Experian Automotive Names Kauppila Executive Vice President

Audio Interview By Bob Gordon

SCHAUMBURG, Ill., Nov. 13 -- Ken Kauppila has been named executive vice president for Experian® Automotive, according to President John Jira. Kauppila will lead the overall performance of Experian Automotive including information technology, product development, sales and marketing.

Kauppila also is responsible for the design and development of the National Vehicle Database, recently recognized by the Winter Corporation as the world's 10th largest database and winner of the Data Warehouse Institute's 2001 Best Practices in Data Warehousing Award in the category of customer relationship management. Experian's National Vehicle Database contains 15 billion records on more than 330 million vehicles and serves as the basic building block from which all of its automotive solutions originate.

Kauppila joined Experian Automotive in 1998 and brings more than 14 years of industry experience in both application development and the development of large-scale information systems, data warehouses and data marts.

``In a span of one year, Ken spearheaded the creation of the National Vehicle Database, as well as established our position in the automotive industry,'' said Jira. ``Ken's motivation, experience and leadership make him a natural fit for this position.''

Prior to joining Experian, Kauppila held strategic technology management and director positions for Fortune 100 corporations. As chief architect and program management office chair, he directed the development of the healthcare industry's first managed care tracking system for one of the largest integrated healthcare networks in the nation.

Additionally, Kauppila was responsible for the international implementation of an incident reporting system for a major oil company. He also managed the nationwide implementation of a distribution business decision support system with an activity-based costing module, which provided a daily profit and loss of five distribution businesses to both a gross and net profit level.

Kauppila earned a bachelor of science degree from Michigan Technological University, as well as a master of business administration from The Ohio State University. He also is a member of the Curriculum Review Board of Information Systems for Michigan Technological University. Kauppila resides in the Chicagoland area with his wife and three children.

About Experian

Experian Automotive offers a complete range of automotive information solutions to manufacturers, dealers, finance and insurance companies and marketing agencies. Experian's state-of-the-art technology, consulting services, direct marketing and database tools assist companies serving the automotive industry to better understand existing customers, effectively target new prospects, increase customer satisfaction and loyalty, and ultimately reach its business objectives. The company's National Vehicle Database is an expansive database housing information on more than 330 million motor vehicles nationwide, serving as the basic building block from which all of Experian's automotive solutions originate.

Experian enables organizations to find the best prospects and make fast, informed decisions to improve and personalize relationships with their customers. It does this by combining sophisticated and intelligent decision- making software and systems with some of the world's most comprehensive databases of information on consumers, businesses, motor vehicles and property. Through multi-channel delivery of its Web-based products and services, Experian enables its clients to conduct secure and profitable e- business and develop state-of-the-art Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems for communicating and building one-to-one relationships with customers. Experian is a subsidiary of GUS plc and has headquarters in Nottingham, UK, and Orange, Calif. Its 12,000 people support clients in more than 50 countries. Annual sales are approximately $1.5 billion. For more information, visit the company's Web site on www.experian.com .