7/14/99 - Essential.com Names Internet Content Pioneer to Board of Advisors; Michael Kolowich to Serve as Advisor of New On-line 'Essential Services' Superstore
BURLINGTON, Mass., Jul 14, 1999 (BUSINESS WIRE via COMTEX) -- Essential.com(TM) (http://www.essential.com), the Web's first Energy and Communications Superstore, appointed Michael Kolowich to the company's Board of Advisors. Mr. Kolowich brings his extensive experience to the on-line one-stop shop for Essential Services such as Energy, Internet Access, and PhoneService.
Essential.com's President and CEO, Akhil Garland commented, "Michael has been a pioneer and leader in bringing on-line services to the market, including the highly successful Ziff-Davis Interactive. He has blazed the trail for many business and model innovations in use today on the Internet. His knowledge and experience will be a great asset in the growth and success of Essential.com."
Michael Kolowich noted, "I'm very pleased to be involved with Essential.com. Their on-line Essential Services Superstore is one of the most interesting and compelling concepts that I have seen on the Web. I believe that Essential.com can forever change the way that consumers select and manage their Essential Services, and I'm excited to be a part of it."
Mr. Kolowich conceived and led several important online content initiatives. Michael is the Founder of Ziff-Davis Interactive, now know as ZDNet (NYSE:ZDZ), one of the Internet's most active and lucrative sites. Ziff-Davis Interactive was the first online division to be established by a major publishing company. He also played a key role at Individual, Incorporated, the pioneer in personalized electronic news, serving as Chairman, President, and CEO. As the Founding Publisher of the Ziff-Davis (NYSE:ZD) magazine PC/Computing, Michael created the publication that became the largest-circulation monthly computer magazine in America in only five years. Mr. Kolowich was also Founder and President of AT&T (NYSE:T) New Media Services, and was part of the team which launched AT&T's WorldNet Service.
Mr. Kolowich was the Corporate Vice President of Marketing and Business Development of Lotus Development Corporation. Later at Lotus, he was responsible for the early development of the Lotus Notes business. Michael came to Lotus from Bain and Company, the global management strategy consulting firm, where he was Vice President and Partner.
Prior to his career in high tech, Mr. Kolowich was a successful television news reporter and producer for several television stations in the Boston and Providence markets. While a reporter at WGBH-TV in Boston, Michael was honored with an Emmy Award for Outstanding News Reporting by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
Currently, Mr. Kolowich serves as Vice Chairman and Co-founder of NewsEdge Corporation. The company was formed by the merger of Individual, Inc., and Desktop Data Corporation, and is the global leader in electronic news solutions for business. Mr. Kolowich serves on the Board of Directors of SmarterKids.com, Inc., and Click2Commerce, Inc.
Michael Kolowich joins Essential.com's current Advisory Board members; Andrew Brooks, Chief Executive Officer, Furniture.com; Patricia Eckert, former President, California Public Utilities Commission; Steve Galliker, Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Finance, Excel Switching; Philip M. Giudice, Vice President, Mercer Consulting; Samuel K. Skinner, Former President of the Commonwealth Edison Company and former Chief of Staff and Secretary of Transportation to President George Bush; and Henry Zachs, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Chairman of the Board, ZipLink.
In addition to his work with Essential.com, Mr. Kolowich is a Trustee of the Massachusetts Software Council, an Overseer of Boston's Museum of Science, a Trustee of the Fenn School of Concord, MA, and serves on the Board of Directors of Revels Incorporated.
Michael attended Harvard College, where he received a bachelor's degree in Engineering and Applied Physics, and an MBA, with distinction, from Harvard Business School.
Essential.com, Inc. is the Web's first Energy and Communications Superstore. The company offers one-stop shopping for all the Essential Services needed to run a home or business. Essential.com's on-line Superstore offers a wide selection of branded Essential Services including Electricity, Internet Access, Local, Long Distance, and Wireless. Essential.com is a privately held, venture-backed e-commerce company based in Burlington, Massachusetts and is on the Internet at essential.com.
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JPalladino@essential.com
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