's Web Site Management Division, as Akamai Vice President of Sales and Distribution; and Warren Recicar, former GTE Internetworking Vice President of Customer Services Delivery, as Akamai Vice President of Operations.
Akamai received more than $8-million in initial financing, led by Battery Ventures, based in Wellesley, Mass, and Polaris Venture Partners, based in Boston and Seattle.
Polaris continues as an investor in Akamai, and as a venture partner, Mr. Conrades will continue to offer advice and counsel as well as serve on boards of directors of other Polaris companies. Polaris is a premier venture capital firm that has been the lead investor in a number of successful high-tech companies, such as Powersoft, SolidWorks, Allaire and Decode Genetics. In addition to Allaire, which had a successful IPO in January, 1999, other Internet-related investments include Classifieds2000, which was sold to Excite, and Eclipse Trading, the after-hours Internet stock trading system.
Battery Ventures is a leading high tech venture capital firm focused on the communications and software industries. The firm recently closed on Battery Ventures V, LP and the Battery Ventures Convergence Fund totaling $440 million. A sample of Battery's investments include: Fore Systems, Nextel, Redstone, XCOM (Level 3), HNC Software, Banyan, Aurum, Packet Engines, and Allegiance Telecom.
About Akamai
Akamai Technologies is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts and has offices in San Mateo and Cupertino, California, and Europe. Akamai is the leader in distributed content, streaming media, and applications delivery, serving over 225 of the Web's most popular properties including over 100 leading e-commerce companies. Akamai has deployed the broadest global network for content, streaming media, and applications delivery with more than 2000 servers in over 40 countries directly connected to more than 100 different telecommunications networks. Akamai (pronounced AH kuh my) is Hawaiian for intelligent, clever and cool.
| Contacts: |
||
| David Goodtree Akamai Technologies 617-250-3080 david@akamai.com |
--or-- | Udayn Gupta Polaris Ventures Partners 212-402-6801 batgups@aol.com |
| Contacts: |
||
| Dan Geist Polaris Ventures Partners 212-402-6801 batgups@aol.com |
--or-- | Todd Dagres Battery Ventures 781-996-1000 todd@batter.com |
Former BBN CEO to Lead Company's Transformation
CAMBRIDGE, MA, April 7, 1999 --- Akamai Technologies, Inc. announced today that George H. Conrades has been named Akamai's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. He will spearhead the commercial launch of FreeFlowSM, Akamai's Internet content distribution service. Mr. Conrades, who has been representing Akamai investor Polaris Venture Partners as a member of the Akamai Board of Directors since last December, will also continue in his position as a venture partner at the venture capital firm.Before joining Polaris in 1998, Mr. Conrades served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BBN Corporation where he led the commercialization of this prestigious high-technology research and development company. He capitalized on BBN's pioneering role in the creation of the Arpanet, the forerunner of today's Internet, and its Internet-related core competencies, enabling BBN to quickly become one of the world's leading and largest Internet service providers with specific focus on business-to-business applications.
After BBN was acquired by GTE in 1997, he led the integration of GTE's overall Internet and data communications activities as Executive Vice President of GTE and as President of GTE Internetworking. Mr. Conrades began his career at IBM, rising to become the head of IBM United States, where he led the creation of IBM?s services business. Previously, he established IBM's headquarters in Asia/Pacific, where the region attained record growth in revenues and earnings, earning him the title of IBM Senior Vice President and member of IBM's Corporate Management Board.
Mr. Conrades is currently a director of CBS and Infinity Broadcasting, having served as a director of Westinghouse during its transformation from an industrial products firm to a top-tier media company.
"Akamai is destined to play a major role in enabling the world's largest Web sites to reliably deliver rich content with high-performance," noted Mr. Conrades. "I am thrilled and honored to join the exceptionally talented Akamai team full-time, which has enjoyed unparalleled support from two superb venture firms, Battery Ventures and Polaris Venture Partners. "
Founded last year by a leading group of MIT scientists, Akamai has deployed the world's largest fault-tolerant network for distributing Internet content. The company's FreeFlow service speeds up the delivery of rich Web content and allows high-volume Internet businesses to serve their audiences reliably and economically from a globally-distributed network of servers located close to end users. Akamai is currently beta-testing FreeFlow with some of the largest sites on the Internet, including five of the world's most-visited Web sites. The company's service trial began in January 1999 with the deployment of hundreds of proprietary content distribution servers.
"George brings immense experience, leadership and vision to our company just as we are bringing major customers onto the network," said Tom Leighton, Professor of Applied Mathematics at MIT, and Akamai's Co-founder and Chief Scientist.
Over the last several months, Akamai has recruited a top-notch team of experienced Internet business professionals to join its founding group of world-class scientists. In addition to Mr. Conrades, recent executive appointments include: Paul Sagan, former President of Time Inc. New Media, as Akamai Chief Operating Officer; Earl Galleher, former President of Digex's Web Site Management Division, as Akamai Vice President of Sales and Distribution; and Warren Recicar, former GTE Internetworking Vice President of Customer Services Delivery, as Akamai Vice President of Operations.
Akamai received more than $8-million in initial financing, led by Battery Ventures, based in Wellesley, Mass, and Polaris Venture Partners, based in Boston and Seattle.
Polaris continues as an investor in Akamai, and as a venture partner, Mr. Conrades will continue to offer advice and counsel as well as serve on boards of directors of other Polaris companies. Polaris is a premier venture capital firm that has been the lead investor in a number of successful high-tech companies, such as Powersoft, SolidWorks, Allaire and Decode Genetics. In addition to Allaire, which had a successful IPO in January, 1999, other Internet-related investments include Classifieds2000, which was sold to Excite, and Eclipse Trading, the after-hours Internet stock trading system.
Battery Ventures is a leading high tech venture capital firm focused on the communications and software industries. The firm recently closed on Battery Ventures V, LP and the Battery Ventures Convergence Fund totaling $440 million. A sample of Battery's investments include: Fore Systems, Nextel, Redstone, XCOM (Level 3), HNC Software, Banyan, Aurum, Packet Engines, and Allegiance Telecom.
About Akamai
Akamai Technologies is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts and has offices in San Mateo and Cupertino, California, and Europe. Akamai is the leader in distributed content, streaming media, and applications delivery, serving over 225 of the Web's most popular properties including over 100 leading e-commerce companies. Akamai has deployed the broadest global network for content, streaming media, and applications delivery with more than 2000 servers in over 40 countries directly connected to more than 100 different telecommunications networks. Akamai (pronounced AH kuh my) is Hawaiian for intelligent, clever and cool.
