Altimeter Group Expands With Addition of Industry Veterans Altimeter Group Opens "The Hanger," Group's Premier Innovations Center

SAN MATEO, CA--(eMediaWorld - August 27, 2009) - Altimeter Group, a consulting firm focused on helping businesses integrate emerging technologies into their strategies, today announced the addition of three partners to meet the demands of the growing firm. Internet pioneer Deborah Schultz, and former Forrester Research analysts R "Ray" Wang and Jeremiah Owyang join Charlene Li, founding partner of Altimeter Group, in the firm's San Mateo, Calif., headquarters. As part of the firm's expansion, Altimeter Group also announced the launch of "The Hanger," a physical space intended to bring together the ecosystem of emerging technologies, thought leaders, business and service providers to innovate and bring new ideas to life.

Altimeter Group's Partner Profiles

Deborah Schultz leads Altimeter's Innovation and Best Practices business focused on bringing together the ecosystem of emerging technologies including investors, start-ups, businesses, end users, service providers, and thought leaders for experimentation, active learning and real-world application. Most recently, she architected the Procter & Gamble Social Media Lab to study the impact of the social web on customer relationships and the business benefits of "open innovation." She continues as a member of P&G's Digital Advisory Board. Previously, Schultz was the Marketing Director at Six Apart.

Former Forrester Research analyst R "Ray" Wang joins Altimeter Group to lead the Enterprise Strategy practice with a focus on actionable application strategies that bridge the emerging world of Web 2.0 and Enterprise 2.0 business solutions with today's enterprise technologies. Wang brings profound experience, providing enterprise strategy and contract negotiations expertise to some of the world's leading organizations. His achievements have been recognized by the Institute of Industry Analyst Relations, which named Wang "Analyst of the Year" in both 2008 and 2009. Wang also brings experience gained from his posts with PeopleSoft, Oracle, Personify, Deloitte, and Ernst & Young.

Jeremiah Owyang will lead Altimeter's Customer Strategy practice. Jeremiah brings more than a decade of experience counseling companies on how to leverage emerging technologies to communicate with customers. Previously, he was the online community manager at Hitachi Data Systems and director of corporate strategy at PodTech. Owyang joins Altimeter Group from Forrester Research where he advised and created research for interactive marketers.

"Ray, Jeremiah and Deborah are among the top experts in their respective fields," said Charlene Li, founding partner of Altimeter Group. "Individually, they bring unmatched expertise to their roles with the firm, and collectively they are unstoppable professionals with the passion and prowess to advance entire industries through the innovative application of technologies to achieve business goals. Altimeter Group's clients will benefit tremendously from their guidance and counsel."

The Hanger at Altimeter Group

At The Hanger, Altimeter Group will host community events, training, and "unconferences" that provide experimentation, learning, and sharing around emerging technologies.

Upcoming Webinar

Join Altimeter Group's partners for an hour-long Webinar and discussion on "The Future Of Business." Each partner will provide their unique perspective on how business needs to adapt to the challenges presented by emerging technologies, followed by an open discussion within the Webinar as well as on Twitter. Also covered will be a brief overview of Altimeter Group.

When: Thursday, September 10, 2009 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM PDT

To register, please go to https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/725944010

Additional Resources:

Find Altimeter Group partners online at:

--  Schultz's blog: www.deborahschultz.com
--  Wang's blog, "A Software Insider's Point Of View": www.blog.softwareinsider.org
--  Owyang's blog, www.web-strategist.com/blog
    

Follow Altimeter Group on Twitter:

--  Schultz on Twitter at www.twitter.com/debs
--  Wang on Twitter at www.twitter.com/rwang0
--  Owyang on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jowyang
    

Additional links:

--  Schultz presents "The Death of the Grand Gesture" at Web 2.0 Expo New
    York: http://blip.tv/file/1277084/
--  Schultz being interviewed for "Macheads," a documentary on the cult of
    the Macintosh:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcaMplnXqFc&feature=channel_page
--  Ray Wang being interviewed by the IIAR:
    http://iiar.wordpress.com/2008/04/19/iiar-blog-interview-ray-wang-forrester-final/
--  Owyang being interviewed about Facebook:
    http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aTR71Aj87zTE
    

About Altimeter Group

Altimeter Group, founded by Charlene Li, co-author of the bestselling book "Groundswell: Winning In A World Transformed by Social Technologies," provides strategic advice on how companies can tap into emerging technologies to address pressing business issues. A combination of real-time research, hands-on experimentation, and industry relationships gives Altimeter Group the insight to address client challenges with a holistic approach. The firm's strategic areas include Enterprise Strategy, Customer Strategy, Innovation and Best Practices, and Leadership and Management. More information can be found at www.altimetergroup.com. Altimeter Group is located at 1855 South Grant Street, Suite 100, San Mateo, CA 94402.

Media Contact: Whitney Biltz Hill & Knowlton 415-281-7126