AltaVista Names Herbst, Henke and Karnstedt to Management Team; New CIO, Vice Presidents Fortify Executive Management of Leading Internet Company.

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 11, 1999--

AltaVista Company, the premier new media and commerce network and top 10 Internet site at http://www.altavista.com, has named Jeff Herbst as vice president of business development, David Henke as CIO and David Karnstedt as vice president of sales.

These appointments fortify AltaVista's executive management as the company prepares to unveil its premier new media and commerce network this fall. The AltaVista Network comprises the industry-leading AltaVista Search, Shopping.com e-commerce platform and new media services.

"These new professionals complete an aggressive and talented management team," said Rod Schrock, president and CEO of AltaVista. "I am thrilled with their caliber and the strengths they contribute in making AltaVista world class."

As AltaVista's new Vice President of Business Development, Jeff Herbst will direct strategic partnerships and investments, merger and acquisition activity, and oversee content and distribution relationships. Herbst was a partner with the law firm Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati in Palo Alto, where he represented Internet and other high technology growth companies in a variety of business, technology and securities matters.

David Henke has been promoted to chief information officer at AltaVista from a similar position he held at the company's Zip2 Local Portal Services division. He will now direct all production and internal operational infrastructure, including 24/7 site-serving, computer operations, network operations, data management, and facilities management.

Previously, Henke was director of engineering at Silicon Graphics (SGI), responsible for developing and shipping world-class Web authoring tools, software development, and video streaming solutions. He has co-founded two successful start-up companies which were later acquired by Tektronix and Computer Associates, respectively.

In his new position as Vice President of Sales, David Karnstedt will build a national and international sales team to develop sponsorship and advertising opportunities for clients throughout the AltaVista Network. He has been in sales with AltaVista since April.

Prior to joining AltaVista, Karnstedt was the Western Regional advertising director for Wired Digital Lycos.

About AltaVista Company

AltaVista Company is the premier online media and commerce network. The company integrates unique Internet technology and services to deliver relevant results faster for both individuals and Web-based businesses. By combining distinctive AltaVista brand services with 'best of the Web' relationships, the AltaVista Network creates the most satisfying Internet experience. AltaVista is building on its heritage of technology and innovation leadership, offering award-winning services including: My AltaVista, AltaVista Finance, FreeAccess, the AltaVista microportal, AltaVista Search, AltaVista Local Portal Services, and AltaVista Shopping.com.

For more information, visit AltaVista at http://www.altavista.com. AltaVista is a majority-owned operating company of CMGI, Inc., Andover, Mass. Compaq Computer Corporation holds the remaining minority stake in AltaVista.