Virginia Turezyn Joins Bear Stearns Asset Management's Constellation Ventures

Business Wire, March 24, 2003

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 24, 2003

Constellation Ventures, a Bear Stearns Asset Management Inc. (BSAM) venture capital fund with over $450 million in assets under management, today announced that Virginia Turezyn has joined as a managing director. Ms. Turezyn will focus on identifying promising technology companies that fit within the Constellation Ventures philosophy and will be actively involved as a board member with each of selected companies. She will also work with selected portfolio companies within Constellation.

Commenting on the hire, Cliff Friedman, head of Constellation Ventures, said, "Virginia is a highly motivated and driven venture capitalist with a keen eye for identifying emerging trends and new waves in technology. With her proven talent for building successful companies, we are excited to welcome her to our team."

Most recently, Ms. Turezyn was the co-founder and managing director of Infinity Capital and its predecessor firm Information Technology Ventures, where she assisted in raising three venture capital funds. Prior to that she was with Morgan Stanley's Venture Capital Group, where she helped establish and build it's West Coast technology presence and venture capital practice.

Constellation Ventures is a early to mid-stage venture capital fund with a media technology focus that includes areas such as new digital content, communications technologies and enterprise software. Setting Constellation apart from other firms are the strong, strategic relationships it shares with each of its limited partners, including Bear Stearns, Sony, Dai Nippon Printing, NTT Data, Viacom, Toyota, Young & Rubicam, Tribune, Acxiom and Singapore Technologies. These relationships provide the fund's portfolio companies with high-level access to strategic partnerships, significant sales and joint ventures with our limited partners. In an effort to create these opportunities Constellation Ventures currently has offices in New York and Tokyo.

Bear Stearns Asset Management Inc. (BSAM), the asset management subsidiary of The Bear Stearns Companies, Inc., manages over $20 billion in assets across a wide spectrum of investment disciplines including a selection of U.S. equity and fixed income separate accounts, mutual funds, performance funds, private equity funds and venture capital funds. BSAM's clients include corporations, municipal governments, multi-employer plans, endowments, foundations, family groups and high-net-worth individuals.

Founded in 1923, The Bear Stearns Companies Inc. (NYSE: BSC) is the parent company of Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc., a leading investment banking and securities trading and brokerage firm serving governments, corporations, institutions and individuals worldwide. With approximately $32.0 billion in total capital, Bear Stearns serves governments, corporations, institutions and individuals worldwide. The company's business includes corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions, institutional equities and fixed income sales, trading and research, private client services, derivatives, foreign exchange and futures sales and trading, asset management and custody services. Through Bear, Stearns Securities Corp., it offers financing, securities lending, clearing and technology solutions to hedge funds, broker-dealers and investment advisors. Headquartered in New York City, the company has approximately 10,500 employees worldwide. For additional information about Bear Stearns, please visit the firm's Web site at http://www.bearstearns.com.