London, January 3, 2002 – Extraprise, the international technology consultancy specialising in CRM, today announced organisational changes that it believes will allow it to strengthen its position in sectors in which it enjoyed particular success in 2001. As the European CRM market matures, companies who were early adopters of CRM technologies are increasingly looking for consultancies with strong vertical expertise to help take them to the next stage of their CRM journey. Today's announcement reflects Extraprise's desire to capitalise on this growing trend, having already delivered hundreds of CRM projects in these sectors. Extraprise will deepen its domain expertise in Europe in two areas: Financial Services and Telco and Utilities.
'It has been a tough year for many companies but as the services industry has slowed in the Americas, Europe continues to be a bright spot for Extraprise,” said Jim Beagle, President, Extraprise International. 'We pride ourselves on our ability to adapt swiftly to market conditions and we believe that these organisational changes will put us in a strong position to seize the best opportunities in these sectors throughout 2002.”
Kim Gray will be assuming the position of Vice President, Financial Services, Europe. Kim joined Extraprise in October 2000 with over 20 years' experience in this sector. Kim was previously head of UK Business Consulting for Cap Gemini's Financial Services Division. Extraprise has continued to win major new business in the Financial Services Sector with clients such as Barclays Bank and Gerrard, as well as embarking on new initiatives for existing clients such as ABN AMRO Bank.
Jenny Beresford will be assuming the role of Vice President, Telco and Utilities, Europe. Jenny joined Extraprise in November 2000 and has been the driving force behind Extraprise's success in the telco sector. She brings with her 17 years' experience of General Management, IT and Consulting for both start-up and established businesses in Asia Pacific. Having consistently delivered excellent projects to BT over the past 12 months, Extraprise was recently selected as a strategic partner in BT's 'Ecosystem” of CRM partners. One of the first CRM initiatives to be launched in connection with this programme was BT's Contact Central.
Jean-Benoit Berty will become Vice President of Extraprise's General Business sector. Jean-Benoit has been instrumental in developing Extraprise Europe's strategy and change management services since its inception. Jean-Benoit has over 13 years' international consulting and managerial experience in Europe and the United States, including work at Cap Gemini Ernst and Young. Extraprise has seen considerable success in the General Business area, with exciting new partnerships in place with companies such as HBS (provider of business services to the government sector) and 7C (provider of call centre outsourcing services). In 2002 Extraprise will be working with new clients such as 3M, as well as long established clients such as the Autobar Group and ICI Paints.
Richard Clarke has been promoted to Executive Vice President, Europe, in recognition of the key role he has played in building a world-class delivery organisation. Richard will maintain overall responsibility for the consultancy organisation including delivery excellence and staff development. Richard joined Extraprise in October 2000 from PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he was Director of Management Consultancy Services.
As President of Extraprise International, Jim Beagle will retain overall operational responsibility for Extraprise's European business. Beagle has been responsible for developing Extraprise's international strategy and launched the company's European operations in March 2000 with the acquisition of two U.K.-based consulting firms. He is a member of the company's group executive management team and a director of Extraprise U.K. (Ltd.).
'We are viewing the year ahead with real enthusiasm,” concluded Jim Beagle, President, Extraprise International. 'We proved in 2001 that we have the agility and experience to win business and deliver flawlessly in the toughest of times. These organisational improvements will put us in a position to make the next 12 months even more successful.”
Extraprise® is a leading systems integrator and business process outsourcer specializing in customer management. The company's "Insight-to-Interaction" (or "i2i") solutions combine data management, business insight, demand generation, and customer management. Clients use Extraprise services to make their customer insights actionable throughout their marketing, sales, and service channels. Solutions are available on premise and as on demand services at the company's hosting centers. Extraprise is headquartered in Boston with offices in the U.S. and Europe. Extraprise is on the Web at www.extraprise.com.
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