RosettaNet Press Release
RosettaNet Worldwide e-Business Consortium Names Suresh Damodaran to Chief Technologist Post

Derek Coleman Returns to HP Following Completion of Two-Year Assignment as RosettaNet Technology Lead

For Release March 5, 2003

SANTA ANA, CA

RosettaNet, the high technology industry’s leading e-business process standards consortium, today announced the appointment of Suresh Damodaran, Ph.D., as RosettaNet Chief Technologist.  Damodaran, on-loan from Sterling Commerce, a subsidiary of SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE:SBC), will serve as the newest addition to RosettaNet’s leadership team.

In this role, Damodaran will report directly to Paul Tearnen, RosettaNet vice president of standards management, and will lead the consortium’s technical and architectural efforts, including the day-to-day operations of RosettaNet’s world-class Architecture Office and management of the engineering team. Damodaran will also represent RosettaNet in industry work groups and advise on convergence strategies with existing and emerging open standards.

In 2003, RosettaNet will begin making changes to its architecture in order to support newer technologies, including plans to produce XML schema based Partner Interface Processes ^®(PIPs ^®) and the investigation of information exchanges models that are capable of leveraging long-running business scenarios and information intensive collaborative processes. The consortium will also endeavor to create a common architecture with the UCC (Uniform Code Council, Inc.) in an effort to facilitate the ease and speed of standards implementations for the multiple industries served by both groups.

Prior to his appointment as chief technologist, Damodaran served as RosettaNet’s chief architect where he maintained a technology-focused role, working primarily on RosettaNet's technical architecture initiatives. His background includes work on distributed tools for high performance systems with HP and Los Alamos National Laboratory with roles including software engineer, software architect, hardware design engineer researcher and lecturer.

"We are pleased to announce Suresh’s promotion to RosettaNet Chief Technologist where he will serve a highly critical function within the consortium," said Jennifer Hamilton, RosettaNet CEO. "Suresh’s solid background in leading technology initiatives, coupled with Sterling Commerce’s commitment to B2B standards and supply chain integration, makes him an excellent match for the important position."

Suresh's promotion and our continued support of RosettaNet furthers Sterling's ability to respond to customers' needs by contributing to the development and adoption of open electronic commerce standards that align business process between trading partners," said Sam Starr, president and chief operating officer, Sterling Commerce.

Damodaran replaces Derek Coleman, former RosettaNet technology executive on-loan from HP, who transitions back to the company following the completion of his on-loan assignment with the consortium.  During his tenure with RosettaNet, he assumed overall responsibility for product engineering and standards development activities, including specification structure, technical architecture and technical standards convergence.

As a leading technologist in e-business supply chain management, Coleman is credited with helping RosettaNet to lower its standards development costs by an estimated $2M annually by moving the critical function in-house. He is also responsible for establishing greater technical capabilities within the consortium by successfully transferring engineering operations to RosettaNet’s Malaysia affiliate where dedicated teams of engineers work to create e-business process standards or PIPs.

Coleman contributed significantly to the increased reliability of PIP design processes through the development and transfer of an enhanced PIP Specification format. Other notable accomplishments include the Nile Research Project, in conjunction with HP Labs, which focuses on the use of Semantic Web Technology for machine-processable implementation constraints, as well as a Collaborative Business Objects initiative including foundational research into future PIP architecture.

"Over the two years, Derek helped to raise the bar with regard to providing quality standards for RosettaNet Partners and others in the e-business community. His valued insights paved the way for growth and success on a number of different fronts," said Paul Tearnen, vice president of standards management, RosettaNet. "On behalf of the consortium, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Derek for his many important contributions and also acknowledge HP for their leadership and commitment in loaning this senior level technical resource."

About RosettaNet

RosettaNet is an independent, non-profit consortium dedicated to the collaborative development and rapid deployment of open internet-based business standards that align processes within the global high technology and telecommunications trading networks. More than 450 companies, representing over US$ 1 trillion in annual information technology, electronic components and semiconductor manufacturing revenues, currently participate in RosettaNet’s standards development, strategy and implementation activities. Information on RosettaNet’s worldwide activities in the Americas, Europe and Asia, including a complete list of Partner companies, is available at  www.rosettanet.org . RosettaNet is an independent subsidiary of the Uniform Code Council, Inc. (UCC).