Sykes Enterprises, Incorporated Announces Senior Management Appointments

TAMPA, Fla., March 3, 2000 /PRNewswire/ — Sykes Enterprises, Incorporated (Nasdaq: SYKE), a global leader in providing vertically integrated technology-based solutions worldwide, today announced a series of senior management appointments that will enable it to tightly focus on the rapidly expanding technical support market, while simultaneously enabling further expansion in the exploding global e-commerce marketplace.

John H. Sykes, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, stated, ”This is the strongest management team in our company’s twenty-three year history. With these announcements, we have taken the necessary steps to further enhance our executive management expertise, while placing additional senior executive focus on delivering unparalleled value added services and e-solutions to our clients worldwide.”

David L. Grimes, President and Chief Operating Officer stated, ”With today’s appointments, we finalize a management transition that began in late 1998. That transition was to attract and recruit proven senior executives with a combination of industry and applications knowledge, operational experience, technical expertise and a solid background from the services sector. This leadership team will provide our clients with a vast background of value-added service delivery that is crucial in today’s competitive marketplace.”

It is in conjunction with our continuing effort to focus and align our operational resources around our global vertical markets that the following appointments are made:

EFFECTIVE MARCH 6, 2000
• Mr. James E. Lamar: is appointed Group Executive and Senior Vice President – International. Mr. Lamar had been Sykes Vice President and Managing Director of Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA), he is headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, at Sykes International Headquarters Facility. In this Group Executive position, Mr. Lamar will be responsible for all international operations and the strategy and tactics necessary to expand our relationships as well as our global e- services platform. Mr. Lamar joined Sykes from Lucent Technologies in April of 1999 with over 30 years experience in the telecommunications industry with Southwestern Bell, AT&T and Lucent Technologies. Prior to joining Sykes, he was Managing Director of Licensing at Lucent Technologies, where he managed Lucent’s patent licensing program for Europe, Middle East and Africa.
• Mr. Scott J. Bendert: is appointed Group Executive and Senior Vice President – Operations Performance and Administration. Mr. Bendert’s knowledge and financial expertise will be utilized to focus and enhance operations in the areas of Localization, Distribution, Fulfillment, Technical Support and Professional Services in conjunction with the Americas and International groups. Mr. Bendert joined Sykes in 1993 as Chief Financial Officer and was named Treasurer in 1994, in 1995 Mr. Bendert was named Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining Sykes Enterprises Incorporated, Mr. Bendert held various management positions with Reflectone Inc. of Tampa, Florida, a manufacturer of sophisticated flight training and simulation devices. Mr. Bendert holds a BA Degree in Accounting from Michigan State University and is a Certified Public Accountant. He is located at Corporate Headquarters in Tampa, Florida.
• Mr. Gerry L. Rogers: is appointed Group Executive and Senior Vice President – The Americas. Mr. Rogers joined Sykes in January 1999 as the Group Vice President – The Americas. As the Group Executive for the Americas, he will have total responsibility of operations, service support, professional services and distribution and fulfillment delivery for Canada, Latin America and the United States. Mr. Rogers, joined Sykes after retiring from AT&T. During his 30-year career in the telecommunications industry at AT&T and Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, Mr. Rogers has had extensive expertise in call center management and operations, sales force automation, management information systems, data networking, e-commerce and ISO 9000 certification process management. Mr. Rogers earned a Masters of Science Degree in Management Science from the University of Texas, where he completed his undergraduate work having attained degrees in Behavioral Management and Business and Public Administration. Mr. Rogers is located at Corporate Headquarters in Tampa, Florida.
• Mr. W. Michael Kipphut: Joins Sykes Enterprises as its Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Kipphut joins Sykes from USA-Flowers, where he was Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer. Prior to USA-Flowers, Mr. Kipphut was the Chief Financial Officer at Spaulding – Evenflow, Tampa, Fla. and the Chief Financial Officer at the Tyler Corporation, Dallas, TX. Mr. Kipphut holds a BBA in Accounting from the University of Texas at Arlington, an MBA from Texas Christian University – Ft. Worth, TX., and is a Certified Public Accountant. Mr. Kipphut will be located at Corporate Headquarters in Tampa, Florida.
• Mr. Chad Carlson: is appointed Vice President and General Manager for Operations the Americas. Mr. Carlson had been the Vice President for Customer Service and Support for the Americas. Mr. Carlson will have e-Commerce Distribution and Fulfillment in addition to Customer Service and Support for the Americas. Mr. Carlson holds a B.S., Business Logistics, from Pennsylvania State University. Mr. Carlson is currently located at Westminister, Colorado.
• Mr. Dale W. Saville: is appointed Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer. Mr. Saville had been the Vice President Technology Development. Mr. Saville will be responsible for the evaluation and development of new product and service offerings as well as establishing a consistent deployment schedule to enhance Sykes’ value-added services platform to our clients worldwide. Previously Mr. Saville was located in Amsterdam, The Netherlands as Vice President Customer Service and Support. Mr. Saville holds a B.S. in Physics from Virginia Military Institute, M.S. Degree in Computer Science from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill – NSF Fellowship and a M.B.A. from Queens College, Charlotte, N.C. – Blumenthal Fellowship. Mr. Saville will be located at Corporate Headquarters in Tampa, Florida.
• Mr. Charles E. Sykes: is appointed Senior Vice President Marketing and Global Alliances. Mr. Sykes had been the Vice President Sales – Americas for the past two years. Prior to his sales assignment, Mr. Sykes held several positions in operations, accounting, professional services and recruitment. In this newly created position, Mr. Sykes will assist in the development of Branding, Internal and External Communications, Web consolidation, marketing strategy as well as continuing to manage our global strategic accounts. Mr. Sykes has a BS Degree from North Carolina State University in Mechanical Engineering.
• Ms. Conway W. Jensen: is appointed Vice President and Assistant to the Chairman. Ms. Jensen had been the Vice President Community Relations. In addition to her new responsibilities, Ms. Jensen will continue to fulfill some of her previous community and public relations activities. She will be located at Corporate Headquarters in Tampa, Florida.
• Mr. Saverio Giordano: Joins Sykes Enterprises, Incorporated as the Vice President Sales – Americas. Mr. Giordano will be responsible for all sales activities in the Americas across all product and service lines that the Company offers in the marketplace. Sal joins Sykes from AT&T, where he was the General Manager Growth Markets in Denver Colorado. Mr. Giordano during his 17-year career in the telecommunications industry at AT&T and Wisconsin Bell Telephone Company, has had extensive expertise in sales management and operations, sales force automation, management information systems, data networking and E-commerce. Sal holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Wisconsin. Mr. Giordano will be located at Corporate Headquarters in Tampa, Florida.

Mr. David L. Grimes, W. Michael Kipphut and Ms. Conway W. Jensen will report to Mr. John H. Sykes Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

Mr. Gerry L. Rogers, James E. Lamar, Scott J. Bendert, Dale W. Saville, and Charles E. Sykes will report directly to Mr. David L. Grimes, President and Chief Operating Officer.

Mr. Chad Carlson and Mr. Sal Giordano will report to Mr. Gerry L. Rogers Group Executive the Americas.

Sykes, with approximately 14,000 employees, is a global leader in providing vertically integrated, technology-based solutions worldwide. By utilizing its IT support centers and e-business platform, Sykes is able to provide traditional and e-commerce services at all stages in the life cycle of its clients’ products and services, including initial development, documentation and localization, customer product services and end-user support. Sykes, headquartered in Tampa, Fla., currently operates 38 technical call centers (with four under construction), nine e-commerce centers and 25 offices throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Africa, Central America and the Philippines. SHPS, Incorporated, a wholly owned subsidiary based in Louisville, Ky., provides on-line clinical managed care services, medical protocol products and employee benefit administration and support services. Visit the Sykes web site at http://www.sykes.com.

The statements contained in this press release that are not purely historical, including statements regarding Sykes’ objectives, expectations, hopes, intentions, beliefs or strategies regarding the future, are ”forward-looking” statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. It is important to note that Sykes’ actual results could differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements, and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. Among the important factors that could cause such actual results to differ materially are: *construction delays of new call centers; *difficulties in managing growth; *rapid technological change; *loss of a significant customer; *risks inherent in conducting business abroad; *changes in legislation; *fluctuations in business conditions and the economy; *Sykes’ ability to attract and retain key management personnel; *and the risk factors listed from time to time in Sykes’ registration statements and reports as filed with the Securities Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are made as of the date hereof, and Sykes undertakes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements.