People & Positions:

SPSS Inc Names Kristin Nietz vice president of R&D

SPSS Inc, a worldwide provider of analytical technology, announces the promotion of Kristin Nietz to vice president of research and development. In this position, Nietz is responsible for all aspects of the software development process. Based at SPSS headquarters in Chicago, she leads a team of approximately 80 professionals located in the United States and United Kingdom.

Prior to this promotion, Nietz served as a senior director of research and development. She joined SPSS as a result of the Feb. 2001 acquisition of ShowCase Corp. Nietz joined ShowCase in 1997 as a technical writer and later moved into project management, which was followed by management-level positions in the company's product development group. She led the development of key additions to the ShowCase product line, including end-user query and reporting tools, OLAP products and financial analysis solutions.

"Kristin brings both technical knowledge and innovative vision to this position," said Jon Otterstatter, SPSS executive vice president and chief technology officer. "She was an instrumental part of the ShowCase development team and has already contributed a great deal to SPSS. I am delighted to have her take on a more expansive role in our development organization. Her experience and leadership will enable SPSS to continue to deliver high-quality, industry-leading analytical technology that meets our customers' needs."

Before joining ShowCase, Nietz served as a senior technical writer at West Group, a division of the Thomson Corporation. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and psychology from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minn.

About SPSS Inc

SPSS Inc, headquartered in Chicago, IL, USA, is a worldwide provider of analytical technology for business, government and higher education. The company's solutions and products enable customers to make better decisions by learning from the past, understanding the present and anticipating the future. With this insight, organizations gain a true competitive advantage: the ability to manage the future. SPSS analytical technology is brought to the market through five divisions: CustomerCentric Solutions (for integrated analytical CRM solutions); SPSS BI (for data mining and statistical products and services used to solve business problems); ShowCase (for analytical products operating on IBM iSeries/AS400 platform); SPSS MR (for analytical solutions in the market research industry); and SPSS Enabling Technologies (for integration of SPSS technologies in third party solutions through strategic partnerships). For more information, visit www.spss.com.

Contact SPSS Inc, Nicole Junas, 800-525-4980, njunas@spss.com.