ClickBank CTO Monty Sooter Named to Governor's Innovation Council.

BROOMFIELD, Colo. -- Colorado Governor Bill Ritter has appointed Monty Sooter, ClickBank's Chief Technology Officer, to Colorado's first Innovation Council to spur advances in Colorado's technology sector.

"I am honored to serve on such an important council that can have a real impact on how Colorado's government uses information technology," said Sooter. "The council's work will also provide great benefit for the future of Colorado by bringing some of the best minds together to assist the state's efforts in economic development for the high-tech sector."

The Innovation Council brings together 34 leaders from around the state and is composed of experts from large, small, urban and rural technology businesses, as well as leaders in the venture capital, government, academic and nonprofit sectors.

The council will have three primary subcommittees that will assist the state as it reforms and improves its use of information technology, develops a strategy for spurring broadband deployment throughout the state and supports state government's economic development efforts for the technology sector.

Sooter will serve in the government information technology group.

"In state government and in the private sector, the digital age of the 21st century means Colorado must be ambitious, innovative and effective when it comes to maximizing the use of technology," said Governor Ritter. "We will utilize the Innovation Council to expand and grow opportunities for the 3,800 high-tech businesses and 175,000 IT/software employees in this state."

Sooter added, "Bringing the latest innovation to state government, helping bridge the digital divide and helping fuel economic growth is an exciting challenge. I'm looking forward to working with this group of such distinguished colleagues."

Sooter holds an MBA from the University of Oklahoma and is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy with a degree in mechanical engineering. After completing his military service, he joined Accenture/Andersen, where he became an associate partner through working with clients in the public and private sectors. Later, he joined Corporate Express as the vice president of software engineering before he was tapped to become the company's chief information officer. Immediately prior to joining ClickBank in 2005, he worked as a senior-level consultant for two e-commerce companies.

About ClickBank: ClickBank is the largest online retailer for those engaged in developing, selling and promoting digitally downloaded products and services. The company functions as a virtual business network, facilitating the interactions and transactions between buyers, sellers and promoters while providing guaranteed tracking of sales, state-of-the-art fraud protection and a totally secure platform. ClickBank processes more than 20,000 transactions from around the world every day. For more information, please visit www.clickbank.com.