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PROVEN CHANGE MANAGEMENT EXECUTIVE TIMOTHY J. WRIGHT
PROMOTED TO HEAD GEAC'S LARGEST GEOGRAPHIC TERRITORY
- - CURRENT CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER AND PREVIOUS MULTI-NATIONAL COMPANY
EXECUTIVE TO DRIVE SALES, OPERATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT FOR GEAC'S EUROPEAN,
MIDDLE EAST, AFRICA AND ASIA PACIFIC REGION -
MARKHAM, ONTARIO, MAY 4, 2004 - Geac (TSX: GAC, NASDAQ: GEAC), a global
enterprise software company for Business Performance Management, today announced
the appointment of Timothy J. Wright to Chief Executive of EMEA and Asia
Pacific. Mr. Wright, a British national, has been a member of Geac's executive
management team since his appointment in January 2003. During this time, he has
worked closely with President and CEO Charles S. Jones to oversee the Company's
product direction and development initiatives, to manage operations and to
identify key acquisition targets worldwide. Mr. Wright has contributed
extensively to the selling process and is responsible in this past year for the
identification and acquisition of some of Geac's largest new accounts.
"I was an active participant in the search for Tim Wright in late 2002," said
Mr. Jones. "Tim has been a critical contributor to the management team
over the last six quarters. He has redesigned the majority of our product
offerings to retain customers and reinvigorate our ability to sell to new and
existing customers. He has identified and assessed a range of acquisition
targets -- including our most recent extension into the Business Performance
Management arena. And, he has assisted me in managing key operational
components of the worldwide business."
"Tim has proven his capacity to manage successfully in a change-driven
environment," Mr. Jones continued. "Geac will benefit significantly from this
new appointment."
Mr. Wright is a featured speaker at Geac's Alliance Users' Conference, which
commences May 10th in Chicago, where he will share the keynote address with Mr.
Jones. Their presentation will focus on the Company's global business strategy,
new product introductions and vision.
Commenting on his appointment, Mr. Wright stated, "We have seen tremendous
success in EMEA in the last several quarters with strong organic growth across
three important product lines, traction of our newest Performance Management
product family, impressive new customer acquisitions and meaningful revenue
contributions. I look forward to tapping more new product opportunities
throughout EMEA and am delighted to expand my contribution to Charles' team."
Mr. Wright will continue in his role as Chief Technology Officer. Andrew M.
Smith, currently Director of Information Technology for Geac, who managed the
Company's global information technology staff and systems for the past year,
will be promoted to assume the Chief Information Officer portion of Mr. Wright's
previous responsibility in his new role as CIO. Mr. Smith brings 20 years of
information
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technology experience in the high technology industry and has worked
with Mr. Wright for several years at Geac and previously at Terra Lycos.
Prior to joining Geac, Mr. Wright served for more than three years as both Chief
Technology Officer and Chief Information Officer at Terra Lycos, a leading
global Internet provider comprised of the third largest network of websites in
the world with several million subscribers in 42 countries. (The company was
created in 2000 when Terra Networks S.A. acquired Lycos, Inc. for $12.5
billion). At Terra Lycos, he was responsible for all global operations,
technology and engineering functions, managing nearly 800 employees across all
international business lines. Before joining Terra Lycos, Mr. Wright was Senior
Vice President and Chief Information Officer of The Learning Company, the number
one provider of consumer educational and home productivity software (sold to
Mattel in May of 1999 for $3.8 billion). During his seven-year tenure at The
Learning Company, he was responsible for research and development as well as for
information technology, and helped grow the company's revenue from $25 million
to $800 million, identifying and successfully integrating 35 acquisitions.
Mr. Wright has recently served as an advisor to the White House's Office of
Homeland Security and is a member of the U.S. Secret Service Task Force on
Electronic Crimes. He received a Bachelor of Science with honors from City
University in London, where he was also a PhD candidate, and he is widely
published in Europe, Asia and the U.S. Mr. Wright began his career with a range
of management appointments throughout the UK and the Commonwealth.
Mr. Wright, who continues to report directly to Mr. Jones, will be based in
Geac's Chelsea, England office and will spend the next several months traveling
across the territories within his new region to meet with customers, prospects
and partners.
Following a brief transition period, Bertrand Sciard, Senior Vice President,
Europe and Asia Pacific for Geac, will be departing the Company to become the
Chief Executive Officer of another public company.
"Bertrand has been with Geac through some challenging times. He has been a good
leader in building a solid management team. We all wish him every success,"
concluded Mr. Jones.
ABOUT GEAC
Geac (TSX: GAC) is a global enterprise software company for Business Performance
Management, providing customers worldwide with the core financial and
operational solutions and services to improve their business performance in real
time. Further information is available at http://www.geac.com or through e-mail
at info@geac.com.
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This press release may contain forward-looking statements based on current
expectations. Important factors that could cause a material difference between
these forward-looking statements and actual events include those set forth under
the heading "Risk Factors" in Geac's annual report on Form 20-F, No. 333-103019,
for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2003, filed on October 31, 2003 with the
United States Securities and Exchange Commission available through the website
maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov, and filed on November 3, 2003 with the
Canadian Securities Administrators and available through the website maintained
by the Canadian Securities Administrators and the Canadian Depository for
Securities Limited at www.sedar.com. Geac is a registered trademark of Geac
Computer Corporation Limited. All other marks are trademarks of their respective
owners.
INVESTOR CONTACT: MEDIA CONTACTS:
Melody Firth Alys Scott
Geac Geac
905.475.0525 Ext. 3325 (508) 871-5854
melody.firth@geac.com alys.scott@geac.com