Press Releases

EMERYVILLE, Calif. – January 7, 2009 – 2008 was a year of accelerated momentum for Lithium Technologies, the leader in on-demand enterprise customer communities. Today the company announced a 100% percent growth in new monthly recurring revenue in less than one year, resulting in-part from Lithium's continued penetration into the Fortune 1000 market, adding companies including Caterpillar, Pitney Bowes, and AT&T among many others. To help keep pace with this growth – and to advance the company's strategy and solution offerings – the company is also announcing key additions to its management team.

"Lithium's strong growth in enterprise social media this year is a validation of our unique solutions and our ability to drive top-and-bottom line benefits for our clients," said Lyle Fong, founder and CEO of Lithium Technologies. "Additionally, Lithium's extensive experience as a 10-year-old company in a market that most consider to be new territory continues to be a differentiating factor driving our growth."

Solution Momentum

Lithium's momentum stems from its unique enterprise social media capabilities designed to engage and energize its customers, thereby helping communities thrive. Industry practitioners have recognized that the core of a successful community must be a powerful reputation and permissions engine to drive participation. Brand and market leaders such as Sony Playstation, Univision, and PayPal have utilized these innovative capabilities over the years to ensure the growth and longevity of their communities.

According to a recent report by Forrester Research, Inc, "Marketers need a way to keep active members participating. A reputation system that identifies the most active contributors lets marketers easily reward members' participation and nurture their positive behavior...Lithium Technologies' system accomplishes this by rewarding helpful members with badges, additional community privileges, and access to VIP areas." ("What Works In Online Company Forums," Forrester Research, Inc., November 2008).

Executive Hires

Lithium also announced today the appointment of two new executives, Charles Hough, Senior Vice President of Operations and Sanjay Dholakia, Chief Marketing Officer. Charles Hough brings a long track record of building customer-centric organizations and is responsible for Lithium's customer success, overseeing all facets of customer operations and planning. Prior to Lithium, Hough has served as Vice President of Partner Services at Yahoo, serving the company's publisher customer-base, and as Vice President of Worldwide Customer Support from Interwoven.

Sanjay Dholakia comes to Lithium from SumTotal Systems, where he served as Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Learning and Talent Management Business Unit. Dholakia was instrumental in advancing the company's market leadership in the learning management industry and its integration across the broader talent management space. During his tenure, the company grew over ten-fold and became the clear leader in its market, with a relentless focus on customer solutions and success. Prior to SumTotal, Dholakia served as a consultant at McKinsey & Company, advising Global 500 companies from a broad range of industries. As Lithium's new CMO, Dholakia is responsible for driving Lithium's vision, strategy, and go-to-market activities.

"Having witnessed how social media and marketing have connected over the past few years, I am very excited to be working with a results-oriented company that is constantly innovating solutions for the enterprise," said Dholakia. "Lithium's unique ability to deliver successful customer communities with real ROI will continue to drive industry leadership in 2009."

Building on its legacy of deep industry expertise, Lithium also announced today that Joe Cothrel, formerly the Vice President of Community Management Services, will assume the new post of Chief Community Officer. Cothrel has worked with over 200 companies deploying innovative online customer communities and is widely recognized as a leading authority in the space. In his new role, Cothrel will lead Lithium's efforts to ensure its customers continue to be the most successful in the industry.

About Lithium Technologies

Lithium is the leading provider of customer-centric social networking solutions for the enterprise. Working with market leaders such as Sony, AT&T, Research In Motion Limited (RIM), Univision, and Paypal, Lithium delivers online customer communities that work. Lithium solutions inspire customers to share knowledge, connect with each other, and connect with the enterprise, thus providing a unique method for companies to identify, engage, and understand customers. As a result, businesses measurably improve their marketing and sales, accelerate innovation, and increase customer satisfaction. Lithium's platform is proven in high-volume, growth environments and provides the security, analytics, APIs, and multi-language support that enterprises demand. Founded in 2001, Lithium is privately held with headquarters in Emeryville, California. For more information, visit www.lithium.com.

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Lithium Media Contacts:

Michael Paige, Corporate Headquarters & Global, michael.paige@lithium.com , +1 (510) 318 7014
Sandra Teuber, Central & Southern Europe, sandra.teuber@lithium.com , +41 (79) 223 7356
Prelini Chiechi, UK & Northern Europe, prelini.chiechi@lithium.com, +44 (7826) 912788
Imogen Riley, APAC & Australia, imogen.riley@lithium.com, +61 413 274 210