CareerBuilder.com Names Matt Ferguson President

CHICAGO, October 16, 2003 - CareerBuilder.com, the smarter recruitment resource for finding better candidates and jobs, announced the appointment of Matt Ferguson as president of the company. Ferguson, 36, has served as chief operating officer for CareerBuilder.com since March 2002 and has recently assumed the dual role of president and COO as planned by the company's Board of Directors last year. Bob Montgomery remains in his position as CareerBuilder.com's chief executive officer.

The CareerBuilder Network increased its revenue year over year through the first nine months of 2003 by 41 percent. Revenue for the third quarter 2003 alone grew by 61 percent compared with last year. In addition, CareerBuilder.com increased its job seeker traffic by 50 percent in the past year, according to comScore Media Metrix. The company also ranked number one in posting the most jobs in the top 90 U.S. markets, according to a recent report from recruitment tracking firm Corzen.

As president and COO of CareerBuilder.com, Ferguson will continue to build on this success by overseeing all marketing, finance, sales, information technology, product development, integrated media, and business development.

Ferguson first joined the company two years ago following CareerBuilder.com's acquisition of Headhunter.net, where he had been serving as senior vice president of business since 2000. Prior to that, Ferguson developed strategic partnerships for DigitalWork.com. He also started two entrepreneurial ventures, and practiced law at Baker & McKenzie. Ferguson holds a master's in business administration from the University of Chicago and a law degree from Northwestern University.

"Matt's appointment to president was part of a long-term strategy we developed over a year ago as we planned the evolution of the company's business model," said Bob Montgomery, CEO of CareerBuilder.com. "Over the last year, we have aggressively expanded our distribution network, implemented a state-of-the-art search engine, significantly increased our user base and market share, and drove our revenues and performance consistently above industry average. Matt's superior leadership skills, business acumen and vision were instrumental in that growth. Under his direction, the company will continue to enhance the online experience for companies and job seekers and capitalize on new business opportunities."

CareerBuilder.com combines the distribution power of online and print through more than 130 newspapers of its partners Tribune Company, Gannett Company and Knight Ridder. Including its newspaper affiliations, CareerBuilder.com has more than 350 partners with over 1,200 Web sites reaching national, industry, regional and niche audiences.

"We are pleased to announce Matt's new and well-deserved position," said David Hiller, Tribune Interactive president and Tribune Publishing senior vice president. "Maintaining a competitive edge in any industry requires an anticipative eye, strategic execution and hands-on management. Matt has exemplified this combination and produced major results, including CareerBuilder.com's new alliances with MSN and America Online which will attract even more quality job seekers to the CareerBuilder network."

"We joined forces with CareerBuilder.com because we knew they had the right people in place to grow the company," said Jack Williams, senior vice president of Diversified Business and Development for Gannett Company. "Matt has led the operations of CareerBuilder.com as COO, and been a key player in the strong growth of CareerBuilder.com since Gannett joined. This promotion is well deserved, and it is also an example of the strong team and depth that Bob Montgomery and Matt have created in the company."

"Bottom line, the difference between a good company and a great company is its people," said Hilary Schneider, president and CEO of Knight Ridder Digital. "Matt is the type of person who sees an opportunity and hits the ground running to make things happen quickly and effectively. As a result, CareerBuilder.com has added multiple new partners in the last year, bringing the CareerBuilder.com brand to millions of households and businesses across the country. This means more resources and value for our users, which ultimately leads to a greater market share potential for CareerBuilder.com."

About CareerBuilder.com
CareerBuilder.com is a leading online source for maximizing recruitment dollars and optimizing job searches with superior products, customer service and technology. With a unique combination of national, local and niche audiences, CareerBuilder.com makes it easy for recruiters to reach the most qualified candidates with industry-leading market research data and support. Job seekers can search for the right job from more than 400,000 continuously updated postings, representing more than 25,000 of the top employers in virtually every industry, field and location. Together with Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI), Tribune Company (NYSE:TRB), and Knight Ridder, Inc. (NYSE:KRI), CareerBuilder.com includes the Web's top newspaper sites – the most trusted employment sources in recruiting. For more information about CareerBuilder.com products and services, call 888-670-TEAM or visit http://www.careerbuilder.com.

CareerBuilder Media Contact
For all media inquiries and interview requests, contact:

Jennifer Grasz
(P) 773-527-1164
(E) jennifer.grasz@careerbuilder.com