For Immediate Release Contact: Barbara K. Laskin
December 10, 2003 Doug Stone
(651) 696-6203

VP Business Development of Netherlands based US Company Named to Macalester Board

St. Paul, Minn. - Brian Scott Berkopec, Vice President Business Development, VIA NET.WORKS, Inc., an Amsterdam headquartered US company, has been named to the Board of Trustees at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn. VIA NET.WORKS is a leading provider of business communication solutions to small and medium-sized enterprises in Europe and the United States and is quoted on the NASDAQ and Amsterdam exchanges (VNWI).

Reporting to the CEO, Berkopec manages the external expansion of VIA's global operations including M&A, partnership development, and other operations based initiatives. Previously, he was Managing Director of the Paris based French affiliate for three years.

Prior to working for VIA NET.WORKS Inc., Berkopec was associate director of strategy and development for the Chesapeake Corporation in both Richmond, Va. and Paris France, and also worked for Conwal Incorporated, Morgan Stanley and BancoSolidario S.A./Prodem in Bolivia, South America.

Berkopec received his B.A. cum laude from Macalester in 1991 with majors in international relations and political science. He received an M.S. in international trade and finance from Georgetown University's Graduate School of Foreign Service and attended Wharton School of Business Executive Education and HECUA-Higher Education Consortium of Urban Affairs in Ecuador and Puerto Rico.

He was elected to the Macalester Alumni Association Board of Directors in 1992. He is also a member of Macalester's Information Services Advisory Board.

Macalester College is a private liberal arts college with a full-time enrollment of 1,851 students. Macalester is nationally recognized for its commitment to academic excellence, internationalism, diversity and service to society.

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