Originator of the ``Horizontal Organization'' Joins Deloitte & Touche

Business Wire, March 27, 2000

Business Editors

WASHINGTON, D.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 27, 2000

Frank Ostroff, Organization Design Guru and Noted Author, Joins

the Firm's Human Capital Advisory Services Practice

Deloitte & Touche LLP announced today that Frank Ostroff has joined its Human Capital Advisory Services practice to lead its national organization design practice.

Ostroff is credited with originating the concept of "the horizontal organization," which is arguably the first actionable alternative to the functional vertical hierarchy that has dominated since the industrial revolution.

A horizontal organization is based on structuring organizations around the cross-functional processes that deliver value to the customer. The concept has proven to dramatically improve performance along the dimensions of speed, customer satisfaction/responsiveness, and efficiency and is now being applied by hundreds of leading companies worldwide.

Ostroff has authored the international business best-seller entitled "The Horizontal Organization," published by Oxford University Press. Already translated into Spanish and Japanese, the French edition is being released this summer.

The concept has also been the subject of a number of featured stories by leading business publications, including a BusinessWeek cover story and a series of articles in Fortune.

"We are thrilled that a leading thinker in the organization design arena has joined our practice," said Ainar Aijala, Deloitte & Touche's National Director of Human Capital Advisory Services.

"Our clients are actively seeking ways to make their organizations more competitive through e-business, CRM, and ERP initiatives, yet they have not aligned their organizations to function in these new environments -- a horizontal organization in many instances is the answer."

Horizontal organization has consistently been revealed as one of the most critical issues facing CEOs according to numerous surveys. Companies such as Ford Motor Company, Xerox, Barclay's Bank, and American Express have all transformed all or portions of their organizations along with hundreds of other leading companies worldwide.

"The entire organization does not have to be designed horizontally," commented Ostroff, "but simply those areas where this makes strategic sense, where it's competitively advantageous to improve cross-functional performance -- for example, when it's important to be quicker and more agile, to be more customer focused or to deliver integrated solutions."

With more than 12 years of experience working with Fortune 500 corporations, Ostroff specializes in organization transformation. He has assisted clients with addressing their organization's performance, organization design, and change management.

Prior to joining Deloitte & Touche, Ostroff worked in the private sector as well as with several internationally-recognized consulting firms. He is a frequent keynote speaker at many leading conferences for business executives and has been widely published both in the United States and globally.

Ostroff has a J.D. from Yale Law School, a master's of public policy from Harvard University, and a bachelor's degree from the University of California at Berkeley. He has been profiled as one of the leading new management thinkers in Capital, France's most widely circulated business periodical.

Deloitte & Touche's Human Capital Advisory Services practice assists clients in virtually all aspects of retaining, motivating, developing, compensating, and benefiting people. The practice consults to those businesses and industries that provide and insure employee benefits.

Human resource, actuarial, insurance, and managed care consultants work with clients to identify, manage, and measure the human capital issues that can impact financial performance.

Deloitte & Touche, one of the nation's leading professional services firms, provides assurance and advisory, tax, and management consulting services through 30,000 people in more than 100 U.S. cities. The firm is dedicated to exceeding the expectations of its clients and its people.

Known as an employer of choice for its innovative human resources programs, Deloitte & Touche has been recognized as one of the "100 Best Companies to Work For in America" by Fortune magazine for three consecutive years.

Deloitte & Touche is part of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, one of the world's leading professional services firms, with more than 90,000 people in over 130 countries. For more information, please visit Deloitte & Touche's Web site at www.us.deloitte.com