Atlantic.Net

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (4/3/03) – Atlantic.Net President and CEO Manoj “Marty” Puranik was named a finalist today in the Best Executive category of the first-ever American Business Awards. Other Best Executive honorees include leaders of IBM, Ask Jeeves, Nextel Communications and Black Entertainment Television.

Hailed as “the business world’s own Oscars” by the New York Post (September 22, 2002), The American Business Awards are the first national, all-encompassing business awards program honoring great performances in the workplace.

“I am honored to be included among the distinguished business leaders named as finalists for this award,” Puranik said. “Their stories inspire me and their achievements challenge me every day. I want to thank the American Business Awards for celebrating all that is positive and promising in companies across our country.”

Puranik co-founded Atlantic.Net (http://www.atlantic.net) in 1994 while he was a student at the University of Florida. Today, the company provides high-speed Internet access, Web services, telecommunications and dial-up to business and residential customers across the Southeast. Atlantic.Net is Florida’s largest privately held Internet service provider and is one of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies.

“Individual awards never truly belong to an individual,” Puranik said. “I share this recognition with the entire Atlantic.Net team for their hard work and commitment, and for believing that together we can achieve great things. I am also grateful to the Atlantic.Net family of customers for their loyalty and for trusting us to keep them connected at home and at work. When I hear our customers talk about how the Internet has changed their lives, or how our business services are helping their employees work more efficiently, that’s when I really feel like Atlantic.Net is doing something special.”

Nicknamed the Stevies™ for the Greek word “crowned,” the awards will be presented at a nationally broadcast show on Wednesday, April 30, at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers in New York City. The ceremony will be hosted by Charles Osgood, host of CBS News Sunday Morning and commentator for the CBS Radio Network, and will be broadcast nationwide on radio, and worldwide via the Internet, by Business TalkRadio.

Members of the Awards' Board of Distinguished Judges & Advisors and their staffs will select Stevie winners from among the finalists. The Board includes business luminaries such as Rich Karlgaard, publisher of Forbes, Bruce Nelson, chairman & CEO of Office Depot, marketing gurus Don Peppers and Martha Rogers, Anthony Robbins, Chairman & CEO of The Anthony Robbins Companies, Drew Schutte, publisher of Wired Magazine, Jeffrey Tarr, chairman & CEO of Hoover’s Inc., and Donald Trump, chairman, president and CEO of The Trump Organization.

"We began The American Business Awards last year when the public perception of companies and business people was at a low point," said Stevie Awards president and founder Michael Gallagher. "Our goal was to create a showcase for the best of American business, where the people and companies who don't get enough recognition for their good work can be singled out and celebrated. We are so pleased that so many companies, large and small, participated in our first year and we look forward to honoring those who make American business the envy of the world."

About Atlantic.Net

Launched in 1994, Atlantic.Net is an Internet service provider offering high-speed Internet access, Web services, telecommunications and dial-up. Atlantic.Net business services feature 24/7 network monitoring and connection to an optimized Cisco Powered Network — a designation reserved for the world's top 1 percent of ISPs. Atlantic.Net has been named to the Inc 500 list of the nation's fastest-growing private companies for three consecutive years. During the past nine years Atlantic.Net has acquired 13 Internet companies, has doubled or tripled revenues annually and has remained profitable every year since inception. Atlantic.Net’s staff has grown to nearly 100 employees who regularly participate in the Alachua County Guardian ad Litem drive to provide toys for needy children at Christmas and in local United Way, American Cancer Society and March of Dimes charity events. Atlantic.Net is headquartered in Gainesville, Fla. with an office and tier-one data center in Orlando.

About The American Business AwardsSM A celebration of great performances in the workplace, The American Business Awards are the first national, all-encompassing business awards program. Honoring companies of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Awards recognize outstanding leadership, innovation, perseverance, creativity, teamwork, and integrity through more than 40 categories. The first American Business Awards – nicknamed The SteviesTM from the Greek word for "crowned" - will be presented at an awards show in New York City on April 30. The program is overseen by a Board of Distinguished Judges & Advisors, which includes leading business executives, authors, and academics. Sponsors of the 2003 American Business Awards include Business TalkRadio, DHR International, Empire Media, Forbes, Hoover's Online, Inc. Magazine, Miller Heiman, Selling Power Magazine, and Wired Magazine.