Business Objects Announces New Executive Appointments.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 1, 2000

Business Objects (Nasdaq:BOBJ), the world's leading provider of e-business intelligence (e-BI) solutions, today announced two new executive appointments to head operations in its Japanese and international distribution divisions. Business Objects promoted David Runacres to vice president of the company's International Distribution Division (IDD), while Shigehiro Ishibashi has to been hired as vice president of Business Objects Japan Division.

Business Objects operational structure has been previously organized into three geographical divisions: North America, Europe, and IDD (focusing on Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Eastern Europe, and Africa). To capitalize on the growth potential for e-business intelligence products in Japan -- the world's second largest information technology (IT) market -- Business Objects has split off its Japanese operations from IDD into a new Japanese division. This move will allow the company to dedicate even more resources and focus to the Japanese market.

"I am very excited to be joining the management team of Business Objects," said Ishibashi, vice president of Business Objects Japan Division. "I look forward to working with our distributors and customers to deliver the finest quality e-business intelligence solutions to this growing market."

Ishibashi joins Business Objects from Microware Systems Corp., where he was president and representative director. Prior to that, he served as president and representative director of Autodesk Japan for four years. He has also held various senior executive positions including vice president of Asia-Pacific and representative director of Japanese operations for Burr-Brown. Ishibashi holds a bachelor's degree in electronic engineering from Waseda University.

David Runacres will head the IDD and work to continue Business Objects penetration into fast-growing international markets such as Asia-Pacific and Eastern Europe. Runacres joined Business Objects last year as vice president of sales for Business Objects IDD. He is based in Singapore.

"This is a very exciting opportunity for me and the organization," said Runacres. "Business Objects is uniquely positioned to leverage the internet for large deployments of our e-business intelligence tools. We can offer a competitive advantage to the whole spectrum of internet-enabled organizations. While the sales distribution model of IDD is unique, the demand for e-business intelligence deployments is strong the world over."

Prior to joining Business Objects, Runacres worked for Sequent Computer Systems in various roles in the Asia-Pacific region and the African continent. He was responsible for the setting up and running of long-term successful business operations for Sequent in China, South Korea, and various other Asian countries. This division will benefit from Runacres' work last year in building the IDD headquarters and marketing team in Singapore.

"Our operational teams based in Tokyo and Singapore are extremely strong. We expect that the new level of focus created by this restructuring will bring us further success and improve our visibility in these key markets," said John Powell, senior group vice president of worldwide operations at Business Objects. "Both Shigehiro and David bring impressive sets of skills and experience to their new positions, and am I pleased that they have chosen to lead these important Business Objects divisions."

About Business Objects

Business Objects is the world's leading provider of e-business intelligence (e-BI) solutions. The company coined the term e-business intelligence in 1998 to describe the intersection of business intelligence and the internet. Using e-business intelligence, organizations can access, analyze, and share information in intranet, extranet, and e-business environments. In intranets, the company's products provide employees with information to make better business decisions, and are used in environments ranging from workgroups of 20 users to enterprise deployments exceeding 20,000. In the extranet environment, the company is pioneering the use of e-BI in applications that allow organizations to build stronger relationships by linking customers, partners, and suppliers via the internet. In addition, the company's products can improve the performance of an e-business by providing reporting and analysis against the ever-expanding amount of transaction and profile data that is collected each day throughout the world wide web.

Founded in 1990, Business Objects pioneered the modern business intelligence industry by inventing and patenting a "semantic layer" that insulates users from the technical complexity of database systems. Today, the company has sold more than 1,910,000 licenses to over 10,200 organizations in more than 80 countries. The company's stock is publicly traded under the ticker symbols Nasdaq:BOBJ and PARIS BOURSE: code SICOVAM 12074, and included in the SBF 120 and IT CAC 50 French stock market indexes. Business Objects can be reached at 408/953-6000 and www.businessobjects.com.

Note to Editors: BusinessObjects is a trademark of Business Objects SA. WebIntelligence is a registered trademark of Business Objects SA. Other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.

A full-text copy of this announcement may be obtained by calling the Company's fax retrieval line at 800/414-2114 and selecting option "two." The announcement may also be downloaded from the web; access http://www.businesswire.com/cnn and search on "Business Objects." Business Objects product inquiries should contact 800/527-0580.