Bryan Benson Joins Paragon Management Systems as Vice President of Professional Services for North America.

Business Editors

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 25, 2000

Paragon Management Systems, the leading provider of collaborative planning solutions critical to e-business, today announced that former Lucent Technologies executive Bryan Benson has joined Paragon as vice president of professional services for North America.

As CIO/Director of Manufacturing and Engineering Systems for Lucent's Micro- electronics Group, Benson managed operations and architecture issues in the areas of advanced planning systems, manufacturing execution systems, product data management and workflow technologies. During his tenure there, he facilitated the company's use of Paragon applications by establishing design constraints and user expectations to direct operations specifically related to the supply chain.

In his new role, Benson assumes responsibility for managing Paragon's growing North American consulting practice and team of educators supporting the implementation and use of the company's software products. He also will work with Paragon's alliance team regarding professional services alliances and the company's technology transfer group.

&uot;As a former Paragon client, Bryan Benson brings with him in-depth knowledge of working with our applications in a live environment,&uot; said Dr. K. Cyrus Hadavi, Paragon Management Systems' president and chief executive officer. &uot;That experience, coupled with his strong ability to infuse project management discipline into IT organizations, will be a tremendous asset to our customers and our expanding North American professional services team.&uot;

&uot;I know first-hand from my time at Lucent that this is a very exciting time to become a part of Paragon,&uot; Benson said. &uot;Even more impressive than the power of the company's solutions and its tremendous growth over the past few years, is the unwavering dedication to outstanding customer service that continues to be Paragon's hallmark. As head of professional services for North America, I will look to build on that strong foundation and add to the tools and methodologies already in place to ensure that our customers achieve a return on their investment in Paragon applications in the most effective and time-efficient manner possible.&uot;

Prior to his tenure at Lucent, Benson spent eleven years with York International Corporation where he served as Director, Engineering Services in the company's Applied Engineering Division. As part of his focus on developing new tools and philosophies for collaborative engineering, Benson facilitated cutting York's cycle time in the design and manufacturing processes.

About Paragon Management Systems

Headquartered in Los Angeles and with sales and support offices worldwide, Paragon Management Systems, Inc. develops and markets collaborative planning solutions critical to successful e-business. Paragon's solutions enable customers, trading partners, portals and application service providers to collaborate intelligently and deliver value-added services to buyers, sellers, and partners quickly and profitably. Paragon's software and professional services enhance the value of complementary enterprise applications and reflect the company's unmatched understanding of -- and experience in solving -- the unique business needs of the Semiconductor, Electronics, Textile, Apparel and Automotive industries. To learn more about Paragon and its solutions, please visit www.paragonms.com.