Asian Enterprise Honors Aquent CEO and Co-founder at its 8th Annual Awards Program

Boston, MA (June 3, 2002) - John Chuang, CEO and co-founder of Aquent, a global professional service firm that delivers Creative and IT solutions, was named "Asian Entrepreneur of the Year" by Asian Enterprise, the most widely-read magazine serving the needs of Asian Pacific Americans nationwide. In its eighth year, the "Celebrating Asian Entrepreneurs" awards program is the only competition-based program that recognizes exemplary Asian American entrepreneurs across the nation.

"The 'Asian Entrepreneur of the Year' is the only national awards program dedicated to recognizing and celebrating the achievements of Asian American entrepreneurs in North America," said Gelly Borromeo, editor of Asian Enterprise. "We're pleased to call attention to this growing segment of entrepreneurs and address important issues that impact the Asian Pacific American business community." On a monthly basis, Asian Enterprise magazine focuses on issues relating to legislative and fiscal policies, Women & Minority Business Enterprise procedures, and procurement and business opportunities available to Asian Pacific American entrepreneurs.

Each nominated candidate was required to submit an extensive narrative based on his or her company's accomplishments. The judging criteria included: the company's growth history, obstacles the candidate overcame, the company's financial standing relative to similar businesses, community activities related to entrepreneurship and mentoring, awards the candidate has received, jobs created, and the all-important client references. Aquent received top honors for the High Technology category. Other categories for the "Asian Entrepreneur of the Year" award include Hospitality, Manufacturing, Retail, and companies with less than 50 employees.

Chuang and his partners, Steve Kapner and Mia Wenjen, founded Aquent (then MacTemps) as a desktop publishing business in a Harvard dorm room. The company rapidly evolved into the first agency specializing in Macintosh-skilled temporaries, which led to a host of innovations. Aquent pioneered the concept of real-world (versus simulated) skill assessments. It was the first company to provide its temps with comprehensive health and retirement benefits and the first to back its work with a 110% money-back guarantee. Many unique business services were launched over the years, all of which were united in 1999 under the name Aquent, which means "not a follower."

In December 2001, at a time when many companies were coping with the harsh realities of a soft economy and lagging IT industry, Aquent more than doubled its size by joining forces with Renaissance Worldwide, an information technology consulting firm. The acquisition not only made the company the premier resource for creative and technical staff and solutions, but it also made it one of the largest minority-owned staffing companies in North America.

Aquent has placed over 200,000 talent at client companies since its inception in 1987. It places approximately 3,000 talent on assignment every week and maintains a talent base of nearly 16,000 professionals worldwide. The company is certified by the New England Minority Supplier Development Council and the Women & Minority Business Enterprise.

Aquent (aquent.com) is a privately held professional services company with nearly 70 offices in 15 countries. Aquent focuses on IT and Creative Services, and provides a wide range of consulting, outsourcing, and staffing solutions for Global 1000 companies. Aquent was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Boston, MA.