UBID NAMES Executive Officers
Christian Feuer, Formerly of Spiegel Catalog, Inc., to Lead
Internet Auction Site as President, Chief Executive Officer; Robert H.
Tomlinson, Jr., formerly of Forbes.com, Appointed Chief Financial Officer
CHICAGO, IL – May 13, 2002 – uBid, a leading retail auction and e-commerce marketplace and majority-owned operating company of CMGI, Inc. (NASDAQ: CMGI), today announced the appointments of Christian Feuer as president and chief executive officer and Robert Tomlinson Jr. as chief financial officer. The appointments are effective immediately.
“CMGI is committed to expanding the uBid management team with seasoned executives from consumer and interactive disciplines that will complement and expand its unique market position within the larger e-commerce sector,” said George McMillan, chief executive officer, CMGI. “Building on last month’s appointment of Norm Hullinger to lead operations, Christian’s proven success in global management and brand development, and Bob’s solid experience and reputation among the financial community complete the world-class team we feel is best equipped to develop and implement uBid’s future growth strategy, and drive increasing value for CMGI shareholders.”
Feuer joins uBid from international specialty retailer Spiegel Catalog, Inc., a subsidiary of the Spiegel Group (NASDAQ: SPGLE), where he served as senior vice president of marketing and advertising production. In his four years with Spiegel, Feuer oversaw marketing, sales and catalog production, and maintained management and P&L responsibility for the Spiegel web sites, one of the world’s leading apparel and home web sites. During his tenure, Feuer led the marketing team that help restructured the company’s brand and customer acquisition strategies, implementing a range of programs that resulted in a significant increase in customers and sales during this turnaround period.
Prior to Spiegel, Feuer was vice president of advertising and international development for Newport News, Inc., also a subsidiary of the Spiegel Group. Feuer’s responsibilities included all aspects of brand advertising and catalog production. Previously, Feuer served as marketing division manager for OTTO Versand, the world’s leading mail-order company based in Hamburg, Germany. Feuer holds a Masters of Business Administration from the Christian Albrechts Universitaet in Kiel, Germany.
Additionally, Robert H. Tomlinson Jr. has joined uBid as chief financial officer reporting to Mr. Feuer. Most recently, Tomlinson was chief financial officer at Forbes.com, Inc. where he was responsible for all financial planning and reporting functions, as well as contract relations, business development and compensation planning for the sales and business development units.
Prior to Forbes.com, Tomlinson was chief financial officer for mySEASONS.com, Inc., where he developed the online strategy to become a major participant in the online gardening and specialty gift category. During his tenure, Tomlinson assisted the company in launching a new e-commerce technology platform, as well as in acquiring and integrating the purchase of National Gardening Association. Tomlinson also served as chief financial officer for American List Counsel, Inc., a position he held from 1983. In this capacity, Tomlinson was responsible for overall corporate finance activities, including treasury, banking, mergers and acquisitions, budgeting and financial reporting. Earlier career experience includes service with Young & Rubicam, Inc. and Chase Manhattan Bank, N.A. Tomlinson holds a B.S. in accounting from Seton Hall University and a Masters of Business Administration from Fairleigh Dickinson University and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Feuer
and Tomlinson join Norman Hullinger on the expanded uBid management team, who
last month was named to the new position of senior vice president of
operations. Hullinger holds management
responsibility for all of the company’s operations functions, including
warehousing, distribution infrastructure and ‘back-end’ transactional
activities, as well as oversight of uBid’s call center and customer care
teams.
uBid,
a majority-owned operating company of CMGI, Inc., is a leading retail auction
and e-commerce marketplace that offers consumers and businesses three ways to
buy and sell. The company’s Internet auctions feature a rotating selection of
more than 12,000 products daily in 16 different product categories, providing
consumers and small to mid-sized businesses with the opportunity to purchase a
wide range of brand name merchandise, often at greatly reduced prices, through
live-action bidding. Product categories include computers; computer peripherals; computer components; home office;
housewares; sports and hobbies; jewelry and gifts; accessories; off-lease
computers; consumer electronics; digital cameras and video; apparel and linens;
home improvement; travel and events; collectibles; and everything else. In
addition to uBid’s own auction listings or uBid Direct, uBid features uBid
Preferred Partner auctions in which consumers will find products listed by
uBid-approved businesses and backed by uBid or brand warranties. Users can also buy or sell products through
uBid’s Consumer Exchange, in which consumers list their items for auction with
no listing fee.
With more than 3 million registered users, uBid is committed to providing its customers with the highest quality auction experience on the Internet and offers supplier warranties on most consumer products. uBid also meets Better Business Bureau Online standards, which gives customers the confidence and security to bid safely online. For more information, visit the company’s Web site at www.ubid.com.
uBid and uBid.com are
trademarks of uBid, Inc. All other
products and services mentioned may be trademarks or service marks of their
respective owners.
CONTACT:
Denise Mancini
Manager, Public Relations
773-272-4562