Affinnova, Inc. Appoints Procter & Gamble Veteran Mark F. Schar to Executive Board

WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 29, 2004 -- Affinnova, Inc., which harnesses the science of evolution to optimize concepts, products and brands for consumer-focused companies, today announced the appointment of Mark F. Schar to its Executive Board. Mr. Schar, a corporate leader with over 25 years of International business development and consumer and market knowledge experience at Procter & Gamble, will assist in guiding Affinnova's strategic growth initiatives.

Affinnova's patent pending IDEA(TM) (Interactive Design by Evolutionary Algorithms) technology enables companies to leverage unprecedented degrees of consumer insight throughout the development cycle, to launch more successful products. Procter & Gamble (P&G), ConAgra, Timberland, Ben & Jerry's and Aeropostale are among the many blue-chip customers currently using IDEA(TM) to optimize concepts, products, packaging and brands.

Mr. Schar currently serves as Founder and Managing Director of donology LLC, a Cincinnati, OH-based professional services/venture capital firm that helps major companies monetize innovation through technology donation. Prior to founding donology, Schar spent some 25 years at Procter & Gamble, most recently serving as Vice President, Global Business Development and Consumer and Market Knowledge.

"Mark brings a completely unique and invaluable perspective to the Affinnova board," said David Andonian, CEO of Affinnova, Inc. "His decades of experience with Procter & Gamble's consumer-based research and brand development will be an important guide for us as we execute against our goal of revolutionizing the science of consumer product development and marketing."

During his tenure at P&G, Mr. Schar established the function of "business development" and was responsible for all of P&G's consumer and market knowledge work worldwide. He directed the company's R&D investment in new brand development, worked with P&G's Global Business Ventures by establishing the P&G iFund, which is a strategic equity investment fund that manages a range of "non-traditional" investments in new business models.

Mr. Schar gained consumer and market knowledge expertise at P&G by leading the company's global consumer understanding efforts. He helped transform P&G's research tools to the Internet and created a suite of new brand virtual test market tools that will replace brick & mortar test markets, saving significant research cost and time to market.

Mr. Schar also served in many other leadership positions while at P&G, including Vice President and Chief Learning Officer, and Vice President and General Manager for Global Beauty Skin Care, Coffee and Peanut Butter, and Juice Products.

"Over the past several years, Affinnova has developed a solution for optimizing products, packages and brands that holds a powerful value proposition for the consumer packaged goods industry - evolving successful products, reducing risk and accelerating time to market," said Mark Schar. "Affinnova's IDEA technology is a great example of 'fast cycle learning' and will undoubtedly change the way major companies design, develop and qualify market expansion products and brands. I'm looking forward to contributing to their continued success."

Schar has served on the board of directors for Reflect.com and EMMperative, and currently serves as the Chairman of the Advisory Board for the University of Wisconsin: Center for Product Management. A graduate of Northwestern University in 1975, he received his MBA, also from Northwestern University, in 1977.

About Affinnova's Executive Board

In addition to Mark F. Schar, the Affinnova Executive Board currently includes:

-- David Andonian, Chairman of the Board and CEO, Affinnova

-- Robert Frasca, president, Affinnova

-- Noubar Afeyan, Ph.D., Senior Managing Director and CEO, Flagship Ventures

-- David Flaschen, Managing Director, Flagship Ventures

-- Robert Meers, president and CEO, Syratech Corporation

About Affinnova, Inc.

Affinnova harnesses the voice of consumers to help companies develop more successful brands and products. Its unique, patent-pending technology uses genetic algorithms to "evolve" product designs in response to consumer preferences. Affinnova's technology has been adopted by a growing list of blue-chip customers including eleven Fortune 500 companies. Affinnova clients include ConAgra Foods, General Mills, Procter & Gamble, Timberland, Aeropostale and Staples. Affinnova is privately held and headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. For more information about Affinnova, visit www.affinnova.com .

About IDEA(TM)

Affinnova's patent pending IDEA(TM) (Interactive Design by Evolutionary Algorithms) technology evolves virtual products, concepts, packages and brands based on consumer preferences. IDEA(TM) technology allows for exploration of wider design and creative spaces, holistic optimization, the identification of interaction effects (feature synergies), and preference-based market segmentation.

(C)2004 Affinnova Inc. Affinnova and IDEA(TM) are trademarks of Affinnova, Inc. Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.