Optum Names Kevin Hart Chief Operating Officer; Promotion Reflects Outstanding Contribution Leading Services Organization

Business Wire, April 9, 2001

Business/Technology Editors

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 9, 2001

Optum, Inc. today announced the strategic appointment of Kevin Hart as Chief Operating Officer. Hart, a 23-year, supply chain industry veteran, most recently served as the company's senior vice president and general business manager, where he demonstrated exceptional leadership running the Optum services organization. Hart will report directly to David J. Simbari, president and CEO of Optum.

As COO, Hart will manage day-to-day operations at Optum, continuing to play a leading role in servicing the company's extensive, worldwide customer base as well as overseeing all product development. As the leader in the fast-growth collaborative execution space, Optum will leverage Hart's strong track record of customer service and supply chain expertise to ensure its solutions continue to deliver breakthrough performance and customer value.

Since joining Optum in 1998, Hart has grown the services organization from 35 consultants to over 100 today, while progressively driving down the costs and time associated with enterprise implementations. Among his many accomplishments at Optum, Hart is known for his team-building skills and thoughtful approach to challenging supply chain projects, including landmark implementations; under Hart's watch, over 400 sites have gone into production with Optum software. He also has played a key role in creating Optum's comprehensive delivery methodology, OPTUMize, which encompasses strategic consulting, supply chain process re-engineering, and tactical implementation services that increase value creation and deliver fast return-on-investment for Optum's customers.

"In an industry often marked by hype and empty promises, Kevin Hart stands out as a strong performer, someone whose customer-service, problem-solving, and management skills make him an indispensable part of our organization," said David J. Simbari, president and CEO of Optum. "I have worked with Kevin in the supply chain software industry for a number of years now and am pleased to announce his promotion. He will be a great COO and is a strategic asset to me on the senior management team."

Before joining Optum, Hart worked at AnswerThink Consulting Group and Industri-Matematik International Corp. (IMI), where he served as vice president of services for the Americas. Hart also spent over eight years at M.S.A./Dun & Bradstreet Software in a variety of management and executive positions.

About Optum

Optum provides the collaborative supply chain execution solutions to help companies manage the movement of orders, inventory and assets within the enterprise and across the extended trading community. TradeStream is the first Internet application to serve as a collaborative hub, powering real-time fulfillment and total supply chain transparency. It enables the rapid, secure exchange of critical order and inventory information among trading partners, creating new ways to boost efficiency, service customers and increase profit margins. Optum also provides complementary supply chain software products for warehousing, logistics and small parcel management. Optum has over 750 installations worldwide; customers include market leaders and channel masters such as Anixter, Home Shopping Network, Invacare, Lucent, NCR, Systemax, Webvan and W.W. Grainger. Optum is privately held with global headquarters in White Plains, N.Y. For additional information, visit Optum on the web at www.optum.com.