Beyond.com Announces Key Management Appointments; New CFO and VP of Business Operations Bring B2B Expertise

Business Wire, July 13, 2000

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 13, 2000

E-commerce services provider Beyond.com(TM) (Nasdaq:BYND) today announced the appointment of industry veterans Curtis A. Cluff and Bonnie Charboneau-Fowler to key management positions within the company. Cluff will serve as senior vice president and chief financial officer for Beyond.com. Charboneau-Fowler comes aboard as vice president of Business Operations, responsible for customer service and demand fulfillment. Both executives will report directly to Ronald S. Smith, Beyond.com's chief executive officer. Charboneau-Fowler's appointment is pending approval of her visa, as she is a Canadian citizen.

Cluff, brings more than 10 years of financial management experience to Beyond.com and complements the company's business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce services strategy. Previously, he was vice president of Finance of Merisel Inc. and senior financial officer of Merisel's North American distribution. Cluff was responsible for overseeing Merisel's financial functions, including vendor and customer finance, financial strategy, planning, reporting, accounting and taxation. Prior to Merisel, Cluff was controller of U.S. Pacific Operations for Westburn Inc., a multi-billion dollar integrated distributor of industrial supplies. Cluff holds a B.S. degree in business administration from the California Polytechnic University in Pomona and is a certified public accountant.

"Curtis brings a wealth of financial experience in the distribution market to Beyond.com, and we are pleased he has joined our team," said Ron Smith, CEO of Beyond.com. "His experience in building profitable businesses, operational financial planning and vendor relations enhances Beyond.com's leadership in providing great service to, and therefore strengthening our relationships with our eStore clients."

Charboneau-Fowler, Beyond.com's new vice president of business operations, previously was senior director of North American Vendor Finance for Merisel, where she oversaw all aspects of the Canadian and U.S. Vendor Finance Departments, including financial relationships with all vendors. Prior to that, she was director of merchandise accounting for Toys R Us Canada and Franchise, responsible for all contract negotiations for Canada, other wholly owned countries including Germany, France, the UK and Spain, as well as franchise countries such as Israel, Turkey and Dubai.

"Bonnie has a great deal of expertise building and maintaining strong vendor relationships, and negotiating win-win vendor contracts," said Smith. "Her key relationships in distribution and product fulfillment make her the ideal person to oversee the management of delivering products from our eStore clients' sites to their end users."

Cluff replaces Rick Neely, and Charboneau-Fowler replaces Kendall Fargo, who are leaving the company this month.

About Beyond.com

Beyond.com(TM) is an e-commerce services provider that builds, manages and markets online stores for businesses. The company also sells software and computer-related products to consumers and U.S. Government agencies. The company's BuyDirect Group provides eStores by Beyond.com, a suite of services that enables software developers, systems OEMs and hardware manufacturers to market and sell over the Internet. Beyond.com's Government Systems Group provides digital distribution of software and related services to a growing list of U.S. Government agencies, including the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP), Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA), Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) and Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). Beyond.com Corporation trades on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol ("BYND"). More information on the company can be found in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC")

Safe Harbor Statement

Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. This includes statements relating to expectations about Curtis Cluff and Bonnie Charboneau-Fowler being employed at Beyond.com. Such statements are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties, including the risk that Charboneau-Fowler is unable to obtain permission to work in the United States. Beyond.com's business is subject to risks including reductions in or cancellations of customer orders, changes in relationships with software suppliers, changes in relationships with strategic partners, changes in the product mix sold by the company, increased competition, inability to raise sufficient capital on satisfactory terms, or at all, and other factors described in the company's filings with the SEC. There can be no assurance that the company will achieve profitability.