Prominent Internet and IT Analyst Gary Rowe Joins Respect Network as CEO


SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - Nov 13, 2012) - Respect Network, the world's first personal cloud network, today announced the appointment of Gary Rowe, former president of market research firm Burton Group (now part of Gartner), as CEO of Respect Network Corporation. Burton was the leading global technology research company focusing on IT/Internet infrastructure with a client base that included over 40% of the Fortune 100. After assuring the successful integration of Burton Group with Gartner, Mr. Rowe served as an angel investor with Tech Coast Angels, the largest angel investing organization in the United States.

"I have advised many promising start-ups, and Respect Network presents a unique opportunity to build a better, more user-centric Internet. We aim to re-establish trust between individuals and organizations through a platform that allows people to control their data and interactions. A person who decides to communicate with a company on his or her own terms is far more valuable than someone who is unknowingly tracked and analyzed. I am honored to work with our Founding Partners to establish more meaningful, more sustainable, and more profitable relationships with customers and prospects by putting individuals in control of the data they share and the communications they receive on the Internet."

Even earlier in his career, as a principal with Rapport Communication, Mr. Rowe was considered one of the most influential analysts and consultants in high tech. He has authored articles and been quoted in publications such as Computer World, Network World, Internet Week, InformationWeek and BusinessWeek. He served on the Board of Directors of the Electronic Messaging Association and chaired a consortium of global telecom providers. He has also served in management positions at AT&T and NCR.

Through its Founding Partner Program, Respect Network enlists companies committed to the strong personal data control protections of the award-winning Respect Trust Framework. Neustar, one of the world's leading trusted neutral network service providers, is the first Platinum Founding Partner. Swisscom, Switzerland's leading telecom provider as well as one of the most trusted brands in Europe, is a Gold Founding Partner. Other Founding Partners include Allfiled, BioID, Bitworld, Ctrl-Shift, The Customer's Voice, Disconnect, Edentiti, Kynetx, Gluu, miiCard, Mydex, OwnYourInfo, Planetwork, Project Danube, The Searls Group, TrustCloud, and Virtrue.

Two weeks ago at the Sibos international banking conference, Respect Network demonstrated a prototype of the SWIFT Digital Asset Grid project that it developed in collaboration with Innotribe, the innovation initiative of SWIFT. This prototype included two of the first personal cloud applications: a cloud-based address book and an "intentcasting" app that lets users share their intent to purchase with trusted vendors and receive only qualified, personalized offers in return.

Respect Network will soon begin inviting select global brands to participate in this new consortium, enabling them to empower and connect directly with customers in a way that has never before been possible. For more information, visit www.respectnetwork.com.

About Respect Network Corporation
Respect Network is the world's first personal cloud network. It revolutionizes the social business model by giving people the ability to control and receive the value of their personal data, reputation, and relationships. All members subscribe to the Respect Trust Framework, the new model for personal data sharing that is listed with the Open Identity Exchange and won the Privacy Award at the 2011 European Identity Conference. For a list of the 20 Respect Network Founding Partner companies, see http://respectnetwork.com/. The first component of the Respect Network is Connect.Me, the P2P reputation and social discovery service available at http://connect.me/.

Contact Information:

Respect Network Media Contact:
Mara Stefan
mstefan@emergepr.com
781-771-6911 mobile