D&B India Announces Succession Plan

Kaushal Sampat to take over as President & Chief Executive Officer of D&B India
Bangalore – March 8, 2010: Dun & Bradstreet India, the leading provider of business information, knowledge and insight, today, announced that Dr. Manoj Vaish will be stepping down as President & CEO of the company, effective March 31, 2010. Dr. Vaish will be succeeded by Kaushal Sampat, who is currently D&B India’s Chief Operating Officer.

This planned succession will take place with Kaushal assuming President & CEO responsibilities, effective April 1, 2010.

Mr. David Emery, President Asia Pacific & Senior Vice President of the Corporation, Dun & Bradstreet said “This transition is part of a planned succession process. While serving as Leader, D&B India, Manoj was instrumental in creating high performance teams, successful businesses and was responsible in the consistent growth of D&B India’s Revenue for the last six years. He played a key role in building and managing relationships with key external stakeholders and alliance partners and effectively drove the creation of new JVs”.

“I would like to thank Manoj for his strong leadership and wish him the best in his future endeavours and congratulate Kaushal on his new role as he leads D&B India to continued success, he added”.

Dr. Manoj Vaish said “Kaushal is an excellent choice to be the next President & CEO. He has played a key role in the growth of D&B in India. Kaushal has held a host of strategic responsibilities and has moved up over the years, developing aggressive strategies backed by strong operating skills and relentless execution. He is a passionate leader and I am sure he will take D&B to its next level of growth and development.''

Talking about his new role, Kaushal Sampat said, “I am delighted to assume this leadership role and I want to thank Manoj for his continued guidance and unyielding support. His exemplary leadership has brought D&B to the prominent place it occupies today. Dun & Bradstreet has gained strong momentum in recent years, with a strong foundation for future growth. Backed by an enviable brand and our outstanding management team, I am positive that we will now take our success to even newer highs”.

In a career spanning over 16 years, Kaushal Sampat has held a host of strategic responsibilities. He joined Dun & Bradstreet as a Business Analyst in 1998 and has played a key role in developing new businesses for the company in India (Sales & Marketing Solutions, Economic Analysis Group, Financial Education Solutions & Hoovers) and also forging strategic alliances. Kaushal has held a variety of strategic and operational roles in the company's various SBUs. He has also been responsible for Dun & Bradstreet's e-commerce initiatives in ASEAN/South Asia.

Prior to his tenure at Dun & Bradstreet, Kaushal worked in the manufacturing sector for four years with a focus on international business. He graduated from the Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics, Mumbai, and has an MBA from Bowling Green State University, in the US.

About Dun & Bradstreet (D&B):

Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE:DNB), the world’s leading source of global business information, knowledge and insight, has been enabling companies to Decide with Confidence® for 167 years. D&B’s global commercial database contains more than 165 million business records. The database is enhanced by D&B’s proprietary DUNSRight® Quality Process, which transforms the enormous amount of data collected daily into decision-ready insight. Through the D&B Worldwide Network – an unrivalled alliance of D&B and leading business information providers around the world –customers gain access to the world’s largest and highest quality global commercial business information database.

Customers use D&B Risk Management Solutions to mitigate risk, increase cash flow and drive increased profitability, D&B Sales & Marketing Solutions to analyse markets, locate prospects and increase revenue from new and existing customers; D&B Export Marketing Solutions to gain significant insight into overseas markets and increase sales; D&B Financial Education Solutions to facilitate professional growth and excellence among their executives and D&B Economic Analysis Group to derive pragmatic and solution-oriented analyses of strategic economic and business developments, thereby aiding informed decision making.

D&B features on FORTUNE Magazine's Most Admired Companies Industry List, ranking first in the Financial Data Services category. D&B ranked first in the areas of employee talent, financial soundness, long-term investment, quality of management and use of corporate assets. D&B has achieved this distinction for the fourth consecutive year.