NetCurrents (fka NTCS)

[PappaJohn]

NetCurrents Names Michael O'Hara as V.P. Product Strategy
Veteran Technology Executive to Oversee Business and Product Development, Technology
BURLINGAME, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 23, 2000--NetCurrents Inc. (Nasdaq:NTCS - news), The Premier Internet Intelligence Agency, Monday announced that proven technology executive Michael J. O'Hara has been named vice president product strategy, effective immediately.

O'Hara will oversee the company's product and business development efforts and all new applications of its proprietary, real time Internet intelligence technologies. He will report directly to chairman and CEO Irwin Meyer.

O'Hara, a long-time executive at El Segundo, Calif.-based Hughes Information Technology Systems and Hughes Space and Communications was most recently senior vice president business development of eSat Inc., working out of its offices in Universal City, Calif.

``Prior to joining us,'' Meyer said, ``Michael consulted with NetCurrents on several key projects including a number of market research and product focused studies on how best to apply our innovative technologies and expand our markets with new products and services.

``He is thoroughly familiar with our technology and is completely up to speed adding significant immediate value to the company. In addition, his commitment to the company's strategy and future has been clearly demonstrated by his purchase of NetCurrents' shares in the open market.''

``Michael's background in Internet technology, business development and communications is exactly the mix of expertise we need to take full advantage of the increasing demand for our services,'' Meyer said.

``He has proven skills in working with large and mid-size corporate clients and has shown the ability to develop and manage strategic relationships like those we currently enjoy with our partners around the U.S. and Canada.''

At eSat, O'Hara developed and negotiated contracts with domestic and international strategic partners, was the lead presenter for all investor and analyst presentations, worked with the CEO of eSat on company re-branding and investor communications and served as chief technology officer.

From 1996 to January 2000, O'Hara was chief systems engineer for Hughes Space and Communications. Among his duties was responsibility for the overall technical effort for a $4 billion polar orbiting environmental satellite system.

He also successfully managed a three-year $5.4 million risk-reduction study for a joint program office of the U.S. Air Force, NOAA and NASA and he worked on a number of critical international programs where he interfaced with and gave technology presentations to officials in Japan and Germany. He also made numerous technology presentations to Hughes customers and users in the United States and internationally.

From 1991 to 1996, O'Hara was with Hughes Information Technology Systems in El Segundo and in Landover, Md., where his last position was a senior systems engineer. While at Hughes he supported a number of new business initiatives to reuse a remote sensing ground data processing system (ECS) developed under an $800 million contract to NASA.

He managed proposal efforts for RFPs involving the reuse of ECS and was one of only four people in a 400-plus person organization authorized to give presentations on ECS to prospective customers. O'Hara worked with potential customers to tailor the functional, interface and performance parameters of ECS to their environment and applications.

His other responsibilities at Hughes included conducting technology assessments of commercial software, including high-level programming languages, Web-based user interfaces, client/server architectures, database management systems and terabyte robotic archive systems.

In 1993, O'Hara independently helped establish Southern California-based CyberScape Inc., an Internet start-up that focused on virtual reality multi-player entertainment. He co-authored the new company's business plan with two others and assisted in establishing software and technology alliances with established companies for the new venture.

He also developed a demonstration prototype of the entertainment concept.

O'Hara began his career at Hughes Aircraft Co. in El Segundo in 1984 as an engineer developing software programs to automate a far-field test antenna test range and to determine signal crosstalk within multi-conductor shielded cable harnesses.

In 1987 he was named study leader and directed and co-authored a comprehensive study that examined state-of-the-art technologies of interest to the Defense Communications Agency. He then rose steadily through the ranks as a communications systems engineer, lead communications systems engineer and software project manager.

O'Hara has a bachelor's degree in physics (magna cum laude) from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, and master's degrees in physics and computer science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

About NetCurrents

NetCurrents, The Premier Internet Intelligence Agency, analyzes communications from more than 60,000 targeted Internet locations in real-time. The company provides clients critical information and counsel to protect their corporate image, measure consumers' perceptions and counter misinformation on the Internet.

Due to the sensitivity of businesses that require this type of technology and analysis, the confidentiality of NetCurrents' clients is assured.

For more information about the company and its products and services visit its Web site at www.netcurrents.com.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact:

Allen & Caron Inc.
Matt Clawson (investors), 949/474-4300
[e-mail]
or
Len Hall (media), 949/474-4300
[e-mail]


http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/001023/ca_netcurr.html