Portland, OR, August 8, 2005 — Vesta Corporation, the pioneer and leader in virtual recharge and fraud management solutions, today announced that Mark Atkeson has joined the company as Vice President, China and Chief Operating Officer of its Chinese subsidiary, ChinaDotMan Co. Ltd. (CDM). Atkeson's wealth of experience in China and in mobile commerce will enable CDM to rapidly build out its virtual payment solution by focusing on key mobile and consumer credit applications.
Reporting to the CDM Board and working together with Dr. Xiao Qingping, CEO of CDM, Atkeson manages all operating aspects of this 135-person, rapidly-growing, profitable entity, including business development, product development, operations and finance. As the primary operating representative for Vesta within CDM, Atkeson will help leverage Vesta's core knowledge in the area of electronic payments with CDM's existing customer and supplier bases, as well as facilitate technology and business model transfers between Vesta corporate and the Chinese subsidiary.
"One area Mark will focus on initially is developing relationships with key partners, including banks and telecommunications service providers," says Doug Fieldhouse, Vesta's President and CEO. "Mark's expertise in mobile commerce ideally represents the direction we want to go in China."
Atkeson has over 11 years of business experience in China and is fluent in Mandarin Chinese. Before joining ChinaDotMan, Atkeson served as Chief Operating Officer of Mobile Internet (Asia) Limited (MINT), an IBM-backed venture fund that serves as an investment gateway into China's wireless communications market. At MINT, Atkeson managed market development, strategic partnering and fund raising for portfolio companies. Previously, he was General Manager and Director of Asian Strategic Investments Corporation (ASIMCO), a private equity firm, where he supervised the turnaround of a 2,400-person portfolio company in China's automotive parts industry. Atkeson has also held positions in Asia as General Manager and Director of Chengdu Aerotech Manufacturing Co., Project Manager for Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Engines, Marketing Manager for Sony Corporation and Project Manager for Cincinnati Milacron in Wuxi, China. Additionally, he has served as Program Manager for United Technologies Research Center in Europe. Atkeson earned a BS in Electrical Engineering from Yale University, an MS degree in Electrical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MS degree in Management from MIT's Sloan School of Management.
"I'm excited to join ChinaDotMan at this key juncture in its development," says Atkeson. "The best part about the job is working with the CDM management team to develop profitable payments businesses in China's rapidly emerging consumer credit sector."
Atkeson started with the company July 2005.
Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, USA, and with operations in China and the UK, Vesta is a pioneer and worldwide leader in virtual commerce. Vesta utilizes proprietary authentication and fraud screening measures in managing its clients' virtual (phone and Web) payment programs, and provides a secure, privacy-assured recharge solution to their end users. Vesta has been recognized by Inc. magazine as one of the fastest growing privately owned companies in America for four years running. Vesta's partners include AT&T, Cingular, Firefly Mobile, MCI, NextEstate, Sprint, T-Mobile and Ztar mobile. For more information on Vesta Corporation, email info@trustvesta.com.
Established in 2000, ChinaDotMan Co. Ltd. is one of China's leading virtual payments and wireless value-added services companies, developing software and integrating systems for the telecommunications, mobile and data communications sectors. Operating as 9588.com, ChinaDotMan combines mature network, communications and software technologies to develop all kinds of practical and beneficial wireless content and application services for more than seven million registered users. For more information, visit www.9588.com.
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