The Carlyle Group Announces the Expansion of Its US Venture Capital Team Andrew Cooper, Brooke Coburn and Mark Frantz Join Carlyle Venture Partners

Washington, DC - The Carlyle Group, a leading global private equity firm, today announced three additions to its US Venture Team in the Washington, DC Area. Andrew C. Cooper was named Managing Director, Brooke B. Coburn was named Principal, and Mark A. Frantz was named Vice President. They will be based in Carlyle's offices in Washington, DC, and Reston, VA. Prior to joining Carlyle, Mr. Cooper worked for seven years at Morgan Stanley Venture Partners where he focused on information technology, telecommunications and wireless investments. After his tenure at Morgan Stanley Ventures, Mr. Cooper was CFO and Vice President of Business Development and Channel Sales at Avesta Technologies, Inc., which was acquired by Visual Networks in May 2000. At Avesta, Mr. Cooper provided leadership in finance, operational and business development and sales. He was responsible for raising over $35 million in venture funds and later was instrumental in the sale of the company to Visual Networks for over $400 million. At Visual Networks, Mr. Cooper served as Vice President of Business Development. Mr. Cooper is a graduate of Duke University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Geology. “Andy Cooper brings a wealth of venture investing experience to our team” said Bob Grady, Managing Director and Global Head of Venture Capital at Carlyle, “and we are delighted that he will be coming to Carlyle, especially since his areas of investment expertise - telecom and technology - so closely mirror our investment focus.” Brooke Coburn brings over 7 years of experience in telecommunications and media investments to Carlyle Venture Partners and rejoins the firm from Greenbridge Capital where he was a Managing Director. From 1996 to 2000, Mr. Coburn was a Principal at Carlyle where he worked in the firm's telecommunications group. He has worked closely with Carlyle portfolio companies including Neptune Communications, Net2000 Communications, NorthPoint Communications, Core Location, Bredbandsbolaget AB and DigiPlex SA. Prior to joining Carlyle, he was with the Corporate Finance department of Salomon Brothers Inc., where he focused on strategic transactions and public and private market capital raisings for clients in the telecommunications and media industries. Mr. Coburn is an honors graduate of Princeton University. Mark Frantz joins Carlyle from Redleaf Ventures in Reston, VA, where he was a Senior Director. Prior to joining Redleaf, Mr. Frantz was a Senior Associate in technology and Internet banking at Deutsche Bank Alex Brown. Mr. Frantz also served as the Associate Director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs under President George H. W. Bush and as technology policy advisor to Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge. Mr. Frantz holds J.D. and M.B.A. degrees from the University of Pittsburgh and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Allegheny College.