THE PROFNET WIRE: Business & Technology - Hybrid vs. Fuel-Cell Cars Oct. 14, 2003
ROUND-UPS Hybrid vs. Fuel-Cell Cars (11 experts) SEC to Revise Election Rules for Directors (continued, 3 experts) Investigation of Mutual-Fund Companies (continued, 1 expert) Do-Not-Call Registry (continued, 1 expert) LEADS 1. Airlines: Air France/KLM Merger Can Create A European 'Super-Carrier' 2. Business: Family-Owned Business Strategies 3. Business: CRM in the Pharmaceutical Industry 4. Corporate Strategy: Research and Development Goes Offshore 5. Economics: The Number of Dual-Income Families is Decreasing 6. Management: Resource Management is a Common Problem for Organizations 7. Marketing: The Urban Community Must Rely on Itself for Internet Needs 8. Marketing: Corporations are Realizing Value of Hand-to-Hand Marketing 9. Personal Finance: The Benefits of Charitable Giving 10. Personal Finance: Survey Reveals Many Seniors Never Check Credit Reports 11. Personal Finance: The Social Benefits of Homeownership 12. Technology: 3D Computer-Generated Images are Now in High-Def Format 13. Technology: Old PCs Can Bring Hidden Costs 14. Technology: High-Definition Television is the Future of Entertainment 15. Technology: CTO Requirements in a New Age of Technology 16. Technology: Nanotechnology isn't Small in Potential 17. Workplace: The Potential Perils of Workplace Blogging 18. Workplace: Behavior Like Limbaugh's Exists in Corporate America ROUND-UP: HYBRID VS. FUEL-CELL CARS Following are experts who can discuss hybrid vs. fuel-cell cars:
1. DOUG NELSON, professor of mechanical engineering at
VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE AND STATE UNIVERSITY, director
of the DOE-sponsored Center for Automotive Fuel Cell Systems
and faculty advisor to the Virginia Tech Hybrid Electric
Vehicle Team: "Battery-based electric vehicles have a short
range and long recharge time. In the long run, we'll see
fuel-cell-powered cars. We're already seeing the
electrification of automobiles and the cost of electrical
components will soon equal about 35 percent of the total cost
of a car. This electricity can be supplied by battery packs or
a combination of batteries and engine power, but someday it
will be easier to use fuel cells to supply all electrical
power." Nelson:
2. STANFORD OVSHINSKY, founder, president and CEO of ENERGY
CONVERSION DEVICES (ECD OVONICS): "We believe both hybrids and
hydrogen-fueled cars have the potential to make a great impact
on our lives. Energy Conversion Devices has been developing
technology for use in hybrids and hydrogen-fueled cars for
decades. ECD Ovonics' storage technology can be applied to all
internal combustion engine and fuel-cell vehicles, with the
potential to be used in a variety of models from automakers.
Hydrogen is widely recognized as the most promising path to our
transportation future and we believe that this fuel leads to a
logical short- and long-term solution. The hydrogen future is
coming sooner than most people expected." News Contact: Sara
Eisenberg
3. THOMAS E. DRENNEN, professor of economics at HOBART AND
WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES: "Somewhere down the road, [hydrogen] is
going to be the fuel source. It's going to be a huge battle as
to how we get there. But this is where we have to move."
Drennen is the principal investigator on a two-year project
that started in Fall 2002 with Sandia National Laboratories in
New Mexico and that is analyzing hydrogen-run cars and the
possibilities of using hydrogen as a fuel. The team is using
past research and data on hydrogen, as well as doing some
investigating and projecting of its own, to create a computer
simulation that will allow people to compare different options
for hydrogen-based power sources." News Contact: Mary K.
LeClair
4. FRED HEILER, vice president of MAGNET COMMUNICATIONS
LLC: "It's clear that these two vehicles types will coexist and
complement each other for decades. Yes, hybrids are here now,
because the concept involves a combination of existing
technologies and marketable fuel-cell vehicles are definitely a
few years away. However, one of the viable hybrid types will
include a fuel cell as part of its propulsion system." News
Contact: Fred Heiler
5. JOE WIESENFELDER, automotive expert at CARS.COM,
conducts comprehensive evaluation of every vehicle that hits
the market (and those in development) and has an informed
"reality check" opinion on the prospects for hybrid and
fuel-cell cars: "I support both, but I'm skeptical of fuel-cell
vehicles being a viable mass-market product in 10 years. I
predict the timing to be closer to 20 because every piece in
the puzzle -- cost, sources of hydrogen -- is still
undetermined. In terms of hybrids, I don't believe they
currently make enough of an environmental impact, although they
are reliable and are showing signs of profitability." News
Contact: Christina Hynes
6. GLENN ZORPETTE, executive editor for IEEE SPECTRUM:
"Hybrid cars are great for the immediate future. Fuel cells --
who knows? At best we are decades away from knowing whether or
not they will survive and flourish." Zorpette:
7. SCOTT SAMUELSEN, director of the National Fuel Cell
Research Center at the UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT IRVINE, is
available to discuss President Bush's recommendation that $1.2
billion in federal funding be dedicated to hydrogen fuel-cell
development. Samuelsen is an international expert on fuel-cell
power generation and the use of alternate fuels such as
hydrogen. He is editor of a book series on energy, combustion
and the environment, and is director of PARCON, the Pacific Rim
Consortium in Energy, Combustion and the Environment. News
Contact: Tom Vasich
8. STEPHEN PETRANEK, editor-in-chief of DISCOVER MAGAZINE,
is a expert in science and technology and has appeared most
recently on "Nightline" discussing artificial intelligence, on
MSNBC discussing space technology, and on "Good Morning
America" showcasing technology of the future. Petranek recently
addressed the prestigious TED (Technology, Entertainment,
Design) Conference, providing insight into the greatest
scientific threats confronting the world. News Contact:
Danielle Rhoades
9. ANDREW A. FRANK, professor of mechanical and
aeronautical engineering at the UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT
DAVIS, is an expert on gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles. Under
his direction, UC Davis engineering students have converted
vehicles, including Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable sedans and
Chevrolet Suburban and Ford Explorer SUVs, into fuel-efficient
gasoline-electric hybrids with performance equal to or better
than standard models. Frank advocates a "plug-in" hybrid design
in which vehicle batteries can be charged from a domestic power
outlet, cutting fueling costs. The award-winning UC Davis team
is a regular participant in the national FutureCar and
FutureTruck competitions and in Michelin's Challenge Bibendum
event. Frank:
10. ROBERT HALL, environmental fleet manager for UPS, can
discuss the fact that the two technologies are at different
points in development and that UPS believes hybrids are a good
bridge to fuel cells. Currently, UPS operates a fuel-cell
vehicle in its German fleet and will introduce fuel-cell
delivery vehicles in its U.S. fleet by early next year. News
Contact: Jackie Leonard-Tackett
11. DR. GEORGE HOFFER, professor of economics at VIRGINIA
COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY, is a nationally recognized automotive
authority and economist on transportation -- automotive,
airplane and trains. Hoffer:
ROUND-UP: SEC TO REVISE ELECTION RULES FOR DIRECTORS (continued)
ProfNet added the following to items posted previously at http://www.profnet.com/organik/orbital/thewire/lst_leads.jsp?iLRTopicID=608
1. JANE WHITT SELLERS, partner with MCGUIREWOODS LLP: "The
proxy access rules proposed, if adopted, will make a major
change in the relationships between public companies and their
shareholders and in the extent to which the SEC has involved
itself in corporate governance. The triggering conditions for
shareholders to name director nominees in the company's proxy
materials would be fairly difficult to meet, so actual use of
the new procedures would likely be a rare occurrence. However,
the presence of the procedures and the threat of their use will
create new negotiating leverage for large shareholders seeking
to effect change at public companies. Whether this leverage, or
the boards of directors it could create, will benefit
corporate governance or performance is questionable." Sellers:
2. ROBERT L. KOHL, partner in the corporate governance
practice at KATTEN MUCHIN ZAVIS ROSENMAN: "In my view this
whole exercise is wrong-headed. I think the combination of the
about-to-be-adopted SRO rules requiring strictly independent
board majorities and independent board committees and the
stricter duty of care standard that the Delaware courts have
recently adopted (i.e., the Disney case) will result in far
more careful and responsive boards, without opening up the
process to special- interest groups -- like unions -- with
concerns that may have nothing at all to do with the overall
business health of the company." News Contact: Kevin
Aschenbrenner
3. DENNIS BLOCK, co-chair of the corporate/M&A department,
and LOU BEVILACQUA, partner in the same department, at
CADWALADER, WICKERSHAM & TAFT, can discuss how the new SEC
rules stand to impact the way corporate boards operate; the
major concerns of those who oppose the new rules; what the
major governance concerns are currently facing corporate
boards; the impact these new rules stand to have on investor
confidence; what makes a truly independent board member; how
the role of board members changed post-Enron; and what board
"best practices" all companies should aim to employ. News
Contact: Jeff Dahncke
ROUND-UP: INVESTIGATION OF MUTUAL-FUND COMPANIES (continued)
We've added the following to items posted previously at http://www.profnet.com/organik/orbital/thewire/lst_leads.jsp?iLRTopicID=68
1. HOWARD GOLDMAN, partner at MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATES and
author of "Choose What Works: The Proven Secrets to
Professional Greatness," claims the widespread practice of
tying executive compensation to the financial success of
companies could have been handled differently: "Dick Grasso,
former chairman and CEO of the New York Stock Exchange, and
other fallen CEOs, may have failed bridging the connection
between themselves and the workforce in important ways." News
Contact: Erin Flynn
ROUND-UP: DO-NOT-CALL REGISTRY (continued)
ProfNet added the following to items posted previously at http://www.profnet.com/organik/orbital/thewire/lst_leads.jsp?iLRTopicID=500
1. SUE GODAR, Ph.D., professor of marketing and management at WILLIAM PATERSON UNIVERSITY, is a specialist in e-marketing and privacy issues. Godar can comment on marketing (global and national) telemarketing, product planning and management, the ethics of mobile commerce, privacy and civil
liberties issues in marketing, e-marketing and consumer
behavior. News Contact: Phillip Sprayberry
LEADS
1. AIRLINES: AIR FRANCE/KLM MERGER CAN CREATE A EUROPEAN
'SUPER-CARRIER'. JOSEPH F. LAUGHLIN, vice president of OAG
DATA, AMERICAS: "The merger of Air France and KLM, coupled with
the possibility of Alitalia joining, will have a huge effect on
the dynamics of the airline industry, particularly in Europe.
The organization that could result from the merger negotiations
would be by far the biggest in Europe -- almost 100 percent
bigger than its nearest rival -- if all three carriers are
involved. It remains to be seen whether this will lead to
further consolidation within the industry. However, what this
merger has done is create a potential European 'super carrier'
that can break into the top five global airlines -- completely
dominated by the U.S. carriers." News Contact: Dana Kessler
2. BUSINESS: FAMILY-OWNED BUSINESS STRATEGIES. PAUL RICH,
principal and business adviser for the Siegel Rich division of
ROTHSTEIN KASS: "Stresses caused by the rapidity and degree of
change in business and the culture at large put pressure on the
family-owned business owner. They may overlook the need to
focus on the core function of their business. Family-owned
enterprises have uniquely important estate tax issues and need
careful consideration of their advanced tax and succession
planning challenges. Management activities, such as measuring
business performance, finding executive talent, analyzing
billing and collection procedures, and techniques on how to
share the profits or set compensation, all need a high level of
consideration for the prosperity of the business." News
Contact: Shakira Brown
3. BUSINESS: CRM IN THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY. BILL KARL,
co-founder and CEO of INTRASPHERE TECHNOLOGIES, a New York
City-based technology consulting and systems integration firm:
"The goals of pharmacetuical CRM projects in 2004 are limited
to improving customer retention and productivity.
Pharmaceutical companies will continue to invest strongly in
analytical and operational CRM in 2004. However, weakness in
infrastructure and channels must be addressed if returns are to
be maximized over the long term." News Contact: Steven Blinn
4. CORPORATE STRATEGY: RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT GOES
OFFSHORE. WOO SONG, chairman of INTRASPHERE TECHNOLOGIES: "Many
companies are now outsourcing selected research and development
projects and tasks to offshore outsourcers in second- and
third-world countries. Users considering outsourcing in search
of lower costs should give consideration to the associated
risks, including the problem of translating needs across
cultural differences and the need to safeguard intellectual
property. Users should also remember that lower cost is often
the enemy of innovation and can result in lower quality." News
Contact: Steven Blinn
5. ECONOMICS: THE NUMBER OF DUAL-INCOME FAMILIES IS
DECREASING. JOHN A. CHALLENGER, CEO of CHALLENGER, GRAY &
CHRISTMAS, INC.: "What has been missing in the reporting on the
economy, and particularly the outlook for consumer spending, is
the collapse in the number of dual-income households. Have
retail holiday spending forecasters considered the huge
implication of suddenly going from two earners per household to
one? It cuts an average of $31,000 from annual income. The
number of married-couple families with both husband and wife
employed fell by $368,000 in 2002 to $28,873,000. It was the
first decline since the government started reporting on the
employment characteristics of families in 1994." Challenger:
+1-312-332-5790 News Contact: Herbert H. Rozoff
6. MANAGEMENT: RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IS A COMMON PROBLEM FOR ORGANIZATIONS. LUIZ CARVALHO, CEO of PROUDFOOT CONSULTING, can discuss global productivity: "Many organizations have clear strategies, but it is the management of their resources, as well as the execution of those strategies that are the most common problems. An organization's ability to handle the day-to-day requirements of its customers, people and vendors has
a greater impact on the bottom line than the 'big' problems,
yet management's attention is often on the latter." News
Contact: Peter Kohn
7. MARKETING: THE URBAN COMMUNITY MUST RELY ON ITSELF FOR
INTERNET NEEDS. MELCOLM COPELAND, president and CEO of
BUYHIPHOP.COM: "The urban community needs to look inward and
realize the value of relying upon ourselves for all of our
Internet needs. With urban culture continuing to gain
prominence throughout the world, the young MC or aspiring DJ
needs an online community on which they can rely. We, the
current generation of urban culture who have lived through the
fall of the dot-com era, are now living through the midst of
another cultural revolution -- one in which urban lifestyle is
becoming corporate. Ownership and creation via the Web allow
urbanites to create avenues allowing them more fans, to sell
more CDs or sign an artist." News Contact: Ronn Torossian
8. MARKETING: CORPORATIONS ARE REALIZING VALUE OF
HAND-TO-HAND MARKETING. SHAWN PREZ, president and CEO of
POWERMOVES and former executive of Sean "P. Diddy" Combs' Bad
Boy Entertainment: "Chalking on the sidewalk, guerilla graffiti
and non-traditional marketing are experiencing tremendous
growth during the downturn in the economy. The streets are
often the most effective and cost-efficient way to make
products hot. During today's difficult economic times,
30-second advertisements on network stations and billboards in
Times Square are being frowned upon, and more and more
corporations are realizing the core value of hand-to-hand
marketing combat." News Contact: Ronn Torossian
9. PERSONAL FINANCE: THE BENEFITS OF CHARITABLE GIVING.
KAREN E. SCHMIDT, financial advisor and branch office co-owner
for AMERICAN EXPRESS FINANCIAL ADVISORS: "As the year ends and
tax season nears, now is the best time to look at smart
deductions for 2003 tax filings. The holidays are the perfect
time to consider charitable giving. The greatest benefit of
charitable giving is the knowledge that you've helped make a
difference in the lives of others. At the same time, charitable
giving can also provide tax breaks so long as you are aware of
some rules and keep track of what you've donated." News
Contact: Shakira Brown
10. PERSONAL FINANCE: SURVEY REVEALS MANY SENIORS NEVER
CHECK CREDIT REPORTS. ROBERT J. BARRETT, president and CEO of
INCHARGE INSTITUTE, can comment on a national survey by
InCharge, which states that 51.4 percent of people over age 60
admitted they have never checked their credit reports: "This is
truly alarming. This is just another example of seniors being
victimized, particularly by those who may be more
technologically savvy. At a time when ID theft is considered by
the FBI to be the fastest-growing crime in America, it is more
important than ever to stay on top of this." Barrett:
+1-407-532-5599 News Contact: Carrie Forti
11. PERSONAL FINANCE: THE SOCIAL BENEFITS OF HOMEOWNERSHIP.
JOSEPH M. FARELLA, executive vice president for AMERICAN
UNITED, the Mountainside, N.J.-based mortgage banker and
co-sponsor of Homeownership Now: "While the economic benefits
of homeownership are well known, the equally important social
benefits of homeownership are making a significant contribution
to society and civic life. With Homeownership Now, we
concentrate on making the benefits of homeownership a reality
for thousands of New Jersey residents." News Contact: Michelle
Sanders
12. TECHNOLOGY: 3D COMPUTER-GENERATED IMAGES ARE NOW IN
HIGH-DEF FORMAT. PAULA LUMBARD, founder and CEO of FOOTAGEBANK:
"For the first time ever, 3D CGI is available in HD format as
an inexpensive special-effects option for television,
commercial and movie producers. Converting computer-generated
3D animation images to HD is a laborious process, as HD
animation takes up to four times longer to process than
standard definition animation. Each frame of HD video is 1920 x
1080 pixels wide, running at 30 frames per second. This is a
tremendous amount of data, with each frame averaging a whopping
six megabytes. It's taking us weeks to convert 20-second CGI to
HD." News Contact: Becky Sniffen
13. TECHNOLOGY: OLD PCs CAN BRING HIDDEN COSTS. JOHN
THOMPSON, vice president and general manager for
HEWLETT-PACKARD: "If small-business owners think they're saving
money by holding on to their old PCs, think again. There can be
hidden costs to using the approximately 164 million old PCs
that are currently in the global workforce. Machines four years
or older often begin to fail as they start to reach their end
of their design cycle." News Contact: Alan Phillips
14. TECHNOLOGY: HIGH-DEFINITION TELEVISION IS THE FUTURE OF
ENTERTAINMENT. KRISTEN COX, president and founder of Los
Angeles-based 16X9 PRODUCTIONS and a recent inductee into the
Academy of Digital Television Pioneers: "Chances are, you've
heard a lot about High Definition (HD) TV, but aren't quite
sure how to separate the hype from the reality. Broadcasters,
consumers and producers have long anticipated the transition to
HD, but it's been slow going, and cable companies have not been
eager to make the transition to the `digital revolution.' HD,
though, has steadily made significant advancements, putting
pressure on the cable stations to deliver HD programming and
signaling that the time for this new technology is now." News
Contact: Carla Thompson
15. TECHNOLOGY: CTO REQUIREMENTS IN A NEW AGE OF TECHNOLOGY.
CHRIS SHIPLEY, producer for DEMOMOBILE: "This is an amazing
time to be working in the technology industry. In little more
than 30 years, we've seen technology break out of its glass
house to find a place on nearly every desktop in almost every
business. In this new type of organization, it is no longer
enough to be a CTO with an engineering degree. The new CTO is
an engineer turned MBA who understands the business as well as
network protocols and programming languages. In response,
technology vendors must speak the language of business fluently
if they intend to sell their technology to the emerging
enterprise." News Contact: Carla Thompson
16. TECHNOLOGY: NANOTECHNOLOGY ISN'T SMALL IN POTENTIAL.
GIRISH SOLANKI, industry manager with FROST &
SULLIVAN/TECHNICAL INSIGHTS: "Nanotechnology involves working
at the nano level (10-9 m), but being small doesn't necessarily
mean the potential is small, too -- far from it. Nanotechnology
is, in fact, an 'enabling' technology. That is, it can
substitute existing technologies and, as a result, be employed
in virtually any sector. However, it appears the sunrise
sectors for nanotech application are electronics and computing;
chemicals and materials; defense and security; medical and
healthcare (including biotechnology); fabrication and
instrumentation; and consumer (including food, 'intelligent
fabrics,' resilient sportsgear, etc.)." News Contact: Julia
Paulson
17. WORKPLACE: THE POTENTIAL PERILS OF WORKPLACE BLOGGING.
CHRISTOPHER WOLF, partner at PROSKAUER ROSE LLP: "The potential
perils of workplace blogging are so great that I advise clients
not to start them. People are just more casual in the stuff
they put on the Internet. Recording one's thoughts can lead to
problems for both the employer and the employee because it
becomes readily available for all to see." News Contact: Luis
Mocete
18. WORKPLACE: BEHAVIOR LIKE LIMBAUGH'S EXISTS IN CORPORATE
AMERICA. CONNIE WONG, founder of CSW GLOBAL: "ESPN's Rush
Limbaugh says Donovan McNabb is unjustly hyped because the
media wants a black quarterback to succeed. Pulling the race
card on behalf of the media reinforces the stereotype that skin
tone is linked to skill and performance. Rush Limbaugh's choice
to comment on skin tone versus skill in order to achieve higher
ratings is simply manipulative and irresponsible. The same
unfortunate cycle exists in corporate America." Wong:
+1-203-426-4419 News Contact: Judith Lederman
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PRNewswire -- Oct. 14