Avanade CTO Ashish Kumar Named President of Avanade European Operations

SEATTLE, WA--(Marketwire - June 24, 2008) - Avanade, a global IT consultancy, today announced the appointment of Ashish Kumar as Avanade's president of European operations. Kumar, who has served as Avanade's Chief Technology Officer since the company's inception in March 2000, will begin his new position effective September 1.

Founded in March 2000 by Microsoft and Accenture, Avanade is dedicated to the Microsoft platform with more than 8,000 professionals in 22 countries. Avanade has helped more than 2,900 organizations worldwide increase revenue, reduce costs and reinvest in innovation on the Microsoft platform.

In his new role, Kumar will lead Avanade's European business, working directly with the European Leadership Team to achieve the company's strategic business plan. As the architect of Avanade's Global Delivery Network, Kumar will facilitate a major push in Europe to get maximum leverage from Avanade's on-shore, near-shore and off-shore delivery resources, which will be critical to attaining market leadership throughout Europe. Avanade Europe operates in 12 countries and has served more than 680 customers since 2000.

Adam Warby, currently Avanade's European general manager and the company's incoming CEO, said: "Ashish brings an outstanding mix of attributes to this new role, which I am confident will serve the European business well. Ashish embodies a truly compelling combination of passion for technology and customer focus. His understanding of how Microsoft technology can help our customers realize tangible business results is second to none, and I look forward to his leadership as we deepen our customer-centric approach in Europe."

Kumar said: "Our European customers are challenging IT to deliver more and more as they manage through the current period of intense business change. I am delighted at the opportunity to work with our talented and proven leadership team in Europe to meet this challenge with Avanade's unique approach to enterprise and business technology solutions."

As Avanade's CTO, Kumar, 42, is responsible for Avanade's technology vision and research and development (R&D) investments. He directs Avanade's Solutions, Alliances and Global Delivery Network organizations, and led the creation and growth of the company's offshore workforce, which now comprises more than 4,000 professionals in India and the Philippines.

Kumar joined Avanade in 2000 after eight years at Microsoft where he was General Manager of the Industry Solutions Group. His IT leadership has been recognized by InfoWorld magazine as one of the "25 Most Influential CTOs" in 2004 and named to ComputerWorld magazine's "Top 100 IT Professionals" list in 2002.

About Avanade

Avanade is a global IT consultancy dedicated to using the Microsoft platform to help enterprises achieve profitable growth. Through proven solutions that extend Microsoft technologies, Avanade helps enterprises increase revenue, reduce costs and reinvest in innovation to gain competitive advantage. Avanade consultants deliver value according to each customer's requirements, timeline and budget by combining insight, innovation and the talent of our global workforce. Avanade, which is majority owned by Accenture, was founded in 2000 by Accenture and Microsoft Corp. Avanade has more than 8,000 professionals serving customers in 22 countries worldwide. Additional information can be found at www.avanade.com.

Avanade and the Avanade logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Avanade Inc. Other product, service, or company names mentioned herein are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

Contact Information: MEDIA CONTACTS: Avanade Corporate: Corey Olfert +1 925 922 4200 (mobile) Avanade Americas: Charlie Zaragoza +1 206 669 5777 (mobile) Avanade Europe: Tracy Gill +44 77 92295049 (mobile)