Trying to ward off possible management problems plaguing other listed companies, chinadotcom Corporation today announced the appointment of John Clough as an Independent Director of the board of chinadotcom Corporation and a member of the company's audit committee. Clough currently is the Non-Executive Chairman of the Board of Praxa Limited, an Australian IT outsourcing and professional services organization and a wholly owned subsidiary which was acquired by chinadotcom in February this year.

Dr. Raymond Ch'ien, Executive Chairman of chinadotcom, said, "John has been serving the board of Praxa for six months. During this period, he provided strategic guidance to the management to accomplish the various business goals including diversifying the customer base, building the long-term sales pipeline, improving the overall cost structure and developing synergies within the chinadotcom group companies. We believe John's deep experience in operating software companies internationally, provides value to the board at the corporate level of chinadotcom."

The nominating committee of the Board of chinadotcom has laid out several criteria for potential new directors, including experience in the IT industry, deep knowledge of the Asia Pacific region, strong contacts within the greater China region in the IT software and outsourcing sectors, qualified finance and accounting experience, and familiarity with prevailing regulations across various financial jurisdictions.