De Agostini Atlas Editions Appoints John Perrachon President & CEO of Atlas Group; Patrick Lemarchand to Pursue Other Interests in Direct Marketing & the Internet.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 24, 1999--

John B. Perrachon has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of De Agostini Atlas Editions, B. V., De Agostini's $400 million international publishing and direct marketing division.

Perrachon was formerly President & Chief Operating Officer of Atlas Editions' US direct marketing business. Patrick Lemarchand, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, will leave De Agostini to pursue other interests in direct marketing and the Internet.

In making these announcements, Mr. Marco Drago, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of De Agostini, the Italian based printing & publishing conglomerate, said "De Agostini is as fortunate to have such a capable executive as John Perrachon to lead this division into the 21st century - as it was to have a direct marketer of the caliber of Patrick Lemarchand to direct its growth over the past 22 years."

John B. Perrachon was promoted to president and chief operating officer of Atlas Editions, the US direct marketer and publisher of educational and entertainment products, in 1997. Mr. Perrachon joined Atlas, then known as Collier Newfield, in 1996 with responsibility for operations and finance.

Mr. Perrachon's background includes more than 15 years at Bertlesmann Music Group (BMG) and its RCA predecessor company. Immediately prior to joining the De Agostini group in 1996, he was senior vice president of operations and chief financial officer for BMG Direct. Mr. Perrachon began his career working on technological issues at the David Sarnoff Research Center. He holds an MBA from the Wharton School of Business and an MS in engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.

The company said that Mr. Lemarchand has left the company following a difference of opinion over the strategic direction of Atlas. Lemarchand joined what is now Editions Atlas - France in the early 1970's as a marketer and later ran Canadian and Far Eastern divisions for Reeves Communications. Following several changes in ownership, and De Agostini's acquisition of the then subsidiary of Reeves Communications, Lemarchand led the Atlas direct marketing group with subsidiaries in the US, Canada, Australia and several European countries as well as France. Lemarchand is a graduate of the Ecole des Cadres du Commerce et des Affaires Economiques in Paris, France and resides today in Greenwich, CT.

About De Agostini and Atlas Editions

De Agostini and Atlas Editions publish quality educational, entertainment and reference materials for both adults and children. Atlas Editions makes knowledge entertaining with such well known products as the Star Trek Universe continuity card product; the I Can Read and Story Book Treasure children's book clubs; and the Child Development Toy Program. The De Agostini Atlas Editions group acquired P.F. Collier in 1993 and Newfield Publications in 1995. Those companies were merged with Atlas Editions to form Atlas Editions, Inc.

Today, Atlas Editions is the U.S. operating arm of De Agostini Atlas Editions, B.V. This sub-holding of De Agostini, known worldwide as Atlas Editions, includes Editions Atlas, the highly successful French direct marketer as well as sister companies in Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Australia and New Zealand. De Agostini is a privately held, Italy-based international publishing, marketing and printing/manufacturing firm with $1.5 billion in revenues.