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BT has appointed Karsten Lereuth its new managing director and CEO of its German operation. He will head BT Germany, one of BT’s largest subsidiaries outside the UK, effective August 11.

Karsten Lereuth has already been working in leading positions for BT Global Services since 2002. He is currently heading Global Telecom Markets (GTM), the line of business responsible for international business with other carriers, Internet service providers and resellers.

In this position, he has been instrumental in the strategic refocusing of the division to become a full-service provider of infrastructure and value-added services. As the new CEO of BT Germany, he is the successor to Jan Geldmacher who had been at the helm of BT Germany for about three and a half years.

Luis Alvarez, President BT EMEA and Latin America at BT Global Services, commented: “Germany is one of the most important markets for BT, and I am very happy that Karsten Lereuth has accepted this position. He is an experienced manager with a wealth of experience in the telecommunication business, both at the national and international level.

I am particularly pleased to have filled this critical position internally and to offer one of our talented people the chance to develop his career. I wish to thank Jan Geldmacher and his team who have done an excellent job, and I firmly believe that Karsten will continue BT Germany’s successful growth strategy.”

Karsten Lereuth said about his appointment: “During recent years BT Germany has established itself as the leading provider for global network and IT services on the German market. I am delighted to take on the challenge of further strengthening this position. With innovative solutions and network-centric IT services, we will ensure the continued growth of BT in Germany.”

After completing his university studies in Engineering and working in different positions with hardware and IT services companies, Karsten Lereuth (aged 43) opted for the telecommunications industry early in his career. From 1996 to 2001 he worked for UUNET and MCI Worldcom, reaching the position of Vice President UUNET International. In 2002 he joined BT Global Services.

Other appointments:

Intercept continues aggressive expansion

Virtualisation and online services specialist, Intercept announced today the appointment of Dawn Miller to the lead sales activities of its newly acquired online services operation. Dawn is an experienced IT account manager, with a strong background in big ticket software solution sales, and joins Intercept from hosting firm Arkenis.

Reporting directly to Will Brooks, General Manager, this appointment will be fundamental to the continued success of Intercept's innovative software-as-a-service (SaaS) portfolio.

Currently Intercept supports over 60,000 users through their managed and online services, and has virtualised over 2,000 applications in 30 different languages.

The company also plans to launch new entry-level online versions of Microsoft Sharepoint, Microsoft CRM, and Microsoft Exchange later in 2008, as well as a ground-breaking interactive multi-party conferencing service.

"I'm pleased to be joining at such an exciting time," said Miller. "Intercept has seen huge demand for its online services over the past year as companies look to outsource their IT to save costs, support flexible working, and improve their users experience". Dawn continues "The hosted software-as-a-service model suites all organisations large and small, and I'm looking forward to bringing my experience to bear to make a real difference in how Intercept goes to market."

Prior to joining Intercept, Miller was employed at Arkenis UK Limited where she was the IT Services and Support Business Development Manager responsible for over 150 customers such as Pixology, Party Gaming, and Ladbrooks.  During her tenure, she doubled the customer base, increasing revenue by over 25%.

Previously, Dawn held a similar sales role at Lindenhouse, the InView document management vendor, where she delivered solutions to companies UK wide. Miller also worked at business management software vendor SAP.

Ian Readman, CEO of Intercept, said "We see software-as-a-service as a key growth area for our business going forward, and we recently acquired ADS Portal as part of our plan to achieve leadership in this managed services space. Dawn's appointment will be critical to driving our sales activities in this area, and we're delighted to have her join our team."

About Intercept

Based in the City of London, Intercept focuses solely on helping companies of all sizes reap the rewards of virtualised IT and unified communications. The business collaborates with clients to get the most out of their IT investment to reduce costs, improve user performance and increase business agility.

The company has years of real world experience designing innovative solutions to fit client needs, all delivered with exceptional tailored support. Intercept has virtualised over 3,000 servers, over 100,000 users and more than 2,000 different applications in 30 languages, realising millions of pounds worth of savings to its customers.

Some 60,000 users rely upon Intercept's managed and online services.

As specialists in delivering virtual IT infrastructure, Intercept consultants are different. Using the most resilient, scalable and high-performing technology available today, Intercept's solutions empower client teams to get the very most out of their ICT investment.