New CEO & Mgmt Restructure

DAT Group PLC 03 October 2005 Embargoed. For release at 0700h, 3 October 2005 DAT Group plc/ Synchronica ('DAT' or the 'Group') Appointment of New Chief Executive Officer and Management Restructuring London, 3 October 2005 - DAT Group plc, an international developer and provider of software solutions for mobile device management and synchronization, announced the appointment of Carsten Brinkschulte as chief executive officer of the DAT Group and a new management structure and team, following the review of operations undertaken by the Group over the past three months. Chief Executive Officer Carsten, 38 brings over 20 years of entrepreneurial experience in the IT industry to the position. He founded Synchronica GmbH in January 2004, focusing on development and licensing of mobile synchronization and device management software based on the open industry standard SyncML-DS/DM. He won a major deal with a leading European device manufacturer and established strategic partnerships with Ergon Informatik AG and Smarttrust. Synchronica was acquired by DAT in April 2005 and Carsten was appointed to the DAT Board in July 2005. Before setting up Synchronica, Carsten founded venture-capital funded Weblicon Technologies AG. Weblicon focused on the development and licensing of personal information management software for telecom companies, portals and ISPs. At Weblicon, he recruited a team of 30 developers and sales people and was responsible for technology development, sales and corporate strategy. He also promoted the increased use of SyncML technology for wireless synchronisation with Microsoft Outlook, PDAs and SyncML-enabled mobile phones and launched the world's first SyncML server in a mobile operator environment. As well as a strong background in establishing technology-based companies such as Synchronica, Weblicon and, prior to that, Century Software (a developer of personal information management software for Macintosh), Carsten has also provided consultancy to various companies on software development and implementation. His clients have included SAP, Apple Computer, Olympus Optical, and Linotype-Hell. He has also lectured frequently on advanced operating system strategies. Commenting on the announcement, John Gunn the chairman of DAT said: 'We are delighted to welcome Carsten as CEO of DAT. He brings with him a wealth of experience and expertise in launching and leading software companies in the mobile world. He has a proven leadership style, strong track record in our industry and immense technological know-how. I am confident that he will be of great value to the group as we plan the future development of DAT.' Carsten adds: 'I am delighted to have been appointed CEO at DAT and would like to take the opportunity to thank the board and DAT shareholders for the trust they have put in me. After some strategic restructuring, the company is now moving in the right direction. Under my leadership, DAT will be very focused and complete the transition toward becoming a truly product-driven and customer-focused company. DAT has with very competitive technology and an excellent staff with huge potential. I am confident that we will be able to translate this into the commercial success DAT deserves, and our shareholders expect.' Management Restructuring The restructured corporate team is built around new Sales, Marketing, Operating, Financial and Technical officers who will report to the new CEO, Carsten Brinkschulte. The team will be based at Group headquarters in Sussex, U.K., with additional support from the offices in the U.S and Germany. The position of Chief Sales Officer is filled by Bruce Eley, a new appointment, who will be working to develop well defined sales channels for DAT's various customers and products. His team will be in charge of international sales, predominately for the Group's products and also for its range of professional services. Bruce joins DAT after a career working internationally in the Aeronautical industry and then directing sales of IT solutions to blue chip corporations. Since 1998 he has accredited himself in the wireless industry. Whilst with Allen Telecom he opened an EMEA office rapidly establishing Comsearch, a division of Allen Telecom, successfully providing mobile network design solutions in the region, before they were taken over by Andrew Corporation. Nicole Meissner has been appointed Chief Marketing Officer and is responsible for all aspects of marketing, investor and public relations and product management. The department Nicole is heading will also be responsible for building strategic alliances in order to develop new and existing sales channels. Before joining DAT in April this year, Nicole co-founded Synchronica GmbH, now part of DAT Group. Prior to that, Nicole was vice president of marketing and product management at ASDIS Software AG and has helped develop several IT start-ups in her role at venture capital firms. She also formerly worked as manager of international press and investor relations at Siemens AG. Allan Jonnes is Chief Financial Officer, responsible for financial planning, control and reporting as well as customer contract management. On Carsten's appointment, Allan has relinquished the position of Interim CEO. Allan, a Chartered Accountant, has significant public company experience and has been involved with DAT since 2002. He joined the Board in 2004 and together with Carsten led the review of the Group's operations which resulted in the restructuring and refocus announced today. Terry Page, currently director of commercial delivery, has been appointed Chief Operations Officer. Terry will be responsible for professional services during the delivery of custom-developed products, customer support and all DAT's IT requirements. Terry's previous experience includes technical consultancy and project management for NatWest and BT Cellnet. He joined DAT in 1998 and was appointed to the Board in July 2005. Back in his role as Group Chief Technical Officer, Tim Carmichael will be working to extend and evolve the Group's technical resources. He will now be responsible for two development teams: product development and professional services. Tim has spent his entire career in the IT industry and co-founded DAT in 1996. Commenting on the restructuring, John Gunn, Chairman, said: 'Carsten's new executive team has both the experience and the enthusiasm to drive the refocused business forward. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank everyone in the Group who was involved in the review process, particularly the Interim CEO Allan Jonnes, for their hard work and enthusiasm which has resulted in a business able to take full advantage of its very significant opportunities. I am pleased with the progress we are making to address our problems.' For more information please visit www.datgroup.com or contact: Carsten Brinkschulte Nicole Meissner, CMO DAT Group plc DAT Group plc Tel: +49 172 88 72 758 Office: +49 30 616 75 650 Mobile: +49 173 606 91 60 Simon Hudson / Clemmie Carr Tavistock Communications Tel: +44 20 7920 3150 Notes to Editors About DAT Group plc DAT Group plc focuses on mobile management solutions for operators, device manufacturers, retailers and enterprises. The company offers a varied product portfolio ranging from data synchronization (DS) to device management (DM), firmware updates over-the-air (FOTA) and mobile device management (Enterprise Assistant). DAT has unique expertise in smart devices across all platforms based on its over-the-air (OTA) delivery platform. Based in the UK, the company also has offices in Germany and the U.S. DAT is a public company listed on the London Stock Exchange. More information about DAT is available at www.datgroup.com About Synchronica Synchronica focuses on SyncML synchronization and device management solutions for mobile operators, device manufacturers, and enterprises. The company offers a complete SyncML product portfolio ranging from data synchronization (DS) to device management (DM) and firmware update over-the-air (FOTA). Synchronica has a strong track record in the SyncML space, including the launch of the world's first SyncML DM FOTA server with a leading European device manufacturer. The Synchronica SyncML Gateway provides over-the-air synchronization of SyncML-enabled mobile phones with corporate Microsoft Exchange servers. More information is available at www.synchronica.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
UK 100

Latest directors dealings