IBS appoints Mike Shinya as new President and CEO and announces strategic initiative

The Board of Directors of IBS today appointed Mike Shinya as new President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The Board also approved a strategic initiative, developed by Group management, to enhance value to customers and improve profitability to become the leading distribution management solution company.

The strategic initiative will refine IBS’ global strategy through:

• Focus on distribution markets with emphasis on
o Electrical components, pharmaceutical, paper & packaging distribution in Europe and the US
o Automotive distributors in emerging economies.

• Agile solution delivery
o Technology shift into Java/Windows for lower total cost of ownership
o IBS online SaaS (Software as a Service) offering
o Comprehensive IT services offering.

• Operational excellence - efficiency drive to secure the company and enable IBS to be competitive
o Staff reductions of up to 500 employees worldwide including voluntary resignations, business divestitures, country exits and redundancies
o The plan will result in approximate savings of up to SEK 330 m per year
o During the implementation of the plan IBS envisage continued decline in hardware sales due to a weakening iSeries market, which will negatively affect the revenues
o The plan will also include build-up of low cost resources operations to increase efficiency and flexibility in solution delivery.

The total costs for this plan are estimated to be up to approximately SEK 400 m including costs for employees, facilities and legal expenses, the investments in new and expanding geographic markets, the investments in improved solution delivery and the shift to low cost resources. The majority of these costs will affect cash flow over the coming two years. More details about this comprehensive strategy plan will be announced in the coming weeks.

“Distribution is changing rapidly due to macroeconomic factors, and changed consumer demand patterns increases the need for flexible solutions. IBS’ dependency on an increasingly outdated technological platform, in combination with inefficient working processes, has lead to decreasing profitability. I am convinced that the new value proposition of IBS built on focus on vertical markets, efficient solution delivery and operational excellence will establish IBS as the world leader in distribution management solutions,” said Dr. Pallab Chatterjee, Chairman of the Board of IBS.

Mike Shinya, will join IBS on October 15, 2008. Prior to joining IBS, Mr. Shinya has held a number of senior management positions at Oracle, IBM and Baan, and has led successful turnaround programs at Micro Focus International Plc and Sherwood International Plc.

“In Mike Shinya, I am delighted to say that we have found a very experienced CEO, who has a deep understanding of the Software and IT Services market space. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Erik Heilborn for his significant contribution to IBS. Mr. Heilborn has helped steer IBS through some challenging years and the Board wishes him all the best in his future endeavors." says Dr. Pallab Chatterjee.
When invited to comment on his appointment as CEO of IBS, Mike Shinya said:
"It is a tremendous honor to join IBS as CEO at this juncture of its development. IBS’ extensive client base, breadth of products and highly competent staff are testimony to three decades of success to constitute a solid base from which to prosper. I look forward to leading the next stage of development of one of the world’s most respected software companies".

For more information, please contact:

Dr. Pallab Chatterjee, Chairman of the Board of Directors, IBS AB
Tel: +1-972-529 73 35
pallab_chatterjee@i2.com

Oskar Ahlberg, Investor Relations Director, IBS AB
Tel : +46-70-244 24 75
oskar.ahlberg@ibs.net

Note to the editor
Prior to joining IBS, Mike Shinya has led successful turnarounds. He was CEO of Sherwood International Plc., and most recently Chief Operating Officer of Micro Focus International Plc., a software company listed on the London Stock Exchange. During his time at Micro Focus, the company market capitalization rose from approximately $350m to about $1.4Billion, in less than two years.
Prior to these engagements, Mike Shinya was Head of Global Worldwide Sales operations at Baan Company, a Dutch ERP software company. Before that he held senior executive positions at Oracle Corporation and IBM.
Mike Shinya, who is a British national, is married with two children and graduated from the University of East Anglia UK, in Economic & Social Sciences. He will be moving to Stockholm to join IBS as CEO.