Mel E. Bergstein
Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer

Interview conducted by:
Lynn Fosse
Senior Editor

CEOCFOinterviews.com
October 2003

DiamondCluster International (Nasdaq: DTPI) is a premier global management consulting firm that helps leading organizations develop and implement growth strategies, improve operations, and capitalize on technology. Mobilizing multidisciplinary teams from their highly skilled strategy, technology, and operations professionals worldwide, DiamondCluster works collaboratively with clients, unleashing the power within their own organizations to achieve sustainable business advantage. DiamondCluster is headquartered in Chicago, with offices across Europe and South America. The Company’s industry focus is Financial Services, Healthcare, Insurance, Retail and Distribution, Public Sector and Telecommunications. “We think the trend toward outsourcing and off shoring, are all extremely helpful for our business, because we help management teams decide what to do, what the value is and how to extract that value.” Offers Mel E. Bergstein, Chairman and CEO of DiamondCluster International. “For us, these kinds of opportunities for our clients represent opportunities for us.” Reflecting on current trends, Mr. Bergstein tells us, “We are seeing a sharp pick up in demand. Most observers believe that because we are a company that works with large companies, and we work at seniors levels and our work has a high planning component in it, most observers would think that we are early in the cycle. I think that as we see the sharp shift in demand, my sense is that it is good news for the technology industry in general. It certainly is an indication that the economy is picking up and businesses are beginning to think about spending again.” Asked how DiamondCluster International markets its services to potential clients, Mr. Bergstein responds, “Our services are marketed generally by word-of-mouth from our clients. Our partners are the ones that develop contacts and who help prospects understand what our capabilities are and how we might help them. We run a series of seminars three times a year. We help people understand what the opportunities are and what the value is. We don’t advertise and we don’t have a sales force, our view is that it is not required.” Addressing potential investors, Mr. Bergstein says, “I think from an investors standpoint, we believe this is an attractive business. There is very good profitability of 18-20% operating margins. It has extraordinary cash flow because there is very little cap-ex in this business. It is not a business that is lumping within quarters; in other words, it is not like a software business that the majority of sales happen within the last couple of weeks of the quarter. We see the revenue throughout the quarter. The down side, is that this is a cyclical business, but as we come out of the down cycle, we are seeing good growth and profitability as we go forward.”

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