DHS Accelerates Small Business Participation Through Unique Mentor-Protege Program

MCLEAN, Va., May 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- BearingPoint, Inc. , one of the world's largest business consulting and systems integration firms, and the Chesapeake Innovation Center (CIC), America's first business accelerator for the homeland and national security sectors, today announced their joint commitment to the Department of Homeland Security Mentor-Protege Program. Through its relationship with the CIC, BearingPoint has developed an innovative solution to meet DHS' small business objectives and has been able to bring more than a dozen companies into the DHS Mentor- Protege Program at once, speeding the development of important new security technologies.

"We created the DHS Mentor-Protege Program to improve the performance of DHS contracts and subcontracts, foster the establishment of long-term business relationships between DHS, large prime contractors and small business subcontractors, and strengthen subcontracting opportunities and accomplishments at DHS," said Kevin Boshears, Director of the DHS Mentor- Protege Program. "BearingPoint has found a way to employ this program in a new and powerful way."

The CIC and its member technology companies will benefit from BearingPoint's focused business services such as opportunity identification, qualification, and selection; networking; sales assistance; and market intelligence. This program will allow BearingPoint and the CIC to shape an innovative framework for national resilience beyond the traditional boundaries of security and protection concepts. Experience has shown that entrepreneurs are most likely to develop the solutions to help critical infrastructure and national assets withstand and recover from disaster. BearingPoint and the CIC can effectively harness the power of entrepreneurship, and foster and expose innovative solutions to the homeland security market place.

BearingPoint's knowledge of the security issues facing its public and private sector clients -- plus its strong presence in the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies -- uniquely positions the company to help drive innovative CIC technologies to the market place and help CIC companies obtain and effectively perform contracts.

BearingPoint's Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) practice is dedicated to assuring the people, processes, systems and facilities of private sector companies, deploying cutting edge technology to help ensure clients' business continuity while maintaining clients' profitability and shareholder value. The CIP practice focuses on issues involving: homeland security legal and regulatory compliance; cyber security and classic physical and operational security; and education and awareness.

"BearingPoint's leadership position with the CIC allows us to constantly discover new talent, technologies and processes that address corporate and government homeland security challenges," said Mark Gembicki, National Managing Director for Critical Infrastructure Protection with BearingPoint's homeland security practice. "On a national level, we can help position emerging companies to provide new solutions to America's most pressing homeland security needs and assist the CIC in meeting its objectives."

"Mark Gembicki and the BearingPoint CIP team provide the CIC and our emerging member companies with invaluable guidance on the evolving security requirements associated with America's critical infrastructures," said John Elstner, CEO of the CIC. "This unique opportunity very effectively extends the CIC business acceleration model for exposing innovation from the venture community to the homeland security market."

About BearingPoint, Inc.

BearingPoint, Inc. is one of the world's largest business consulting, systems integration and managed services firms serving government agencies, Global 2000 companies, medium-sized businesses, and other organizations. We provide business and technology strategy, systems design, architecture, applications implementation, network infrastructure, systems integration and managed services. Our service offerings are designed to help our clients generate revenue, reduce costs and access the information necessary to operate their business on a timely basis. Based in McLean, Va., BearingPoint has been named by Fortune as one of America's Most Admired Companies in the computer and data services sector. For more information, visit the Company's website at http://www.bearingpoint.com/.

About The Chesapeake Innovation Center (CIC)

The CIC, America's first business accelerator for the homeland and national security sectors, is a bridge between major users of technology and small companies at the forefront of innovation. A public-private partnership initiated by the Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation, the Center serves more than a dozen emerging technology companies. Its partners include BearingPoint, Inc., Northrop Grumman, Next Century Group and the National Security Agency. Among the Center's sponsors are DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary US LLP, American Express Tax and Business Services, Kelly FedSecure, and Whiteford Taylor and Preston.

For more information, visit the Center's website at http://www.cic-tech.org/.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements, the accuracy of which is necessarily subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions as to future events that may not prove to be accurate. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied include general economic conditions and the factors discussed in Exhibit 99.1 in our Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2004 and our Form 8-Ks filed as of December 16, 2004, March 18, 2005 and April 20, 2005. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.