Sega.com announced today that it has hired Lynn MacConnell as the new CTO for the launch of its upcoming online-gaming ISP, SegaNet. During her previous involvement with Sega.com, MacConnell oversaw a staff of 55 engineers and managers on the initial stages of the SegaNet project. As the new CTO, she reports directly to Brad Huang, president and CEO of Sega.com.

　　"Lynn brings the combination of technical know-how and management experience needed to build the most advanced service, hence attracting the most comprehensive audience," Huang said. "Online gaming has been frequently cited as the top Internet activity among our target audience, but has been limited to the PC until now. We have an audience that is ready and eager for this new online gaming experience, and we are the only company with the pieces and the people in place to bring it to the consumer today."

　　MacConnell welcomes the challenge of managing 115 technical staff members at Sega.com, saying, "It is an exciting time to be joining the video game industry. [Sega] has been such a large contributor to the Internet community and I want to be part of enabling the next wave of consumers to get online and take their games to the next level. And SegaNet is the only ISP poised to do that today for both console and PC players."

　　Formerly a consultant for the official Sega web site, MacConnell brings 17 years of experience with IT/IS departments, web development, customer service centers, and the implementation of distributed systems for companies including Silicon Valley Bank, TIBCO Software, and Silicon Energy.

　　Commenting on the SegaNet service, Heather Hawkins, a PR representative at Sega of America, told GameSpot that the purpose of SegaNet "is to guarantee the lowest latency for a gaming ISP [and] to get players into gaming nodes as quickly as possible." MacConnell will be entrusted with ensuring that those goals are safely met before the launch of SegaNet in September.