Celerant Consulting Announces William J. Jeffery as President of Americas Business.

LEXINGTON, Mass. -- Celerant Consulting, the global firm renowned for implementing major operational performance improvements, today announced the appointment of Mr. William J. Jeffery as president of the Americas region. Additionally, Mr. Jeffery will be appointed to Celerant's global Executive Management Team (XMT).

Jeffery joins Celerant from EDS where he held the position of President of the US east region. In this role he focused on business development for solutions consulting services, IT and business process outsourcing services, as well as coordination of management consulting services through collaboration with EDS subsidiary - A.T. Kearnery. Additionally, he assumed responsibility for $2.5 billion of client revenue and achieved the highest rank for the region in 2003 for contract signings with over 95 percent of clients rating service expectations as meeting or exceeding excellence.

Previously at EDS, Bill served as President of the Americas solutions consulting business. Mr. Jeffery also held executive positions at A.T. Kearney. His contributions included serving as Profit Center Leader for the U.S. east region, serving in the role of Global Practice Leader for the Technology Solutions Practice and serving on the firm's Board of Management. Mr. Jeffery also served in executive positions at Gemini Consulting and at AT&T.

"For all the changes and advancements in industry and the consulting market in general, the one constant facing businesses the world over is the need to optimize their operations to drive growth," said Jeffery. He continued, "In an era when cost-cutting is a well-worn mantra and often poorly implemented, organizations must realize the need to demonstrate value from capital expenditures. In parallel, they must enable genuine culture change that empowers employee accountability, which is why I am so pleased to join Celerant in its mission to achieve that goal with our clients."

"The dynamics of global business are causing a fundamental shift among clients of solutions providers and management consultants. Clients are no longer satisfied or willing to invest in products or services that do not deliver clear benefits to their bottom line," stated Ian Clarkson, CEO of Celerant. He continued, "We are very excited to have Bill leading our Americas business helping our clients benefit from his success and capabilities as he works alongside them to achieve operational excellence, and further grow Celerant's presence in the Americas marketplace."

Mr. Jeffery holds a B.A. in accounting from Monmouth University where he graduated Summa Cum Laude.

Forward Looking Statements

To highlight the critical and valuable nature of addressing operational performance gaps within American businesses, Mr. Jeffery will detail the findings of an upcoming study commissioned through the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) entitled, "Achieving Operational Efficiency: The CEO Agenda Implemented." In it, more than 200 senior leaders from Fortune 1000 companies in the oil and gas, retail, manufacturing, life sciences, healthcare, chemicals, telecom, and consumer packaged goods industries will identify the operational issues they have successfully resolved, or continue to contend with and the drivers behind those obstacles. Complete details of the findings will be available September 2004.

About Celerant Consulting

Celerant helps leading companies worldwide achieve better business results by improving their operational performance. Our collaborative style truly connects us to each client's business, while our can-do approach and the practical tools we provide change the fundamental dynamics of how people work, individually and collectively. The outcome? Rapid improvements in process and personal performance, leading to improved business results and sustained financial benefits - all within clearly defined timeframes. Celerant Consulting is an affiliate of Novell, Inc.

For more information, please visit: http://www.celerantconsulting.com