The New Rules of PR: How to use press releases to reach buyers directly

The Web has changed the rules for PR and IR professionals who want to reach buyers and investors. With the ability of millions consumers around the world to read press releases directly on Web sites like Google News, Yahoo! News, through financial trading systems like Reuters and Bloomberg, and via vertical market sites and search engines, communicators must fundamentally alter the way they write and distribute their press releases. That's not to say that having mainstream media write about your organization isn't important. It is. But financial wire services, newspapers, magazines, radio, and TV are now icing. To take advantage of the cake, focused organizations leverage the power of PR 2.0 via press releases to distribute ideas directly to the market. This OpenChannel event will demonstrate how savvy communications professionals develop a direct-to-consumer PR – and IR – strategy. Buyers and investors read content directly and companies need to be talking their language. The primary audience for PR, IR and marketing messages is no longer just a handful of journalists; it is millions of people with Internet connections and access to search engines and RSS readers.

About the expert

David Meerman Scott is a writer, consultant, conference speaker, and seminar leader. David's latest book Cashing In With Content: How Innovative Marketers Use Digital Information to Turn Browsers Into Buyers is a riff on using Web content to drive revenue and other action from Web site visitors. In his consulting work, David specializes in using online content to market and sell products and services to demanding customers worldwide. As an award winning marketer, writer and communicator, Scott has developed online marketing programs responsible for selling well over one billion dollars of products and services. He has lived and worked in New York, Tokyo, Boston, and Hong Kong and has presented at industry conferences and events in over twenty countries on four continents.

Scott is a contributing editor for Econtent Magazine, where his column, After Thought, explores Web marketing issues. David's writing has appeared in diverse publications including CMOMagazine.com, Product Marketing Magazine, MarketingProfs.com, BusinessWeek, Competitive Intelligence Magazine, North American Review and many others. He is also an instructor for the Pragmatic Marketing Effective Marketing Programs× seminar. The two-day seminar explores the outbound marketing roles, priorities and processes that characterize market-driven technology companies.

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The NASDAQ Stock Market and Morrison & Foerster LLP cordially invite you to attend
this executive forum broadcasted live from New York City:

Topics of discussion:

• Have the WorldCom and Enron settlements changed the legal landscape for Directors
  
• Critical considerations for your D&O coverage and indemnification
  
• Using good corporate governance to reduce your personal risk
  
• Reducing litigation risk
  

Who should attend:

• Corporate Officers
  
• Board Members
• Corporate Secretaries

General Counsel Presenters:

• Moderator: Jack C. Auspitz, Partner, Morrison & Foerster LLP
  
• Matthew M. D'Amore, Partner, Morrison & Foerster LLP
  
• William D. Sherman, Partner, Morrison & Foerster LLP
  
• Ariana J. Tadler, Partner, Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman LLP
  
• Paul Rauner, Vice President & General Counsel Nasdaq Insurance Agency
  
• Roger W. Raber, President and CEO, National Association of Corporate Directors
  

Hosted by: Morrison & Foerster LLP
Morrison & Foerster LLP has been certified by the New York State Continuing Legal Education Board as an Accredited Provider of continuing legal education in the State of New York [8/20/2004 - 8/19/2007]. This continuing legal education course has been approved in accordance with the requirements of the Continuing Legal Education Board for a maximum of 1.5 credit hours.

NYSSA and the CFA Centre for Financial Market Integrity have assembled top investors, academics, and corporate governance experts to assess what progress has been made, and what remains to be done.

Peter G. Peterson is Senior Chairman and Co-Founder of The Blackstone Group.

He is Chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations, founding Chairman of the Institute for International Economics (Washington, D.C.) and founding President of The Concord Coalition.

Mr. Peterson was the Co-Chair of The Conference Board Commission on Public Trust and Private Enterprises (Co-Chaired by John Snow, currently Secretary of the Treasury). He was also Chairman of the Federal Reserve

Mr. Peterson is the author of several books, including Running On Empty: How the Democratic and Republican Parties are Bankrupting Our Future and What Americans Can Do About It; Gray Dawn: How the Coming Age Wave Will Transform America and the World; Will America Grow Up Before It Grows Old; and Facing Up: How to Rescue the Economy from Crushing Debt and Restore the American Dream.

He has been awarded honorary PhD degrees by Colgate University, Georgetown University, George Washington University, Northwestern University, New School University, the University of Rochester, and Southampton College of Long Island University.

The change in accounting rules from historical cost to fair value effective January 2005 creates challenges and opportunities for companies who must comply and for analysts, lenders and investors who rely on relevant and comparable information for the assessment and valuation of those companies.

For the investment community, IFRS will create greater transparency by providing a more realistic picture of profits & losses and allow direct cross-border comparisons of financial statements. This will enable more accurate benchmarking of peers within industries. For companies it will facilitate M&A activity and access to international capital markets.

But the practical challenges of compliance can vary greatly between industries and individual companies - such as those in insurance and banking who experience a loss in equity from the balance sheet or those with greater M&A activity and smaller firms who may not have the in-house expertise required to establish valuation techniques and systems for monitoring the value of intangible assets and goodwill.

While improving transparency, fair value reporting will increase volatility on the income statement, balance sheet and in reported earnings, placing even greater importance on the need for clear and effective communications to the market.

• How will companies reconcile performance measures and internal reporting that is based on a different framework than external financial communications under IFRS?
• What are the challenges for Investor Relations Officers in communicating the business impact (such as redefined compensation schemes) and earnings impact under the new IFRS accounting treatments?
• Will business experts now require a role in the financial reporting process?
• Is there a competitive advantage for peers outside the regime or will fair value improve confidence in the numbers and enhance investor trust under IFRS?

These and other questions will be discussed by a distinguished panel who will also assess the road ahead in terms of current proposals for further convergence of international accounting and reporting standards.

Moderator

Annegien Blokpoel - Event Director
Annegien Blokpoel is managing partner of the financial communications consultancy Capital Positioning Group. She acquired her extensive experience in Investor Relations, Strategic Communications and Structured Finance at Buhrmann, Price Waterhouse Coopers, Fortis and Mees Pierson where she was involved with capital market transactions, IPO's, structured finance and Investor Relations strategy and implementation. She is a board member of NVCB, NEVIR and IIRF.

Panelists

Jos A. Nijhuis RA - Chairman of the Management Board (CEO), PwC Netherlands
Jos Nijhuis was born in 1957, and studied in the Netherlands. After his study Jos joined PwC in 1980, he has acted in different disciplines and business units within PwC.

1987; trainee in the Mergers & Acquisitions department of PwC in New York
1989; General practice partner
1995-1998; Partner in charge of the Dutch Due Diligence and Corporate Recovery unit.
1997-1999; Business Unit Leader, International audit division Amsterdam.
1998; Managing Partner, Corporate Finance & Recovery division
2001; Vice Chairman of the Management Board, PricewaterhouseCoopers, the Netherlands
2002; Chairman of the Management Board (CEO), PricewaterhouseCoopers, the Netherlands and Member of the Board of PricewaterhouseCoopers Continental Europe

He is also a member of the Commissie Code Goed Bestuur Goede Doelen and a member of the board of Common Purpose and Amsterdam Partners.


Dick van der Kroft - CFO : Heijmans
Dick van der Kroft is CFO of Heijmans. Heijmans is the number three Dutch construction and project development company, with annual sales of approx. € 2.6 billion and 10.000 employees. Shares of Heijmans are listed at Euronext Amsterdam ever since 1993. Since than Heijmans was twice awarded the Sijthoff price for its annual report.

Dick van der Kroft was previously employed by accountants firm KPMG, Asea Brown Boveri and Royal Volker Wessels Stevin. With the latter he was Director Finance.

He studied Business Economics at Erasmus University of Rotterdam and finished a postgraduate in Information Technology at the University of Tilburg. From Washington University of Saint Louis USA he got a masters degree in Information management.


Corné van Zeijl - Senior Portfolio Manager for SNS Asset Management
Corné van Zeijl is senior portfolio manager for SNS Asset Management, responsible for the Dutch equity portfolio of around € 0,6 billion.

From 1994 to 2003 he was head of investments at Zurich Life Netherlands. He started his career working for Staal Bankiers in 1986 as an analyst and from 1989 onwards for Robeco Effectenbank.

Corné is columnist for IEX.NL, VEB Effect, Cash, Haagsche Courant and several SNS publications, gives several courses on investments and gives his investment opinion on a regular basis for radio and t.v. He is also the author of the book `Centen & Sentiment` which has behavioural finance as a subject.

Panelists:

Andrew Bor, Perkins Coie LLP

Dave Copenhafer, Bowne

John Truzzolino, Bowne

Moderator: Stephen Schultz, Shareholder.com

Who Should Attend:
Practicing securities lawyers, General Counsels, CFO?s, CPS?s, IRO?s, Controllers, Managers of Financial Reporting, Corporate Secretaries and others.

Overview: The SEC?s recently-adopted changes to Form 8-K scheduled to take effect on August 23, 2004, will dramatically impact the compliance and disclosure programs of most corporate issuers.  The new rules completely alter the structure of the 8-K as well as the timing for compliance.  The new 8-K adds 8 new items, transfers two disclosure obligations from the 10-K or 10-Q, and accelerates the filing deadline for many items from 15 days to 4.  The new 8-K is a major compliance event intended to be responsive to Section 409 of Sarbanes-Oxley that calls for ?real-time? disclosure of material changes to financial or operating conditions.

Issuers will almost certainly find it challenging to recognize and respond effectively to each and every ?triggering event? within the allotted compliance window.

This webcast will provide timely guidance and practical insights into some of the complexities, intricacies and scope of the SEC Form 8-K Rule changes, as well as helpful advice and filing solutions.

Join Shareholder.com for an informative discussion on the Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblower Hotline mandate. While this mandate is absolute and the compliance dates are upon us, guidance on how to implement and manage a whistleblower hotline is vaguely-worded and implementation is left to the company's interpretation.

What are the key elements that need consideration as you work through implementing this requirement?

The webcast will explore, from a legal perspective, the requirements in Sarbanes-Oxley Section 301 focusing on the current mandate to provide a whistleblower hotline capability.

Our panel of distinguished attorneys will wrestle with the risks and benefits of this legislation and provide recommendations for the retention and resolution of of hotline messages - all from a 360 degree perspective that addresses business law, litigation and extensive whistleblower experience.

After the discussion, their will be an online Q&A session.

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Moderator:

Stephen Schultz
Director of Governance Programs
Shareholder.com

Panelists:

Vasiliki B. Tsaganos
Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP

Vasiliki B. Tsaganos is a corporate partner resident in Fried Frank's Washington, DC office. She joined the firm in 1993 and became a partner in 1998. Ms. Tsaganos represents public and private companies in connection with a broad range of corporate transactions, including public offerings, mergers and acquisitions and private offering and equity transactions. She counsels clients on a wide variety of corporate and federal securities law matters, such as corporate governance, disclosure and securities law and stock exchange compliance. Ms. Tsaganos has co-authored numerous articles and spoken before many groups on various corporate and securities law issues. Ms. Tsaganos was the vice president, general counsel and assistant secretary of Fresh Fields Markets, Inc. from 1995 to 1996, rejoining Fried Frank in 1996. Ms. Tsaganos received her JD in 1990 from Northwestern University School of Law and her BA, magna cum laude, in 1987 from the American University. She is admitted to the bar in the District of Columbia and Illinois.


Donn C. Meindertsma
Winston & Strawn, LLP
Donn Meindertsma, as partner in the firm's Washington, D.C. office, concentrates his practice in labor and employment counseling and litigation. He has represented clients before federal and state courts, the EEOC, OSHA, the NLRB, the U.S. Department of Labor, and other federal and local agencies.

Mr. Meindertsma has defended corporate clients in actions brought under the federal anti-discrimination laws such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as actions under the National Labor Relations Act and various state laws. He regularly advises clients on labor and employment law issues, including assisting clients in developing employment policies, planning and implementing workforce reductions, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, and negotiating executive contracts and separation agreements.

A substantial portion of Mr. Meindertsma's practice has been devoted to the defense of "whistleblower" retaliation claims. This practice has included defending employers against claims brought under state law, Section 211 of the Energy Reorganization Act, Section 11© of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and aviation and environmental whistleblower statutes. He has actively represented clients in governmental enforcement actions based on whistleblower allegations.

Mr. Meindertsma has been featured as a speaker on many labor and employment topics, including the employment law aspects of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, employee harassment, workplace violence, disabilities discrimination, management of employee concerns, the use of contingent labor, and other employment issues. He also has provided numerous training courses for clients and associations, including the American Management Association, on such topics as internal investigations, use of independent contractors, alternatives in workplace staffing, sexual harassment, employee concerns management, and the development of safety conscious work environments.

Mr. Meindertsma received a B.A. from Calvin College and a J.D. in 1987 from the University of Michigan Law School, where he was executive editor of the University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform.


Jonathan A. Shapiro
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP

Jonathan Shapiro is a senior partner in Hale and Dorr's Litigation Department, and a member of the firm's Corporate and Securities Litigation Group and Government Investigations and Litigation Group.

He represents companies and their officers and directors in securities and class action litigation, challenges to corporate transactions and governance, and other matters involving allegations of fraud and breach of fiduciary duty. Mr. Shapiro also represents and conducts internal investigations for companies subject to criminal investigation and enforcement action by federal and state government agencies.

Following law school, Mr. Shapiro clerked for The Honorable Joseph A. DiClerico, Jr., Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire. He is admitted to all courts in Massachusetts and the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire.

He is a member of the Boston and American Bar Associations. Mr. Shapiro received a J.D. degree, summa cum laude, from Boston College Law School, and a B.A. degree, with highest honors, in American studies from Brandeis University.

• What impact does corporate governance have as a valuation driver?
• How will implementation of these reforms build investor trust?
• Will these changes create greater appreciation from international investors?
• How can companies communicate their corporate governance initiatives to better position themselves vis a vis their peers?

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Moderator:
Peter van Zadelhoff, Commentator, BNR News Radio

Panelists:

Erik Breen, Head Corporate Governance, Robeco
Erik Breen is head of SRI (Socially Responsible Investing) and Corporate Governance. Erik is also manager of Robeco DuurzaamAandelen and a number of segregated accounts. He began his career with Robeco in 1996 as a junior portfolio manager with the equity group and in 1997 became a portfolio manager with the European Equities group. Erik holds a Master of Econometrics from the University of Groningen and earned an EFFAS CFA.

George Möller, COO Euronext, Member of the Tabaksblat Commission
Mr. Möller (56) is Chief Operating Officer, Euronext. He was appointed to this position and became a member of the Managing Board with the merger of Euronext in October 2000. Mr. Möller was President of the Federation of European Securities Exchanges (FESE) until the end of 2003. In January 1997 he became Chief Executive Officer (President) of Amsterdam Exchanges N.V. (AEX), a result of the merger between the Amsterdam Stock Exchange and the European Options Exchange. He joined the EOE-Options Exchange in 1996 as General Manager.

Prior to joining Euronext, Mr. Möller was Managing Director of Pierson ICS Limited, the Clearing Agent for Market Makers at the London options and futures market (LTOM and LIFFE). Under his leadership this company developed into one of the largest clearing firms in the UK market. After the merger with Bank Mees & Hope he became General Manager of MeesPierson in the United Kingdom (now Fortis) until he joined ICS in 1987. Mr. Möller served as corporate treasurer with The Deli Company until 1987.

Mr. Möller was born in Groningen and studied business economics at the State University of Groningen. He obtained his Master's degree in 1974 and started his career at the Amro Bank. Mr. Möller is a member of the Dutch Advisory Commission on Corporate Governance, headed by Morris Tabaksblat, former CEO of Unilever. This Committee issued its final report in December 2003.

Peter Wakkie, Chief Corporate Governance Counsel & Corporate Executive Board Member, Royal Ahold
Peter Wakkie, 55, is Chief Corporate Governance Counsel and Corporate Executive Board member with Royal Ahold. Prior to this appointment in October 2003, he was with the leading Dutch legal firm De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, which he joined in 1972 specializing in mergers and acquisitions and corporate litigation. Mr. Wakkie was Chairman of the firm from 1997 to 2001 and served as managing partner at their New York office from 1978 to 1982. He holds board positions at various organizations. Peter Wakkie received his law degree from the Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht in 1972..

Event Manager:

Annegien Blokpoel, Managing Director, Capital Positioning Group
Annegien Blokpoel is managing partner of the financial communications consultancy Capital Positioning Group. She acquired her extensive experience in Investor Relations, Strategic Communications and Structured Finance at Buhrmann, Price Waterhouse Coopers, Fortis and Mees Pierson where she was involved with capital market transactions, IPO's, structured finance and Investor Relations strategy and implementation. She is a board member of NVCB, NEVIR and IIRF

It?s looming, the Sarbanes-Oxley deadline mandating all public companies to provide a confidential and anonymous whistleblower hotline for employees to report financial issues. Although it is a requirement, how companies take full advantage of this capability may equate to tremendous financial and human resource cost savings.

o Will whistleblower hotlines make public companies as a whole more healthy?
o What are the implications of identifying potential fraud sooner rather than later?
o Will employees use these whistleblower hotlines?

All of these questions and more will be discussed by a distinguished panel of experts representing three key perspectives of this mandate: Regulatory, Employee, and Implementer. Join Shareholder.com as we uncover the hidden benefits and potential pitfalls of this imminent mandate.

GUESTS INCLUDE:

Harvey Pitt

Chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission from 2001 until 2003, Appointed by President George W. Bush as the 26th chairman of the SEC, Pitt led the Commission?s response to corporate and accounting crises. For nearly a quarter of a century before joining the SEC, Pitt was a senior partner in the international law firm, Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, representing Wall Street firms and the accounting industry.

He has been an adjunct law professor at Georgetown University Law Center, George Washington University Law School and the University of Pennsylvania School of Law, and also served in numerous positions with the SEC since 1973, starting as a staff attorney in the Commission's Office of General Counsel. Pitt is founder and chief executive officer of Kalorama Partners, LLC, a global business-consulting firm.

Lynn Brewer

Lynn Brewer is a former Enron executive and author of House of Cards: Confessions of an Enron Executive, a brutally hard-hitting, factual account of her career at Enron. In her nearly three years at Enron, she witnessed numerous instances of illegal and corrupt dealings, including bank fraud, espionage, power price manipulation and the gross overstatements to the press, public, and financial world. Currently Lynn Brewer is Chairman of the International Society of Ethics Examiners ? (ISEE). The ISEE ? is an international membership organization open to ethics professionals who share a common vision ? the development of a Uniform Certified Ethics Examination to examine the ethical environment of corporations to communicate real value and risk in capital markets.

She has also created the Foundation for Full Disclosure and Ethical Leadership, which will offer an annual award to companies that recognize sustainable shareholder value and growth can only be achieved through disclosure and ethical leadership.

David J. Kaufman, Partner, Duane Morris

David J. Kaufman practices in the area of corporate finance law with an emphasis in mergers and acquisitions and securities. Mr. Kaufman assists predominantly entrepreneurial clients in developing and implementing creative strategies to accomplish their corporate finance and acquisition objectives. He represents both issuers and underwriters in primary and secondary offerings of both equity and debt and also represents investors in their convertible security investments in public companies. He also regularly represents boards of directors, their committees and officers on their fiduciary duties and other obligations.

Mr. Kaufman is chair of the Strategic Communications Committee of the Business Law Section of the American Bar Association and is a member of The Chicago Bar Association. He served on the editorial board of the Michigan Journal of International Law and as editor-in-chief of the Michigan Journal of Political Science.

Mr. Kaufman is a 1990 graduate of the University of Michigan Law School and a graduate of the University of Michigan (M.P.P., 1986; B.A., 1985).

MODERATOR

Stephen Schultz, Director of Governance Programs, Shareholder.com

Steve directs Shareholder.com's initiatives in corporate governance and transparency offerings for clients. His first efforts have resulted in Shareholder Prism, a combination of investor communications services designed to enhance openness and disclosure in public companies. Steve has also authored published papers that urge companies to move beyond basic SEC compliance to embrace transparency, which raises investor trust and shareholder value, and has been quoted in leading publications like Forbes and Financial Times on new SEC regulations and their impact on public companies.

Steve previously was Vice President of Corporate and Marketing Communications at Manufacturers' Services Limited, where he was responsible for all corporate communications, including research, marketing and investor relations. He received a bachelor's degree from St. Lawrence University.

Steve has spoken on governance at conferences including events for the American Society of Corporate Secretaries (ASCS), the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI), Brown University and for Financial Executive International (FEI).

No single point of communications touches more investors than your website. It is a keystone element of investor relations today, and its? strategy and execution must accurately reflect who your company is and why your company can be trusted with shareholders dollars.





Panelists

Ellen M. Winkler
Project Director, Investor Relations, Prudential Financial, Inc.

Ellen is currently the Project Director for Prudential Financial's Investor Relations group. The group manages the company's relationship with Wall Street, specifically equity analysts and institutional investors. Ellen is responsible for IR communications and special projects including stock surveillance, analyst watch, competitive analysis, event planning and the interactive Web site, which she developed. She was a key contributor for road show planning, execution and communications for the company's $3 billion IPO in 2001.



Georgie Gould
Project Manager, Investor Relations, Unisys

With a 10-year background in corporate communications, Georgie joined Unisys Investor Relations in 1999 to improve and expand the "self-service" communications approach employed by the Investor Web site and other communications vehicles. She enjoys the challenge of leveraging technology to improve the flow and quality of information to both analysts and investors. Furthering that mission, she developed a series of internal executive IR sites that complete the communication loop and improve IR feedback to management. Georgie holds a degree in Sociology & Communications.



Monica Schrager
Senior Information Architect, Information Design and Analysis, Fry

For over four years in this role Monica has helped clients develop their site architecture and understand their user's online experience and needs in order to create Web sites, and interfaces, that work well for their intended audiences. She has actively accomplished this by leading information architecture and usability testing initiatives with clients such as Sara Lee, Godiva Chocolatier, GM OnStar's subscriber portal MyOnStar.com, Personal Creations, Irwin Industrial Tools and Spiegel. Prior to Fry, Monica served as a Multimedia Developer in the User Experience Design group of an international Human Resource Management Solution software provider. In this role Monica twice led the redesign of the company's web site and participated in the development of Computer Based Training and online help for the latest version of the software.



Lisa Rafferty
Senior Web Developer, Shareholder.com

Lisa joined the Shareholder.com team in July of 2000. She is responsible for building and maintaining client IR websites. Lisa received her B.S. in Management Information Systems from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.





Moderator

Eileen Kramer
Director of Web Development, Shareholder.com

Eileen manages Shareholder.com?s web development group, which creates corporate communications websites for the company?s WebCenter and IntraCenter clients. Her team ensures the quality and aesthetic value for all clients, customizing each site for the company?s requirements. Eileen directs a team of over 10 developers and a senior web designer, and has personally created sites for some of Shareholder.com?s largest clients, including Prudential, Merrill Lynch, NIKE and Hudson?s Bay. She has also spearheaded recent enhancements to the WebCenter and IntraCenter solutions, including earnings estimates and bilingual support.

Eileen was previously the webmaster at Interleaf and Thinking Machines, where she published and managed home pages, sales sites, intranets and extranets. She also has extensive experience at electronic publishing, and served on the editorial boards of several online publications. She has proofread technical journals for MIT and has edited books for many publishing houses, including Addison-Wesley, Microsoft Press, and Programmer?s Press. Eileen received two bachelor?s degrees from the University of Minnesota, and a certificate from Harvard?s Applied Sciences Program.

Many economists feel that mergers and acquisitions will accelerate during the second half of 2003 and into 2004. Unlike the peak of 1999, there is a new focus on corporate governance where companies and their law firms can no longer afford to simply choose an exchange agent without proper due diligence. Failure to review exchange agent services and ensure their compliance with government rules and regulations could open your company to costly shareholder suits and class action litigation. At the very least, you should be aware of perceived conflicts of interest. Your company can prevent such actions along with reducing exchange agent processing fees by asking several questions:



o Who is collecting the interest on my funds?
o Will I be able to design, and/or have input to the letter of transmittal?
o Can I purchase the surety bond?

Moderator:



John Regan, Principal, Registered Solutions



John Regan is the owner of Registered Solutions, Inc., which specializes in corporate actions and unclaimed property. He has been Vice President of ACS's Unclaimed Property Recovery & Reporting division as well as Vice President of EquiServe, where he developed post-merger processes.





Panelists:



Fran Wolf, Vice President, American Stock Transfer & Trust Company

Fran has been running Corporate Actions events at AST, The Bank of NY and EquiServe. His background brings a vast expertise to OpenChannel: BS, United States Military Academy, West Point, 1982; MBA, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, 1997; United States Army, 1982-1987; Bank of New York, VP, Credit Services and Securities Services Operations 1987-2000; Equiserve, Managing Director, Corporate Actions Services, 2000-2001; American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, VP, New Clients, 2001-present.





Don Beardsley, Vice President, The Colbent Corporation

Vice President of Operations for Colbent Corporation, responsible for day to day operations as well as system development. Has overseen projects involving some of the largest mergers of the past ten years including, BP/Amoco, Bank Boston/Fleet, Ford Motor Company recapitalization, Axa Financial, and hundreds of others. Has developed systems to handle any type of corporate action including multiple election tender offers, Dutch Auctions, Rights Offerings, stock/cash mergers, Redemptions, Partial Calls, Odd Lot buybacks and round-ups, as well as others. Has worked closely with DTCC to pilot programs to automate the flow of information between DTCC and exchange agents.

Don is a board member on the Security Industry Association's Corporate Actions Division, working closely on technology and STP related issues.

Contact:
Bradley Smith
bsmith@shareholder.com

Oh no! Not ANOTHER Sarbanes-Oxley webcast conference!!??



BUT WAIT! This one is different!

Instead of listening to opinion leaders, vendors, experts and critics... find out what your peers - investor relations practitioners - are actually doing for their companies in regard to communicate their governance to shareholders.

Topics include:



What was the first step?



Who is responsible for corporate governance within your company?



How important are examples of other company?s corporate governance ?best practices? to your communications strategy?



Moderator:
Steve Schultz, Director of Governance Programs, Shareholder.com



Panelists:

Paula C. Norton, Director ? Investor Relations, United Parcel Service
Paula joined UPS after the company went public in November 1999 to help structure its investor relations program. Prior to UPS, she was the Vice President - Corporate and Investor Relations at Terra Industries were she was the Corporate spokesperson and primary contact with investors and analysts - responsible for investor relations, media relations, employee communications, marketing communications, community relations, and corporate web site. Paula is a member, NIRI Senior Roundtable and active in the Atlanta NIRI chapter

Juna Rowland, Director Corporate and Investor Relations, JLG Industries


Director-Corporate and Investor Relations, joined JLG in 1999 with responsibility for developing and managing the Company?s communications and relationships with the investment community. Prior to joining JLG, Ms. Rowland held investor relations positions with industry leaders such as Petro-Lewis, a Colorado-based oil and gas company, and Countrywide Credit Industries, a California-based mortgage banker. In 1998, Ms. Rowland was also recognized as ?Investor Relations Professional of the Year? by Investor Relations Business magazine. With more than 20 years of broad-based experience in financial marketing, her career also included the formation of an investor relations consulting firm, FiMaC, in California in 1994. While in California she helped establish an investor relations certificate program and was a participating instructor at the University of California (Irvine) prior to moving to the east coast. Ms. Rowland is a member of the National Investor Relations Institute?s Senior Roundtable and active in the Capital Area chapter. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix and is pursuing a Masters of Science in Finance at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland.









Jeannine Sims, Senior Paralegal, Boise Cascade
Jeannie joined the corporate law section at Boise Cascade Corporation in August 1984. Currently a Senior Paralegal assisting Karen Gowland, vice president, corporate secretary, and associate general counsel, in corporate secretary/board activities, securities law, public finance, and various other areas. Previous to Boise Cascade, Jeannie worked for private law firms.

Contact:
Steve Schultz
978-461-3145

Summary:Tight budgets are a challenge for all investor relations professionals. Each year the decision on the type of annual report to produce is directly affected by budget constraints coupled with the desire to win an award for your report.

Should the final product be a wrapped 10K with a Chairman?s Letter, a Summary Annual Report, or a full Annual Report? What do the investors want to see? Will they think we are spending too much money? Will they think the company is in trouble if they see only a wrapped 10K? What will be the cost of the annual report and proxy and mailing? All of these haunting questions we have to answer in order to make the decision?

In this slower economy, the type of annual report is a difficult decision and can be the nightmare of the year. What if you can cut the cost by tens of thousands of dollars, print more copies than in previous years and still have an award winning annual report? Can this be possible to do?

Moderator:

Carol Tenley; Investor Relations Manager, StorageTek, Louisville, Colorado



Carol Tenley began her Investor Relations career at StorageTek in 1991. Prior to joining StorageTek, she was a Sales Representative at AT&T for small business customers. The University of Phoenix is the home of Carol?s BSBA; however, she also attended Syracuse University. Carol is a member of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of NIRI.



Panelists:

Rhoda Anderson; Founder and President, Rhoda Anderson Associates CEO, OnlineProxy.com

Rhoda Anderson heads Rhoda Anderson Associates, a corporate governance consulting firm based in Morristown, N.J. Anderson has extensive experience in corporate operations both as a corporate secretarial professional and as an advisor. She guided two major corporations to record shareholder voting levels, by leading multi-functional teams and implementing technology-based, cost-effective shareholder communications solutions. Anderson also heads OnlineProxy.com, a firm that specializes in publishing print documents (such as corporate proxy statements and annual reports) in easily-navigated internet-ready formats. OnlineProxy.com is knowledgeable in providing annual report and proxy formats that are compliant with SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) guidelines; the firm also has achieved a 100% on-time delivery performance for all clients. Anderson serves on New York Stock Exchange and American Society of Corporate Secretaries committees, and is the author of the ASCS?s annual ?Use of Technology in the Proxy Process? study. Contact: RAnderson@RhodaAnderson.com or 973 683-1484.

Peg McNicol, Program Manager, Investor Relations, Microsoft Corporation

Peg McNicol manages the online shareholder communications at Microsoft Corporation in Redmond, WA. This includes the award winning MSFT IR website and annual reports. A frequent presenter on web-based IR communications, she sits on the board of the Seattle NIRI Chapter and is a member of the National Speakers Bureau. Prior to Microsoft, Peg was the marketing communications manager at an internet security company. Peg has a BA in Communications Studies from the University of Calgary as well as a Diploma in Adult Education from Cambridge University.

Contact:
Carol Tenley
carol_tenley@stortek.com
(303) 673-4914

Summary:
Is the IR/PR convergence a power grab? More spin? Or a concerted effort to consistently communicate brand and serve stakeholders? Distinguished panelists will discuss their experiences, challenges and issues surrounding the integration of investor relations and public relations for a unified corporate message.

Moderator:

Carol Metzker, Contributing Editor for NIRI's IR Update, Organizational Learning Specialist.

Carol Metzker fosters knowledge sharing in geographically dstributed organizations to help them innovate and create business value. She is a contributing editor for NIRI's IR Update and her writings appear in other publications such as the American Financial Professionals' Pulse and the Journal of Organizational Change Management. She has a master's degree in organizational learning from George Mason University.

When she isn't facilitating conversations or hanging out with her pen and thesaurus, she is with her family--putting on her hiking boots and searching for a good hill.

Panelists:

• Dianne Douglas, Vice President, Investor Relations, Mattel, Inc.
  
  Dianne Douglas is vice president of Investor Relations for Mattel. She joined Mattel in March 2001 and is responsible for all communications between the company and the investor community.
  
  Prior to joining Mattel, Ms. Douglas was senior vice president of Investor Relations and a member of the management committee at Associates First Capital Corporation. Citigroup acquired The Associates in November 2000 for $27 billion. During her 17-year career with The Associates she served in a variety of planning, accounting and control positions prior to leading the investor relations program after the company's 1996 IPO.
  
  
  
  
• Don Eagon, Vice President, Global Communication and IR, Diebold, Inc.; Chairman, NIRI
  
  Donald E. Eagon, Jr. is vice president of global communication and investor relations of Diebold, Incorporated. He joined Diebold in 1990. During his tenure at Diebold, he formed an integrated communications group, which includes investor relations, corporate communication, internal communication, community relations, marketing communication, media communication, strategic design and brand integrity and documentation services.
  
  Prior to joining Diebold, Eagon's career included advertising, public relations and financial reporting assignments for 17 years at The Timken Company in Canton, Ohio. He was also vice president of public affairs and investor relations for six years at Figgie International Inc. in Cleveland.
  
  Eagon is a member of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI), serving on the National Board as Chairman as well as serving on the Board of the Cleveland Northern Ohio Chapter. He is also a member of the NIRI Voluntary Advisory Network and the Arthur W. Page Society. Eagon won the coveted Silver Anvil Award in Investor Relations from the Public Relations Society of America and he won a CIPRA award for technical excellence for dramatically changing shareholder mix and company image.
  
  
• Peter Hall, Director, Investor Relations, BP
  
  Peter Hall joined Shell-Mex and BP in the UK in 1970 as a sponsored student and graduated after a four year business course.
  
  After working in a number of strategic planning roles within BP in both the upstream and downstream businesses, he joined Investor Relations in 1991, and is now Director, with specific responsibilities for the UK, Continental Europe and Asia.
  
  Peter Hall is a board member and Fellow of the Investor Relations Society (FIRS) and Deputy Chairman of the Professional and Public Affairs Committee.
  
  
  
  
• Joann E. Killeen, APR, Fellow PRSA; President & CEO, Killeen Communications; President & CEO, PRSA
  
  Joann E. Killeen has over 25 years of experience in public relations and investor relations. Joann has developed strategic public relations plans and applied her skills in investor relations for a variety of industries, from consumer to technology and public service. Joann is President of Killeen Communications, a public relations practice headquartered in Los Angeles.
  
  Prior to her return to the west coast in 1994, Joann worked as the director of Investor Relations for The Weber Group, the largest high tech firm in New England. Previously she was the director of corporate communications and investor relations for DAKA International, Inc, a leader in the foodservice and restaurant industry. Early in her Boston career, Joann headed corporate communications for Lifetime Corporation, the largest home health care company in America. During her tenure there and at other companies, she created communications plans for shareholders and institutional investors and achieved stock buy recommendations from securities analysts.
  
  Joann holds a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism from California State University at Northridge (CSUN) and a Master's Degree in communications management form Simmons College in Boston. A member of the PRSA Counselors Academy for over 10 years, Joann is accredited by PRSA. Elected to the College of Fellows in 1994, Joann is considered one of the youngest female Fellows ever to achieve this honor. Presently there are just over 400 Fellows with this distinction in the society. Having joined PRSSA at CSUN in the early 70's, Joann is the first PRSSA member to rise to the rank of PRSA President and is leading the national organization in 2002.
  
  Joann has been actively involved in PRSA at the chapter, district and national level since 1982. She has won numerous awards for her work as a professional counselor and for her service to the profession. She was honored to win the PRSA President's Exceptional Leadership Award in 1993 and 1994. In 2002 she was invited to speak in South Africa, at the Global Alliance International Conference. In the same year, she has been invited by the Chinese Government to speak in China in January 2003. She has also won the 2002 Outstanding Public Relations Professional Award for Los Angeles.
  
  A natural networking professional, The Boston Herald, cited Joann in 1993 as "one of Boston's premier PR power brokers. Late last year PR Week featured Joann and her meteoric rise in PRSA leadership with a feature story complete with the headline: A sure fighter to shake things up at the PRSA."
  
  According to PR Week, on weekends, if she's not on a plane, she dons her roller blade outfit, complete with helmet and elbow shields, and heads to the beach or some flea market with her Airedale Terriers, Parker and Tilly. Her friends in the business have likened her to the Energizer bunny. In her "down time" Joann enjoys fiber arts, quilting, technology, public speaking and photography. She recently accepted a pr-bono photography assignment to complete a 2002 calendar for the Southern California Airedale Association. Each month will feature an Airedale Terrier creatively posed, dressed and photographed by Joann with proceeds to help support the Airedale Terrier Rescue effort.

  Contact:
  Carol Metzker
  echmetzker@aol.com
  

Summary: Why investor relations has strategic importance for small companies and the critical elements in an investor relations program. Includes perspectives of an investment banker, investor, research analyst and investor relations officer/CFO.

Moderator: Barry L. Morris, Founder and President, Morris Capital Markets Communications LLC

As an Investor Relations Executive and Consultant with over 17 years of investor relations experience and as principal of Morris Capital Markets Communications, LLC, or MC2, which he founded in 1998, Barry Morris, is an expert in the investor relations field.

Mr. Morris has an MBA in Corporate Finance (with distinction) and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Michigan. He is a member of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) Senior Roundtable

Panelists

Richard Cohen, Senior Managing Director, Fagenson & Co., Inc.

Fagenson & Co. is a member firm of the New York Stock Exchange, Richard has over 30 years of experience on Wall Street and understands what small cap companies should do to attract capital and investor interest as well as the critical role investor relations plays in this process. br>

David Archibald, Director of Research, Red Chip Review.

The Red Chip Review is a highly respected and successful independent research publication whose sole focus is small cap companies. David will provide insight as to what these companies can do to attract and retain independent research coverage.

Denise Warren, Director of Investor Relations, First American Corporation.

In 1990, First American Corporation was listed on the NASDAQ and had a market capitalization of $100 million. Today, First American is a Fortune 500 company with a market capitalization of $1.5 billion and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Contact:
Barry Morris
mc2ir@aol.com
212-687-9707

Summary: There is much information available concerning the selection, empowerment, responsibilities, measurement, and compensation of corporate boards. The National Association of Corporate Directors (www.nacdonline.org) offers its members an impressive array of articles, seminars, and discussion groups concerning these and related corporate governance issues.

Not so readily available is information on conducting the board meeting itself. In this post-Enron world of high visibility it is important to be known for running professional and highly effective board meetings at reasonable cost. ?Castles in Spain? may represent the idealized goals some of us aspire to ? but they should not be the sites of a corporate board meeting.

A board of directors ?meeting? is actually a board of directors ?event.? It encompasses the agenda and content, but also messages through site selection, logistics, social programs, dinners, attendees, ancillary events, and even attitude and dress code.

Our purpose is to identify the objectives of the particular board meeting and the various supporting alternatives available to the responsible manager. Examples include:

1. Purpose of the Meeting: Why are we here? Is this a regularly scheduled event intended to communicate status and involve the directors in company activity ? or is it more directed in some way? Do we need to just inform, involve, train, or are we also trying to influence, convince, and/or solicit approval?

2. The Budget: Is this a local meeting on company property ? or is it off-campus at an airport hotel or law office? Are overnight(s) involved? What level of travel (business class vs. tourist) and accommodations?

3. Ancillary Meetings: Could the meeting be held in a field office or factory, domestic or international, and combined with a business review and employee/management event for that location?

4. Social Programs: Will there be receptions and dinners? Will local management staff be invited to attend? Will spouses attend? Will there be a spouse program?

5. Logistics: Includes transportation to/from airports and offices; meeting room set-up and seating arrangements; refreshments/breaks/food service; standardized presentations; gifts or room drops; organization of agenda books and handouts; message services, dress code - and even meeting room temperature.

6. Agenda: Who presents what (responsibility) and for how long (timing)? We?ll talk about how to keep things moving (chairman vs. facilitator), formats, rehearsals, handling questions, private discussion time, and how to measure success.

7. What other opportunities and programs are available to make the meeting and event more meaningful? Should we consider: Outside speakers? Local management presentations? Mentoring programs? Staff entertainments? Discussion groups?

Moderator:
Edward C. McManus ecmcm@aol.com
For nearly 30 years Edward C. McManus (ecmcm@aol.com) served as Assistant to the President & CEO of a Fortune 500 company. He was also staff to the Board of Directors, and Director of Executive Events. As Assistant Corporate Secretary he was responsible for action items, resolutions, and helped facilitate board meetings worldwide. In 2000, Ed retired and now works as a business & speech writer. He is also a staff consultant for executive meetings, board activities, and sales recognition events.

Panelists
Jonathan W. Lane productworksinc@hotmail.com
Jon Lane is President of ProductWorks, Inc, a consulting firm focused on facilitating growth of client companies through improving time to market of new products, the development and implementation of strategy, and getting everyone on ?the same page?. Prior to establishing ProductWorks, Mr. Lane was Vice President of Corporate Human Resources at Data General. He is a graduate of Boston University and has participated in Executive Education Programs at Babson, Columbia and the University of Michigan

Karen Tucker Karen@meetingservices.net
Karen D. Tucker, the President of Meeting Services Connection, in Newton, Massachusetts offers over 20 years of meeting management experience to her clients. Karen has managed meetings as large as 1400 and as small as 15 for all types of clients from technology to pharmaceutical. She has extensive experience with producing meetings in international locations such as the Caribbean, Thailand, Hong Kong, Italy, Spain, UK and France. She has been an active member of Meeting Planners International (MPI) since 1983. Over the last two years she completed a two year term on the local Board of Directors for MPI and was awarded the Meeting Professional of the Year, 2000 by MPI New England. She has been a frequent speaker at New England Chapter meetings and industry conferences such as NEMICE and Affordable Meetings. Karen also teaches an Outsourcing seminar and an International Meeting Management course which was recently offered in the Bentley College Meeting Management Certificate Program.

Contact:
Ed McManus
ecmcm@aol.com
508-481-0979

Summary: Learn how XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) will soon help companies, analysts, investors and other audiences make better informed financial and management decisions. The objective of this event is to provide the audience with an overview of XBRL, its methodology and future, and the benefits to organizations participating in its adoption.

XBRL enables straight through reporting: reducing manual intervention in the movement and aggregation of company financial information to be delivered immediately and without distortion to the desktop of the decision maker who needs it, either within the institution, the capital market, or the regulatory agency.

Moderator: Liv A. Watson, Director, EDGAR Online, Inc.

Liv A. Watson is the Director of XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) at Edgar Online Inc. EDGAR Online Inc is the leading Internet-based provider of business, financial and competitive information derived from U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission EDGAR filings.

Most recently, Liv was a managing partner with Gaither Technologies LLC, responsible for clients' e-business strategies and marketing needs. Prior to that Liv spent fifteen years in film and television production, multimedia training, and information technology consulting in the public and private sector. After developing, designing, and teaching several courses and seminars for IMA and other leading accounting organizations, she is widely recognized and respected in the information technology community as an informed consultant and instructor.

Participants:

Rob Blake, Director of XBRL, Microsoft
As group program manager of Finance and Administration IT at Microsoft Corp., Rob Blake is responsible for identifying and implementing new technologies and standards across the company and externally as they relate to financial reporting and planning. He oversees the company?s utilization and development of the Extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) and works to publicize the benefits of the financial reporting standard to partners, investors and other companies. In addition, Blake collaborates with product development teams across the company to ensure that Microsoft® products support and incorporate XBRL functionality.

Blake currently holds several active positions on the XBRL International Consortium. He is the Software and Services Supply Chain representative on the XBRL International Steering Committee, is a member of the XBRL U.S. Executive Committee and is Domain Chair of the XBRL U.S. jurisdiction.

Zack Coffin, KPMG LLP
Zachary Coffin is responsible for integrating XBRL into KPMG's assurance, tax, corporate finance, and advisory services for clients of every industry worldwide. To this end, he's worked with executives ranging from start-ups to the Fortune 50, and with stakeholders ranging from the White House Conference Center to the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision to officials in over twenty-five countries around the world. A founding member of the XBRL Consortium, Mr. Coffin serves as XBRL's Liaison Chair and is responsible for its strategic alignment-how XBRL fits into the global landscape, with other Internet standards, across industries, and along the entire chain of business reporting from companies and intermediaries to end-users, analysts and investors. Currently completing the book Introducing XBRL: Decision Making in a Digital Economy (Prentice Hall, October 2001; ISBN 0-13-060902-1), Mr. Coffin is a frequent speaker on business strategy, new media, e-standards and the future of the Internet. He graduated with an M.F.A. from the University of Southern California, and with a B.A., magna cum laude, from Columbia University

Walter Hamscher, XBRL International Chair
With over 20 years of experience in Computer Science research and development, Walter Hamscher helps organizations to exploit the cost savings and increased flexibility available to them through strategic commitments to technology standards, particularly with respect to XML-based standards for electronic commerce. His strengths are in communicating technical topics to diverse audiences in plain English, and in motivating technology teams to negotiate through their differences and follow through with action to achieve mutual objectives. In March 2002, Walter was elected Chairman of the Steering Committee of XBRL International, a non-profit consortium responsible for the eXtensible Business Reporting Language, an open specification for financial reporting using XML. Mr. Hamscher earned his Ph.D. and S.M. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He received a B.A. in Computer Science, Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of Texas at Austin.

Philip Walenga, Assistant Director, FDIC, Bank Technology Group
Philip E. Walenga began his FDIC career in 1973 as an assistant examiner in Grand Rapids, MI. After later serving as a commercial and information systems examiner, in 1986 he transferred to Washington, DC, where - among other responsibilities - he taught examiners how to use personal computers in the field. In 1990, he joined the RTC to develop and mange its nationwide local area network and client server systems. In 1996, Mr. Walenga returned to the FDIC to head the IT (Information Technology) Research and Development Section in the agency's Division of Information Resources Management. Mr. Walenga holds a BS degree from Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, and is a graduate of the BAI Graduate School of Banking, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI.

Contact:
Liv Watson
lwatson@edgar-online.com
(203) 852-5703

Summary: Since the passage of Regulation FD, a growing number of companies are beginning to provide specific earnings estimates and even detailed operating budgets. Yet, the market and media still measure a company's financial success relative to how well it performed against third-party estimates, the so-called "consensus" estimates.

Can corporate management regain control of how expectations are set for their company? Does it make sense to share operating plans and financial projections with the investment community? What are the disadvantages? What is the SEC's position?

Moderator: Ronald Gruner, President, Shareholder.com

Ronald Gruner has been involved in investor relations for over fifteen years. He founded Shareholder.com, a shareholder communications firm, in 1992. In 1982 he co-founded Alliant Computer Systems, a Nasdaq-listed company, and served as its Chief Executive for nine years.

Panelists:

Donald E. Eagon; Vice President, Global Communication and Investor Relations, Diebold, Inc.
Chairman, National Investor Relations Institute

Mr. Eagon is vice president of global communication and investor relations of Diebold, Incorporated. He joined Diebold in 1990. During his tenure at Diebold, he formed an integrated communications group, which includes investor relations, corporate communication, internal communication, community relations, marketing communication, media communication, strategic design and brand integrity and documentation services.

Mr. Eagon is a member of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI), serving on the National Board as Chairman as well as the Board of the Cleveland Northern Ohio Chapter. He is also a member of the NIRI Voluntary Advisory Network and the Arthur W. Page Society. In 1997, Eagon won the coveted Silver Anvil Award in Investor Relations from the Public Relations Society of America. In 1998, he won a CIPRA award for technical excellence for dramatically changing shareholder mix and company image.

Bruce Fador; Senior Partner, Gustin Partners

Mr. Fador spent almost fifteen years with Thomson Financial Services. He was instrumental in the growth of First Call, a global, on-line distribution network for financial research, from $18 million to $120 million in annual revenues. Bruce was President and CEO of First Call from 1992 until 1998. Most recently, Mr. Fador was the President and CEO of WorldStreet, a software solutions provider solving complex communications problems on Wall Street. Thomson Financial acquired WorldStreet in January 2002.

Charles Hill; Director of Research, First Call Corporation

Mr. Hill is director of research for First Call Corporation. Appointed to his position in 1992, Mr. Hill is responsible for planning new products and maintaining the quality of existing products for the Quantitative Services division of First Call.

Mr. Hill also serves as the chief financial analyst for First Call earnings data. He has been featured on ABC World News Tonight, CBS Evening News, CNN, CNNfn, CNBC TV and The Nightly Business Report. Prior to joining First Call, Mr. Hill was vice president at Scudder, Stevens & Clark, Inc., performing securities analysis on technology companies. Mr. Hill has also worked in several capacities at Kidder, Peabody & Co.; Bache (now Prudential); Quantum Associates; and IBM.

Jeffrey B. Rudman; Senior Partner in Hale and Dorr LLP
Chair, Litigation Department, Corporate and Securities Litigation Group

Mr. Rudman is a senior partner in Hale and Dorr?s Litigation Department. He has become a nationally recognized authority on defending shareholder class and derivative actions and the related tasks of defending Securities and Exchange Commission investigations and pursuing directors? and officers? insurance coverage. He chairs Hale and Dorr?s Corporate and Securities Litigation Group. He has appeared in every edition of The Best Lawyers in America.

Mr. Rudman has represented numerous public or mutual companies and/or their officers and directors charged with various alleged misrepresentations or breaches of duty.

Matthew D. Schroeder; Portfolio Manager with American Express Asset Management

Matthew D. Schroeder is a Portfolio Manager with American Express Asset Management a globally focused institutional investment management company founded in 1972. The American Express Financial Corporation is the parent company of AEAM. Their spectrum of collective and mutual funds includes these investment categories: stable capital, GICs/synthetic GICs, income balanced, growth and income, growth and international. In addition, they offer employee education, participant record keeping and trustee services. AEAM adopts a client-focused approach to investment management.

AEAM manages $265 Billion in assets and services more than 2.3 million clients. Mr. Schroeder is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Economics and has been with AEAM since 1999.

Charles E. Trafton; Principal, Equity Research Technology Services Analyst with Adams Harkness & Hill

Mr. Tafton joined Adams Harkness & Hill in 1997 and covers business services stocks, including outsourcing firms and transaction processors. Zack?s currently ranks Mr. Trafton as a four-star analyst, and he received the coveted five-star rating in 2001. He was voted to Institutional Investor magazine?s All-American equity research team in that magazine?s 1997 survey.

Mr. Trafton began his research career with Cowen & Company in their computer services group from 1995-1997. He also served ?hard time? as an investment banker with Smith Barney.



Scott Van Winkle; Principal, Analyst, Adams Harkness & Hill

Mr. Van Winkle started in 1996 with Raymond James & Associates as an associate in equity research. He spent three years covering various consumer product industries until departing at the end of 1998 to come to Adams, Harkness & Hill as associate analyst. He has had success gauging market expectations and sentiment, which allows him to forecast reactions to events. Mr. Van Winkle holds a BS in Accounting from the University of South Florida.