From the www.paulallen.com site....re Mercata
Mentions GNET....
KLP
Press Release dated 2 March 2000...
Vulcan Ventures President William Savoy Becomes Chairman of Mercata?
Financial Veteran To Offer Vision and Guidance to Group Buying E-Commerce Company
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BELLEVUE, WA ? March 2, 2000 ? Mercata (http://www.mercata.com), an e-commerce company that brings customers together to drive down prices on a wide variety of products, today announced William Savoy, president of Vulcan Ventures Inc., has been elected as chairman of the company?s board of directors. Savoy has been a member of the board since the company?s inception in September 1998.
?I am honored and excited to become chairman of Mercata,? said Savoy. ?The company?s prominent position in the Internet group buying market along with its strong management team make for a winning combination, and I?m proud to help lead the company to achieve its goals.?
As president of Vulcan Ventures Inc., Savoy represents investor Paul G. Allen in his professional and personal financial transactions as well as manages the Vulcan analysts who investigate and secure investment opportunities. Prior to joining Allen in 1986, Savoy served as the president of software company Layered Inc., and also spent time as a Wall Street investment banker. He currently sits on the advisory board of DreamWorks SKG and also serves as director of Harbinger Corporation, Metricom, Inc., Telescan, Inc., Ticketmaster Online-CitySearch, U.S. Satellite Broadcasting Co., Inc., and USA Networks, Inc. Savoy holds a B.S. in computer science, accounting and finance from Atlantic Union College.
?Bill has been instrumental to Mercata?s development thus far,? said Tom Van Horn, president and CEO of Mercata. ?Now, as chairman of the board, he will be even more integral to the strategy of Mercata and to the alliances that we intend to cultivate in the future.?
Mercata?s additional board members include: Diane Daggatt, investment analyst for Vulcan Ventures Inc.; Bert Kolde, vice president of Vulcan Ventures Inc; Linda Fayne Levinson, principal of Global Retail Partners; Samir Master, senior partner of Europ@Web; Dan Nova, general partner of Highland Capital Partners II, III and IV; and Tom Van Horn, president and CEO of Mercata.
About Vulcan Ventures Inc.
Vulcan Ventures Inc. of Bellevue, Washington was founded by Paul G. Allen in 1986 to research and implement his investments. Through Vulcan Ventures, Allen invests in companies which offer products, services or technologies that fit his Wired World strategy and can contribute to or benefit from the technology and strategy of other companies within the group?s extensive investment portfolio. In addition, the group owns Charter Communications, the fourth largest cable operating company in the United States with more than 6 million subscribers. Recent investments include those in innovative content (e.g. Oxygen Media, ZDTV), Internet and e-commerce (e.g. Drugstore.com, eGreetings, Go2Net, Priceline.com, Stamps.com), telecommunications (e.g. Allegiance Telecom, High Speed Access, InterNAP, NorthPoint Communications) and consumer device and service companies (e.g. Replay Networks, TiVo, and Wink Communications). William D. Savoy is president of Vulcan Ventures and represents Allen in his professional and personal financial transactions as well as manages the Vulcan investment analysts who investigate and secure investment opportunities. Allen remains chairman of Vulcan. For more information on Vulcan visit www.paulallen.com.
About Mercata
Mercata, Inc.? has developed a new form of Internet-based group buying that pools customers? purchasing power to achieve volume discounts on high-quality, brand-name products and services. Mercata?s Web site (http://mercata.com) allows customers to participate in group buying through its PowerBuy? feature, which provides limited-time buying opportunities that enable online purchasers to join together to drive down the price of particular items. For online businesses, Mercata offers an e-commerce solution through its We-Commerce? Network that enables online merchants, Internet portals, and online community and content sites to merchandise and sell products using Mercata?s proprietary business methods and technology. The We-Commerce Network is powered by Mercata?s patent-pending business methods and related technologies. Founded in September 1998, Mercata is a privately held company with funding from Vulcan Ventures Inc., Highland Capital Partners, Global Retail Partners, Europ@web, Amerindo and other investors.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
