Keynotes

Greg Hackett, Goodyear Executive Professor, Kent State University

Understanding Why Companies Fail and Four Steps to Avoid It

Greg Hackett, founder of the Hackett Group and creator of the Hackett Benchmark, has just completed his latest research on why companies fail. The research showed many once-great companies are either disappearing or struggling to survive. And Mr. Hackett believes many current great companies may be next if they don‘t follow three basic survivability imperatives.

Today‘s growing companies often focus on cost control, yet corporate profits are down overall. Despite millions spent on information technology for better information to manage the business, companies are failing or being taken over at a rate that has increased continually since 1960. This informative session will discuss the role of information technology in not only creating the problem, but also in delivering the solution.

Don Tennant, Vice President and Editor in Chief, Computerworld

From the Mire to the Miraculous: IT Ruminations, Observations and Expectations

As Editor in Chief, a position he assumed in August 2004, Don is responsible for Computerworld‘s editorial operations. Prior to joining Computerworld in 2000, he spent eight years as Editor in Chief of the Hong Kong edition of Computerworld.

Don was presented with the 2007 Timothy White Award for editorial integrity by American Business Media, and he is a recipient of the prestigious Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Award for editorial excellence in news coverage. His weekly editorial column won the 2006 national gold awards from the American Society of Business Publication Editors (ASBPE) and from Trade, Association and Business Publications International (TABPI). Under his leadership, Computerworld has won dozens of editorial awards, including ASBPE‘s Magazine of the Year Award in 2004 and 2006.

Don has also served in the U.S. government‘s intelligence community, including seven years with the National Security Agency. He holds a B.S. in Language degree (cum laude) from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

Bill Hewitt, CEO, Kalido

Aiming for Excellence

As business faces a dynamic landscape of challenges and change, IT and business need to be in sync more than ever before. While many initiatives have been introduced in order to bring the two functions closer together, often companies still experience a real gap, and this lack of harmony can seriously impact an organization’s ability to get the most out of its collective assets. Today’s evolved IT organization needs to provide the tools and processes so business can manage their own information, with a level of consistency and quality they can trust. Bill Hewitt will discuss Kalido’s vision for addressing this gap and role in the solution.

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