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Management rotation in Columbus IT Partner


WEBWIRE

In order to increase the company’s management capacity while transforming Columbus into an industry focused consulting and software organization, Vladislav Martynov is being appointed as President and Michael Gaardboe as CEO. The rotation is effective from 1 January 2006.

The Board of Directors of Columbus is appointing the founder of Columbus Michael Gaardboe as the new CEO following in the footsteps of Vladislav Martynov, who has spearheaded the company for a year. Vladislav Martynov is now taking a newly established position as President in Columbus IT Partner A/S.

As President, Vladislav Martynov will be responsible for developing company strategy, the global industry solutions division, alliances and expansion through acquisitions as well as the development of new business areas. Vladislav Martynov will continue his work as Chairman of a number of Columbus subsidiaries around the world and will be a part of company top management, referring to the CEO.

A year ago Vladislav Martynov and the Board made a plan to:
Complete internal restructuring and financial stabilising of the organisation
Achieve profitability in the subsidiaries
Get 100% ownership in the largest subsidiaries
Gather all software and development of the group in one division
Improve cooperation with Microsoft and define long term strategy

“Within a short period of time, all our goals for stabilising Columbus have been achieved. In phase 1, under Vladislav Martynov’s leadership, Columbus has built a strong foundation for further growth. The company is now ready for phase 2. The creation of the President position and the assigned responsibilities between CEO and President is a part of the company strategy in phase 2. We will see Columbus changing from primarily focusing on reselling to being a software company offering the customers unique vertical solutions based on Microsoft technology,” says Chairman of the Board Ib Kunøe, Columbus IT Partner.

A strong management with joint experience
After seven years with Columbus in Americas, the Columbus founder, Michael Gaardboe is returning to Denmark with his family.

“Vlad and I have worked together since 1997 and our joint experience with Columbus in the past will be a strong foundation for Columbus’ development in the future. I look forward to work with Vlad in this new setup. We, along with the Board, have one unified view on the best strategy for Columbus and we see the same great opportunities ahead of us for both organic growth and growth through acquisitions,” says CEO Michael Gaardboe, Columbus IT Partner.

Michael Gaardboe, 46 years old, founded Columbus and created a company in explosive growth up through the nineties. In 1998 Michael Gaardboe moved to the US, where he has been heading Columbus in North and South America, which today has 150 employees and is the fastest growing region in Columbus both in revenue and in profit.

”Our clients and the employees of Columbus have great expectations to Michael Gaardboe. He has proven that he is capable of handling a large responsibility and is able to cultivate development and innovation – skills which I will stress are crucial for maintaining Columbus’ position as the world’s leading Microsoft partner. I congratulate Michael and the rest of Columbus on this,” says Chairman of the Board Ib Kunøe, Columbus IT Partner.

Michael Gaardboe whose company Gaardboe Holding currently owns 18.5 percent of the shares in Columbus will be withdrawing from the Board of Directors of Columbus. He has moved to Skodsborg, north of Copenhagen with his family.


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For further information please contact
Chairman of the Board Ib Kunøe +45 45 86 80 77

Chief Executive Officer Michael Gaardboe +45 29 69 09 00


About Columbus IT Partner A/S
Columbus IT is a global company specializing in implementing ERP, BI and CRM systems for single site companies as well as multi-site, multi-national corporations. Our industry specializations are Retail, Manufacturing, Distribution, Professional Service, Pharmaceuticals and Government Contracting. We are the most experienced IT implementation company in the world for Microsoft Dynamics, (formerly Microsoft Business Solutions Axapta and Navision ERP systems), and we were recognized as global partner of the year by Microsoft in 2005. We have over 850 employees in 27 offices around the world, and customers in 57 countries.

Our customers choose Columbus IT for our ability to get the job done right, proven by over 5,000 successful implementations since 1989 – and for our people who have the highest level of integrity, respect and trust. By building long-lasting relations with our customers, we help them gain a true competitive edge in their marketplace.



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