Cobalt Appoints Two New Executives

    SEATTLE--May 14, 2002--The Cobalt Group, the leading provider of e-business software and services to the automotive retail market, today announced it has named Scott Mathews executive vice president and chief operating officer (COO) and Ed Crawford vice president of strategic planning.
    These newly-created positions report directly to Cobalt's president and CEO John Holt.
    In his new role as COO, Mathews is responsible for the company's finance department, operations and infrastructure, including business systems and process improvement. As vice president of strategic planning, Crawford is responsible for long-range planning and business development.
    "Both of these leaders will make a substantial difference to Cobalt as we continue to grow the company and expand our presence in the automotive industry," said Holt. "Their expertise will help us streamline our business processes and forge new alliances that will reinforce our leading position in the industry."
    Mathews brings 20 years of management and technology experience to Cobalt. Before joining Cobalt, he served for three years as president and COO of eMerge Interactive, Inc., a technology company providing supply chain management and marketing solutions to the $40 billion beef production industry, based in Sebastian, Fla. Prior to eMerge, he was a corporate officer, vice president and general manager for Key Technology, Inc., a manufacturer of machine vision and material handling products for the food processing and pharmaceutical industries, based in Walla Walla, Wash. He also spent 14 years at General Electric Medical Systems in a variety of sales and management positions. Mathews holds a master's in business administration from the University of Chicago and a bachelor of science degree from Michigan State University.
    Crawford brings over 11 years of corporate strategy experience with leading consumer brand companies in the U.S. and overseas markets and a strong background in strategic planning, financial analysis, and new business development to Cobalt. Prior to joining Cobalt, Crawford held senior management positions in the corporate strategic planning groups at Nordstrom in Seattle, Wash.; Marriott International in Washington, D.C.; and Pepsico in Purchase, N.Y. Crawford played a key role in helping the leadership of these companies address the challenges and opportunities of leveraging strong brands and competencies to drive growth. Crawford also spent time in Japan working for Goldman Sachs and Corporate Directions, Inc., a Tokyo-based management consulting company. Crawford holds a master's in business administration from The Wharton School and a bachelor of arts degree from Trinity College.

    ABOUT THE COBALT GROUP

    The Cobalt Group works exclusively in the automotive retail market to help manufacturers and dealers develop integrated e-business programs by leveraging its industry-leading technology, broad range of services and deep domain knowledge. As the automotive e-business leader, Cobalt is uniquely positioned to help its customers maximize their overall operating efficiencies and profits.
    Cobalt offers a broad range of products and services developed specifically for the automotive marketplace including enterprise software for manufacturers and dealers; customer relationship management (CRM) software applications; online automotive commerce applications; the industry's largest OEM parts locating and marketing service; dealership e-business best practices training, consulting, and process compliance analysis; and wholesale used vehicle remarketing services.
    Cobalt operates a dealer network larger than any other technology provider in the automotive retail industry including 12,000 franchised dealers and 72 of the 100 largest dealer groups. Cobalt is the only software technology provider ever endorsed by 15 manufacturers and the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA).
    With headquarters in Seattle, Wash., Cobalt has offices in five U.S. cities and a field sales and services force in 30 states, including all major U.S. metropolitan sales areas (MSAs).
    For more information, please visit www.cobaltgroup.com or call 800/909-8244.