Critical Path Japan Appoints Arata Hirao, Former Head of Openwave Japan, as President; Hirao to Lead New Wholly-Owned Subsidiary of Critical Path, Inc.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 1, 2002

Critical Path, Inc. (Nasdaq:CPTH), a global leader in Internet Communications, today announced that it has appointed Arata Hirao to serve as president of its Japanese operations. Mr. Hirao will lead Critical Path Japan, which was re-launched recently as a wholly owned subsidiary of Critical Path Inc. (see separate press release).

Mr. Hirao, 53, a proven leader with deep experience in Internet messaging and communications, comes to Critical Path Japan from Openwave Systems Japan, where he served as president, helping to grow the company's business significantly in Japan. In his new role as president, Mr. Hirao will drive Critical Path's sales and operations in Japan, focusing on strengthening direct and channel sales and improving service to Critical Path's Japanese installed base.

Prior to Openwave, Mr. Hirao held senior management positions at leading companies including IBM, Nortel Networks and Invisix Asia Pacific, a mobile Internet systems integrator jointly funded by Motorola and Cisco. He holds a Master's degree in Computer Science from the University of Illinois.

"I am very pleased to join Critical Path Japan as its president," said Arata Hirao. "The low total-cost-of-ownership and impressive functionality of its messaging and identity management solutions gives Critical Path a major advantage over its competitors."

"The appointment of Arata Hirao to lead our Japanese operations, combined with the decision to re-launch Critical Path Japan as a one hundred percent owned subsidiary of Critical Path Inc., demonstrates our strong commitment to the Japanese market," said Pierre Van Beneden, president of Critical Path Inc. "We see a tremendous market opportunity for Critical Path in Japan, and we feel we have the technology and, with the addition of Mr. Hirao, the leadership, experience and local knowledge to maximize this opportunity."

Mr. Hirao will serve on Critical Path Japan's board of directors along with Saburo Kikuchi, former Lotus Japan president and chief executive officer, and Masaru Vic Murai, Compaq Japan's founder and former president and chairman.

About Critical Path, Inc.

Critical Path, Inc. (Nasdaq:CPTH) delivers software and services that maximize the value of Internet communications. The company provides messaging and collaboration solutions -- from wireless, secure and unified messaging to basic email and personal information management -- as well as identity management solutions that simplify user profile management and strengthen information security. The standards-based Critical Path Communications Platform, built to perform reliably at the scale of public networks, delivers the industry's lowest total cost of ownership for messaging solutions and lays a solid foundation for next-generation communications services. Critical Path's customers include more than 700 enterprises, 190 carriers and service providers, eight national postal authorities and 35 government agencies. Critical Path is headquartered in San Francisco with offices throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America. More information on Critical Path can be found at www.cp.net.

Note to Editors: Critical Path and the Critical Path logo are the trademarks of Critical Path, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their holders.