Business 2.0 Expands Winning Sales Staff; Thirteen New Hires Added To Help Meet Advertiser Demand.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

BRISBANE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 10, 2000

The Business Division of Imagine Media Inc., publisher of the award-winning consumer business magazine Business 2.0, today announced major additions to its highly successful sales force on both coasts.

The expanded team of senior sales representatives and support staff will aid in the publication's move to a biweekly format in May, and develop existing and new sales partnerships that extend into new content platforms, including online, conferences, television, and a book series.

Additions to Business 2.0's sales staff include Patricia Varga, formerly with Outside magazine, who joins the West Coast team as western advertising director and director of New Economy strategies. On the East Coast, Senior Sales Managers Dean Grant, formerly of Money magazine; Sharon Kiernan, previously with Maximum PC; and Brian McFarland, formerly with Shop Online 123 Magazine, will spearhead the sales efforts in the Southeast, Northeast, and Mid-Atlantic regions, respectively. Regional Sales Managers Jennifer Pellow from Publicitas/Globe Media; and Janna Zaidspiner, formerly with CMP Media, join Business 2.0's, Southeast, and Mid-Atlantic areas, respectively.

"We've had the good fortune of attracting and retaining high-caliber sales professionals and we're thrilled to continue the trend with this addition of incredibly accomplished and knowledgeable individuals. I'm confident they'll continue to expand on the extraordinary advertising success we've had to date, while supporting the evolution of the Business 2.0 brand into multiple community platforms," said David Fine, national advertising director for Business 2.0.

The sales organization is supported by a solid new team of Sales Coordinators: Lisa De Rosa, Paige Harris, Leah Karnatski, Joe Villeda, and Tara Whelan; and Advertising Coordinators: Maggi Cleveland and Mira Kanter.

Business 2.0 reaches a unique audience of business leaders-called "Transformers"-who are reinventing their businesses in the Internet Age. These people are hungry for insight, ideas, and views on how to capitalize on the changing rules of the New Economy. For almost two years, Business 2.0 has delivered on its mission to provide in-depth, usable content and is now expanding the magazine from print to multiple platforms to reach its audience anytime, anyplace, anywhere, and anyway they seek information.

To date, more than 660 consumer and business-to-business companies have advertised within the pages of Business 2.0, including Absolut Vodka, Bentley Motor Cars, Toyota, Saab, Range Rover, Levi Strauss & Co., Microsoft Corporation, Energizer, Banana Republic, Altoids, British Airways, Delta Airlines, Cisco Systems, Dell Computer, IBM, Hewlett Packard, and many more. Business 2.0's ad pages have grown exponentially, from 50.5 pages in the August 1998 premiere issue, to 268 in the April 2000 issue, an increase of 530 percent.

Joining the Business 2.0 Sales Team:

Patricia Varga, Western Advertising Director

Varga has over 20 years experience in the magazine/media field. Most recently, she managed the Los Angeles office for Outside Magazine. She was the founding publisher of WHERE magazine, has held positions with Times-Mirror and Time Inc., and was an independent representative for Hearst, Hachette and Meredith. She is President of the Southern California Magazine Representatives.

Dean Grant, Senior Sales Manager, Southeast

Grant comes to Business 2.0 from MONEY magazine, where he oversaw Mid-Atlantic advertising. Prior to his two years at Time Inc., Grant was the national sales director for American Banker, a Thomson Publishing Company. Grant brings almost 10 years of business-to-business marketing experience and a specialization in Financial Services to the Business 2.0 sales force.

Sharon Kiernan, Senior Sales Manager, Northeast

Kiernan joins Business 2.0 from another Imagine Media title, Maximum PC, where she was regional sales manager. Before coming to Imagine Media, Kiernan worked at Ziff-Davis for five years, most recently at Equip Magazine.

Brian McFarland, Senior Sales Manager, Mid-Atlantic

McFarland brings 11 years of magazine sales experience to Business 2.0. He previously served as East Coast sales director at Shop Online 123 Magazine with Meredith Corp and as senior sales manager with Country Home Magazine.

Jennifer Pellow, Regional Sales Manger, Southeast

Pellow joins Business 2.0 from Publicitas/Globe Media where she was the Southwest branch manager. She has also worked for the Financial Times, The Globe and Mail, the San Francisco Chronicle & Examiner, and Tennis Magazine.

Janna Zaidspiner, Regional Sales Manager, Mid-Atlantic

Zaidspiner was with CMP Media for four years, most recently as an account director for IBM. She represented InformationWeek, InternetWeek, Network Computing, and tele.com in print, online, events, and research. Prior to that, she spent 11 years in sales and sales management in the men's clothing industry.

About Business 2.0

Business 2.0 (www.business2.com) is an award-winning, international monthly publication from Imagine Media, Inc. Based on the belief that the Internet is changing the rules of business, the magazine is aimed at "Transformers"-people with the power, influence, and insight to re-invent their companies for the New Economy. Each month, through in-depth analytical reporting, Business 2.0 provides the ideas and information these individuals need to succeed in the Internet Age. Business 2.0 won three 1999 Maggie Awards from the Western Publications Association, including Best Overall and New Consumer Publication, and Best Special Interest Consumer Publication. Business 2.0 was also honored as the Best Newcomer by the Computer Press Association and won Folio's Editorial Excellence Award and two Silver Ozzies for magazine design in 1999. Additionally, Business 2.0 has recently been named a 2000 National Magazine Awards finalist by the American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) in the category of General Excellence, and a 2000 Maggie Award finalist by the Western Publication Association in the categories of Best Series of Articles/Consumer and Best Table of Contents. Business 2.0 was also recognized by AdWeek as one of the five top Upstarts-a category created by AdWeek to recognize magazines that are experiencing incredible growth.

About Imagine Media, Inc.

Imagine Media (www.imaginemedia.com) is one of America's fastest-growing publishers of magazines and Websites. Its success is based on the "passion" strategy: creating products that excite tech-savvy consumers. It recently merged into The Future Network plc (www.futurenet.com) the media company founded by Imagine's CEO Chris Anderson in 1985. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Imagine Media's publications sell in excess of 1.8 million copies per month. Its market-leading titles include Business 2.0, Games Business, MacAddict, Maximum PC, Next Generation, Official Sega Dreamcast Magazine, PC Accelerator, PC Gamer, and PSM: 100% Independent PlayStation Magazine. Imagine's Web entities include the DailyRadar.com, MacDaily Network, and the MaximumPC Network. The Future Network (London: FNET), parent of Imagine Media, Inc., employs over 1400 people, publishes 100 monthly magazines, and has operations in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Italy.