Rackspace Hosting, a leading global provider of hosted IT services, today announced the company has expanded its leadership team, naming Bruce Knooihuizen as chief financial officer.

Former Telecommunications Executive Brings Experience and Insight to the Home of Fanatical Support

SAN ANTONIO – Mar. 31, 2008 – Rackspace®, a leading global provider of hosted IT services, today announced the company has expanded its leadership team, naming Bruce Knooihuizen as chief financial officer. Knooihuizen joins Rackspace after 11 years with Dobson Communications Corporations in Oklahoma City where he was the executive vice president and CFO of the $1.4 billion rural and suburban wireless company. In his new role at Rackspace, Knooihuizen will be responsible for all of the company’s financial and accounting functions, including investor relations.

“Bruce brings to Rackspace a proven track record of growing a company. Over his 11 years at Dobson, Bruce oversaw growth from a $34 million company to the $1.4 billion company they are today,” said Lanham Napier, president and CEO, Rackspace. “This previous financial management experience really aligns with what we’re trying to do here at Rackspace. We’ll rely heavily on Bruce to build our finance team and hone our business model as Rackspace grows. Most importantly, Bruce is a real Racker who believes in our core values and recognizes that Fanatical Support® sets us apart from our competitors.”

“Rackspace recently changed its corporate identity with a brand re-launch and strategy shift into IT Hosting. Our mission of becoming one of the world’s greatest service companies remains the same, and with the shift from servers to hosted IT services, it’s more prevalent than ever,” said Knooihuizen. “As Rackspace makes a name for itself in the IT Hosting market, its success will be driven by a solid business model, a capable leadership team and more than two thousand ‘Rackers’ worldwide delivering Fanatical Support to customers each day. My goal will be to maximize our resources by integrating financial objectives seamlessly within each organization. In doing so, we can fully understand the core operation of each department and help them all succeed.”

Bruce has been in the telecommunications business his entire career. After earning his Bachelor’s degree in Finance from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and an MBA in Finance from the University of Cincinnati, he began his career with The Ohio Bell Telephone Company in 1980. After eight years he moved to Ameritech Applied Technologies in Chicago as Director of Accounting Operations, then to Ameritech Cellular as Controller and Treasurer. In 1994 he joined in with other executives as part of a management buyout of Westlink Holdings Inc. in San Diego, a wireless provider where he served as CFO before moving to Dobson two years later.

About Rackspace
A recognized leader in the global IT marketplace, Rackspace® delivers a diverse suite of enterprise-class hosted IT services to businesses of all sizes. Customers choose Rackspace for its hosting specialization and expertise, backed by the company’s award-winning Fanatical Support®. By integrating the industry’s best technologies and delivering them as services, Rackspace serves as an extension of its customers’ IT departments. Because Rackspace removes the burden of infrastructure maintenance and management, customers can focus on their core business.  Rackspace’s portfolio of companies also includes the Mosso® (www.mosso.com) cloud computing platform and Mailtrust™ (www.mailtrust.com), a provider of business-class hosted email solutions. Rackspace is recognized as one of FORTUNE Magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work For, ranking number 32 on the 2008 list. For more information on Rackspace, please visit www.rackspace.com, or call 800-961-2888.

Related News