MSGi Appoints Stephen J. Killeen President
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NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 12, 2000--
Former Alta Vista Executive to Lead MSGi Internet
Group and M&A Initiatives
Marketing Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MSGI), an Internet and
integrated marketing services industry leader, today named Stephen J.
Killeen, 38, President, effective immediately. In February, Mr.
Killeen was named a member of the MSGi Board of Directors and Chairman
of MSGi's largest Internet subsidiary, WiredEmpire. He will maintain
these positions with the Company. Mr. Killeen joins MSGi from
AltaVista, a CMGi Company, where he became Vice President and General
Manager upon AltaVista's acquisition of Raging Bull. Previously, Mr.
Killeen served as President and CEO of Raging Bull.
As President, Mr. Killeen will lead MSGi's Internet Group as well
as provide strategic direction for the Company's overall mergers and
acquisitions initiatives. He will report to Jeremy Barbera, Chairman
and CEO of MSGi. Mr. Killeen succeeds Ed Mullen, who departed MSGi in
February to pursue other interests.
In addition to Mr. Killeen's appointment, MSGi also announced
today that the Company has retained The Abernathy MacGregor Group
(http://www.abmac.com) as its Investor Relations agency of record. The
Abernathy MacGregor Group is a pre-eminent Corporate/financial public
relations and investor relations firm, assisting clients around the
world with strategy and communication related to crisis management,
mergers and acquisitions, IPOs and on-going public and investor
relations.
"Stephen is a well respected and sophisticated executive with vast
Internet and direct marketing experience and a strong track record of
successfully developing and growing a range of businesses," said
Jeremy Barbera. "At both AltaVista and Raging Bull, Stephen developed
his strategic vision for the Company and successfully executed against
it, which was demonstrated by Raging Bull's impressive improvements in
creating value during his tenure. As President of MSGi, Stephen will
continue to formulate and execute our business plan and ensure that we
fulfill The Internet Group's mission to acquire, invest in and
monetize a portfolio of synergistic Internet companies."
"MSGi is an established leader in traditional direct marketing and
has successfully leveraged their expertise in this space to become a
pioneer in the development of new technological and marketing
solutions," said Stephen Killeen. "I believe that the future of this
industry is a complete marriage of interactive and traditional direct
marketing. Due to our talented executive team who possess a vast
knowledge of online and offline direct marketing and our Company's
strong portfolio of services, I believe that MSGi is best positioned
to become a leader in this new space by capitalizing on these
developments and continuing our impressive growth while providing the
best solutions to our clients."
Mr. Killeen joined AltaVista, a majority-owned operating company
of CMGi, Inc. (NASDAQ:CMGI), upon its merger with Raging Bull in
November of 1999. As the President and CEO of Raging Bull. Mr. Killeen
set the strategic direction of the Company and managed all areas of
its corporate and technological growth. These initiatives resulted in
outstanding growth for Raging Bull where unique visitors increased
from 200,000 to over 4.5 million, page views increased from 4 million
per month to over 350 million per month and registered membership grew
to over 500,000.
Mr. Killeen spent ten years in the online financial services
industry, most recently with Fidelity Investments. As Senior Vice
President of Fidelity Brokerage Services, he increased online
registered users from 30,000 to 1.5 million accounts and increased
trading activity by 30%, improving online market share to 28%, second
only to Charles Schwab. At Fidelity Interactive, Mr. Killeen
successfully created cohesive shared and linked interactive strategies
for all of Fidelity's divisions, companies, products and services.
Prior to Fidelity, Mr. Killeen spent six years with DLJ Direct,
formerly PC Financial Network, as senior vice president, director of
marketing, where he was responsible for marketing communications,
public relations and investor services, as well as product and
relationship management. During his tenure, PC Financial Network's
investor base grew from 20,000 to over 300,000 active online accounts
with revenue of $70 million.
Mr. Killeen is a graduate of Union College in Schenectady, New
York and currently resides in Southborough, MA with his wife and two
children. He is a member of The Industry Standard's Leaders of the
Internet Economy Network, the Direct Marketing Association, the
Securities Industry Association and the Interactive Industry
Association.
About MSGi
Marketing Services Group, Inc. is a leader in the Internet and
integrated marketing services industries. MSGi revenues have grown
from $16 million in fiscal 1996 to more than $200 million on an
annualized basis. GE Capital and CMGi are significant shareholders of
the Company, with ownership interests of 16% and 9%, respectively.
MSGi has two business divisions, The Internet Group and The Direct
Group. MSGi Direct provides integrated marketing services across all
mediums. The Internet Group's primary focus is WiredEmpire and its
Marketing Agent technology, providing Internet marketing, e-commerce
applications, Web development and hosting, online ad sales and
consulting. The Group's strategic objective continues to focus on
acquiring, investing in and incubating Internet companies. MSGi
Direct, which will continue to leverage the synergies across all its
companies in marketing and technology, provides strategic planning,
creative, direct marketing, database marketing and management,
telemarketing, telefundraising, print production, mailing and media
planning and buying.
Corporate headquarters are located at 333 Seventh Avenue, New
York, NY 10001.
Telephone: 917-339-7100. Additional information is available on
the company's Website: msginet.com
Matters discussed in this release include forward-looking
statements that involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results
may be materially different. Factors that could cause actual results
to differ are stated in the company's reports to the Securities and
Exchange Commission including its 10-Q for the period ended March 31,
2000 and the annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 30,
1999.
CONTACT: Marketing Services Group, Inc.
Jamie Karlin, 917/339-7100
jamie@msginet.com
or
The Abernathy MacGregor Group
John Coffey, 212/371-5999
jkc@abmac.com
KEYWORD: NEW YORK
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: ADVERTISING/MARKETING INTERNET MANAGEMENT CHANGES
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