NOVO 1 Elects Two Healthcare Industry Board Members

Marianne Udow-Phillips, Leslie Viegas Bring Expertise, Insight from Blue Cross; University of Michigan Healthcare

FORT WORTH, TX (March 23, 2010) – NOVO 1, Inc., a leading provider of customer contact center solutions, announces the election of Marianne Udow-Phillips and Leslie A. Viegas, both respected leaders in the healthcare industry, to the company’s operating board of directors.

Marianne Udow-Phillips is director of the Center for Healthcare Research & Transformation, a nonprofit partnership of the University of Michigan and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM) with the mission to promote evidence-based care delivery, improve population health, and expand access to care. Previously, she was appointed as director of Michigan’s Department of Human Services by Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, serving from 2004 to 2007.

Before her appointment by Michigan’s Governor, Udow-Phillips served in a succession of leadership roles in a twenty-year career at BCBSM, most recently as senior vice president of health care products and provider services. She also served as senior vice president and vice president of plans and operations for Mercy Alternative and Care Choices.

Leslie A. Viegas brings to Novo 1 extensive business and industry experience earned in an exemplary 37-year career in health insurance, property and casualty insurance, auto travel services, technology and management consulting. Most recently, until his retirement in 2008, Viegas was executive vice president of operations at BCBSM, where he served in a succession of positions of increasing responsibility during seventeen years with this $24 billion health care insurance company that insures over 4.3 million people in Michigan. His responsibilities included operations, automotive and national business, federal business, marketing/product development, business intelligence and information technology.

Prior to joining BCBSM, Viegas was a Vice President with AAA Michigan in Dearborn from 1984-1990, where his responsibilities included customer servicing, information technology, emergency road service and insurance processing. In addition, he was the Corporate Secretary of the organization. Before that, he was a partner in the management consulting division at Arthur Young & Co., in Detroit

NOVO 1, a leading provider of inbound and outbound customer interaction solutions to clients in several industries., is a portfolio company in the Michigan Opportunities Fund, managed by Birmingham, Mich.-based Glencoe Capital. With revenues of $43 million in 2008, the company ranked as the 25th-largest inbound services provider in the domestic US in 2008, according to Customer Inter@ction Solutions magazine.

“Leslie Viegas and Marianne Udow-Phillips each bring unparalleled industry experience as well as deep operational expertise to NOVO 1,” said David Evans, Chairman of the Michigan-focused investment fund. “All of us at the Michigan Opportunities Fund as well as the management team welcome Mr. Viegas and Ms. Udow-Phillips’s participation in guiding NOVO 1’s future growth.”

“We are thrilled to have both Marianne and Leslie join NOVO 1’s board of directors,” said Mary Murcott, CEO, NOVO 1. “The healthcare industry is a key focus for us and their diversified knowledge and hands-on insight will be of tremendous value to us as we navigate this market.”

ABOUT NOVO 1
Since 1987, Fort Worth-based NOVO 1, www.novo1.com, has dedicated itself to tailoring contact center solutions to support clients’ business goals in building customer relationships and growing their brands. The company delivers adaptable solutions implemented with proven processes and people for industries, such as healthcare, financial, retail, and logistics. Whether it’s a healthcare service, B2B logistics dispatch, or a retail customer retention program, NOVO 1 provides a scalable, safe, and seamless extension to any business.

ABOUT Glencoe Capital
Founded in 1993, Glencoe Capital is a private equity firm focused on lead-sponsored acquisitions and growth equity investments in lower middle-market companies. Glencoe Capital and its affiliates manage a number of private equity funds, including the Michigan Opportunities Fund and Glencoe Capital Partners III, L.P. The firm has over $1 billion under management.

Glencoe Capital Michigan Opportunities Fund Acquires NOVO 1

Acquisition Reflects NOVO 1’s Fast Business Growth; Commitment to Customer Care and Contact Center Expansion

FORT WORTH, TX (March 9, 2010) — NOVO 1, a leading provider of customer contact solutions, has been acquired by Glencoe Capital’s Michigan Opportunities Fund. The fund, managed by Glencoe Capital, a private equity firm focused on lead-sponsored acquisitions and growth equity investments in lower middle-market companies, focuses on such businesses that have the prospect to expand business operations in the state of Michigan or are actually located there. NOVO 1 plans to open a customer care and contact center in western Michigan this year that will employ more than 300 personnel.

The Michigan Opportunities Fund acquired NOVO 1’s inbound telephone customer service business and certain other assets of the company. With revenues of $43 million, NOVO 1 currently has six contact centers throughout the US, including Texas, Montana, and Wisconsin, with its new headquarters located in Fort Worth, TX. The company has more than 400 corporate clients and employs more than 1,100 customer-care specialists for diversified industries that range from healthcare to retail.

“Our investment in NOVO 1 continues the Michigan Opportunities Fund’s strategy to invest in growing companies that can generate attractive returns to our investors, while promoting business growth and fostering job creation that together help improve the economic vitality of the State of Michigan,” said David S. Evans, Chairman and Chief Investment Officer, Glencoe Capital.

Jason Duzan, Managing Director, Glencoe Capital’s Michigan Opportunities Fund, stated, “With NOVO 1, Glencoe Capital is supporting a growing business that has a solid operating platform, a management team that averages 15 years with the company, and a history of success.”

Formed in 2000, the company will continue to operate under the NOVO 1 brand name and will be managed by its current management team.

“NOVO 1 is on an exciting and targeted course to multiply its growth in the next several years,” said Mary Murcott, CEO, NOVO 1. “As Glencoe understands our core business and is highly successful in its market reach, we will be poised with their support to leverage opportunities that will allow us to expand regionally and nationwide.”

ABOUT NOVO 1
Since 1987, Fort Worth-based NOVO 1, www.novo1.com, has dedicated itself to tailoring contact center solutions to support clients’ business goals in building customer relationships and growing their brands. The company delivers adaptable solutions implemented with proven processes and people for industries, such as healthcare, financial, retail, and logistics. Whether it’s a healthcare service, B2B logistics dispatch, or a retail customer retention program, NOVO 1 provides a scalable, safe, and seamless extension to any business.