TRUSTe APPOINTS Jonathan Hart, Jules Polonetsky and Donald Whiteside TO BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Frank Thibodeau named Vice President of Business Operations

San Francisco, CA– January 31, 2007 – TRUSTe, the leading online privacy certification organization, today announced the appointment of three new members to its board of directors, including Jonathan Hart, a member in the Media and Information Technologies group at the law firm Dow Lohnes PLLC; Jules Polonetsky, chief privacy officer and senior vice president of consumer advocacy at AOL; and Donald Whiteside, vice president of the Corporate Technology Group and director of Technical Policy & Standards at Intel. Ralph Terkowitz, general partner at ABS Capital Partners, is now chairman of the board, succeeding Richard Purcell, founder of Corporate Privacy Group. TRUSTe also announced that Frank Thibodeau has joined the management team as Vice President of Business Operations.

TRUSTe’s board of directors consists of 11 members selected for their strong backgrounds in a variety of industries relating to online privacy, trust and business. The board oversees the non-profits’ long-term strategy and programs.

“The deep understanding of online trust issues that Jonathan Hart, Jules Polonetsky and Donald Whiteside each bring to the board will help TRUSTe continue to shape its privacy strategy as the organization moves into its second decade,” said Fran Maier, executive director and president of TRUSTe. “These three leaders bring diverse expertise that will build on the board’s current strengths.”

Jonathan Hart is a member of the law firm of Dow Lohnes PLLC, where he practices in the firm's Media and Information Technologies group based in Washington, D.C.  On the faculty of the Stanford Professional Publishing Courses since 1994, he is author of Internet Law: A Field Guide, published by BNA Books.

As AOL's Chief Privacy Officer and Senior Vice President for Consumer Advocacy, Jules Polonetsky is responsible for ensuring that AOL's users can trust the company with their personal information. In this role, he also educates employees about best practices for advertising, content and product development. He previously served for four years as vice president, Integrity Assurance at AOL. Also, Mr. Polonetsky was on the boards of a number of privacy and consumer protection organizations including TRUSTe’s Trusted Download Advisory Committee, which helped oversee the development of the new Trusted Download Program.

With Intel since 1981, Donald Whiteside is vice president and director of technical policy and standards (TPS) at Intel's Corporate Technology Group. Trust and security policy is one of TPS’s distinct areas of focus. Prior to his appointment as Director of TPS in early 2004, Mr. Whiteside was vice president, Intel Legal and Government Affairs, managing Intel’s policy activities in support of innovative new digital media environments.

The three new board members join recent board addition, Doug Leeds, vice president of product management at Ask.com and other members, including Joseph H. Alhadeff, vice president for global public policy and chief privacy officer for Oracle Corporate Affairs; Hans Peter Brøndmo, CEO of Plum Ventures; Peter Cullen, chief privacy strategist at Microsoft Corporation; Fran Maier, executive director and president of TRUSTe; Bennie Smith, former chief privacy officer of DoubleClick, Inc; and Christine Varney, partner at Hogan & Hartson L.L.P.

Frank Thibodeau
As Vice President of Business Operations, Frank Thibodeau’s responsibilities include management of TRUSTe's core service delivery. An experienced general manager, he will be a leader in TRUSTe's expansion and evolution to address emerging privacy and trust issues. As the organization moves forward he will help TRUSTe expand its reach and relevance while ensuring ongoing scalability and sustainability for its programs.

“Frank Thibodeau’s business building and financial experience make him an ideal pick for Vice President of Business Operations,” said Ms. Maier. “I look forward to working with him to strengthen TRUSTe’s core business as TRUSTe implements new initiatives for the next ten years.”

Frank Thibodeau is an experienced entrepreneur and venture capitalist. From 2000 to 2004 he was director of venture investment at ITOCHU Technology, the most senior US venture professional for a $100 billion, 2004 Fortune Global 20 company. He financed and guided emerging companies in enterprise hardware, software, telecommunications and networking.

About TRUSTe
TRUSTe helps consumers and businesses identify trustworthy online organizations through its Web Privacy Seal, Email Privacy Seal and Trusted Download Programs. An independent, nonprofit organization celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2007, TRUSTe certifies more than 2,000 Web sites, including the major internet portals and leading brands such as AOL, Microsoft, IBM, Oracle, Intuit and eBay. TRUSTe resolves thousands of individual privacy disputes every year. To learn more about internet privacy visit www.truste.org.

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Ponemon Institute