YANKEE GROUP EXPANDS OPERATIONS TO HELP ITS CLIENTS SUCCEED

YANKEE GROUP EXPANDS OPERATIONS TO HELP ITS CLIENTS SUCCEED IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM'S E-BUSINESS ECONOMY Ayvazian Named President and CEO, Anderson Named Chairman Boston, November 5 - As the Yankee Group nears its 30th anniversary as a leading research and advisory services firm, the company today announced it will expand its worldwide operations to maximize its ability to serve clients facing the challenges of the new Internet-based E-business economy. The Yankee Group also announced that several members of its senior management team will assume additional responsibilities and new roles as part of its expansion. Berge Ayvazian, a 14-year Yankee Group veteran who has been serving as the Yankee Group's EVP and COO, has been named its new president and chief executive officer. Industry pioneer Howard Anderson, who founded the Yankee Group in 1970, will become the company's new chairman, and will continue to provide his vision and strategic direction. ( Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19991105/NEF008 ) ( Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990924/YKELOGO ) "Our clients are facing the most significant economic transformation since the industrial revolution. All business will be e-business in the new millennium, so we're structuring our existing planning services around the globe and developing new services to provide all the critical tools business leaders will need to manage this evolution," said Berge Ayvazian. "The new Yankee Group will be organized by functional specialties that capitalize on our existing leadership in IP networking, Internet computing and wireless technology -- addressing the impact the Internet has on both consumers and businesses in such industries as communications, energy, media/entertainment, retail and financial services." "The Yankee Group has always focused on the importance of networking as a key to business success and economic growth, even as many of our competitors focused their efforts on information technology and data centers," said Howard Anderson. "Each of our new services and new office locations around the globe will build upon this tradition by incorporating our expertise in networking, wireless, and the Internet into everything we do." :: Structure The new Yankee Group is expanding its coverage of Internet commerce in each of its core research practices worldwide. Yankee Group plans to extend the reach of its planning services to include regional coverage of the Communications, Wireless and Internet industries in key global markets including North America, Latin America, Asia/Pacific and Europe. Yankee Group's new Internet Strategies Europe practice completes its portfolio of planning services in the European market, and establishes the model for expanded regional Communications, Wireless and Internet practices in the Asia/Pacific and Latin American regions. The Yankee Group also will open its new Brazil headquarters in San Paulo on November 30, providing coverage of this fast-growing market for Communications, Wireless and Internet services. As the e-business economy becomes increasingly global, Yankee Group plans to take the lead in providing specific advisory programs in each geographic region. The Yankee Group's vertical market coverage of the energy, communications, media and entertainment industries will soon be joined by new planning services on online financial services, online retailing ("etailing"), health care and billing which will be launched next year. Each of these areas complements the Yankee Group's new e-business strategy focus. "Businesses need to develop integrated e-business infrastructures that rely heavily on networking, as opposed to establishing separate dot-com silos that are in essence separate companies," said Ayvazian. "The new Yankee Group has retooled all of its planning services with this in mind. We will offer a complete portfolio of e-business strategy services that include enterprise applications, Internet computing strategies, third-party e-sourcing, and business-to-business commerce." :: Leadership In addition to new roles for Anderson and Ayvazian, the Yankee Group senior management team will consist of: Brian Adamik, chief operating officer, responsible for the company's worldwide operations; Mark Lowenstein, executive vice president, responsible for expanding the industry leading Wireless practice into the mobile Internet market and developing the Yankee Group's corporate e-business strategy; Rob Rich, executive vice president, responsible for the Yankee Group's service provider strategies and telecom e-business practices; Jennifer Pigg, executive vice president, responsible for the company's IP network infrastructure and enterprise networking research; William Smulsky, executive vice president, worldwide sales and marketing. In addition to his new responsibilities as Chairman, Howard Anderson will create YankeeTek, a new Internet incubator firm that will offer financial, strategic and promotional services to early stage Internet start-up companies. YankeeTek will rely heavily on the Yankee Group's core expertise and will provide access to new companies and technologies that will shape the future of the Internet market. Anderson will also serve as the William Porter Distinguished Lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School, helping to link the Yankee Group more closely with activities at this leading academic institution. :: About the Yankee Group The Yankee Group, a subsidiary of Primark Corporation, is an internationally recognized leader in technology research and strategic advisory services, whose broad reaching analysis encompasses all the areas crucial to e-business success; the Internet, electronic commerce, communications, wireless/mobile, computing, and enterprise applications. The Yankee Group specializes in assisting companies with the development of their e-business, enterprise networking, and Internet technology and electronic market initiatives, in synergy with their core business strategies. The Yankee Group has always been at the forefront of researching leading technologies and the dramatic affect they have on the way companies conduct their business. The Yankee Group continues to distinguish itself from the other research firms by providing personalized one-to-one analysis and planning assistance to its customers. :: To learn more about The Yankee Group, visit us at www.yankeegroup.com. Primark Corporation (NYSE: PMK; PSE) is a global information services organization headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. Primark provides financial, economic, and market research information services to the financial, corporate, and government markets. Additional information is available at www.primark.com. Contact: Sean McNerney Kim Vranas MS & L The Yankee Group 617/267-1909, 327 617/880-0214 smcnerney@mslboston.com kvranas@yankeegroup.com Contact: Sean McNerney of MS & L, +1 617-267-1909, ext. 327, or smcnerney@mslboston.com, for The Yankee Group; or Kim Vranas of The Yankee Group, +1 617-880-0214, or kvranas@yankeegroup.com/ /Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19991105/NEF008 http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990924/YKELOGO AP PhotoExpress Network: PRN1 AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org PressLink Online: +1 800-888-6195 PRN Photo Desk, +1 888-776-6555 or +1 201-369-3467/ /Web site: http://www.primark.com http://www.yankeegroup.com/ (PMK)