Wolfram Research "Anchored" to Steady Growth

Expanded Products and Services Lead to Increased Sales Support

The computer industry is notorious for the breakneck speed at which products and markets change. New technologies can lead to multimillion-dollar companies in just a few years. For a high-tech city like Champaign, Illinois--just listed by Newsweek magazine as one of the world's 10 most "wired" locales--the pace results in a continual series of start-up companies. But the sad fact is that long-term successes are much rarer.

That is why Newsweek and Crain's Chicago Business have both named the same firm as Champaign-Urbana's long-term "anchor" company: Wolfram Research, founded by pioneering scientist Stephen Wolfram.

More than a decade has passed since Wolfram Research first released Mathematica, the award-winning technical computing system that forever changed the kinds of calculations computer users can perform. Since the beginning, the system has been embraced by scientists, engineers, and students. The steady growth of Mathematica's user base into other areas--like financial analysis--has let Wolfram Research bloom into an international business employing more than 250 worldwide. Wolfram Research has turned a profit every year since Mathematica's release in 1988.

"Wolfram Research has always been a very technology-intensive company," said Stephen Wolfram. "Our success has let us concentrate on building outstanding technology for the long term, and we've developed an impressive array of offerings for many markets. Now we'll refocus our activities in sales, marketing, and business development to take the best advantage of all that technology and to position our company for the strongest possible growth in our second decade."

John Bonadies, a 10-year Wolfram Research veteran, will take charge of the newly integrated Sales and Marketing division, where he will concentrate on coordinating sales and marketing operations and growing the sales force. Conrad Wolfram, a seven-year Wolfram Research veteran and younger brother of Stephen Wolfram, will continue his roles as Director of Strategic and International Development and as Managing Director of U.K.-based Wolfram Research Europe Ltd. He will also take charge of technical marketing and new product initiatives.

Adds Stephen Wolfram: "Conrad and John have always brought great energy to our organization. I look forward to seeing them achieve new peaks of business success for Wolfram Research in their expanded roles."