30 January 2004

• Spotlighting the ICT markets of today…and tomorrow
  
• Top-flight ICT industry strategists as keynote speakers
  

The international ICT market will be the key theme at the 2nd "ICT World Forum @ CeBIT" in Hannover. From 17 to 19 March business leaders from all over the globe will come together to discuss the latest ICT technologies, strategies and market developments.

The "ICT World Forum @ CeBIT 2004" will open on Wednesday, 17 March, the day before CeBIT 2004 opens its gates. The speakers at the opening session will be Willy Berchtold, President of the German Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media (BITKOM), Berlin, and Ernst Raue, Member of the Managing Board of Deutsche Messe AG, Hannover/Germany. On the first day of the Forum the emphasis will be on key issues such as telecommunications on demand, wireless network access for corporate users, sales strategies in a consolidated telecoms market, and customer relations management (CRM) for everybody. On the second day (18 March) the spotlight will be on visions for tomorrow's mobile world, supercomputing in the 21st century and risk assessment from the viewpoint of senior management. Five international business leaders will then take part in a panel discussion on the topic of "distribution". The third day of the Forum will investigate ways of simplifying our increasingly complex society. Further topics on the agenda will be grid computing, and the opportunities and risks associated with the Chinese market.

The line-up of keynote speakers comprises the following top managers from major international players in the ICT industry:

• Pekka Ala-Pietila, President of Nokia Corporation, Finland
  
• George Bailey, Global Leader of Electronics Industry, IBM, USA
  
• Robert Bishop, Chairman and CEO of Silicon Graphics, USA
  
• Thierry Breton, Chairman and CEO of France Telecom, Paris
  
• Larry Conlee, COO of Research in Motion, USA
  
• Craig Conway, President and CEO of Peoplesoft Inc., USA
  
• Thomas Ganswindt, Member of the Board of Siemens AG and CEO of Siemens Information and Communication Networks, Germany
  
• Sergio Giacoletto, Executive Vice-President Europe, Middle East and Africa of Oracle Corporation, USA
  
• Andy Green, CEO of British Telecom Global Services, London
  
• Mike Hill, General Manager of IBM Global Telecommunications Industry, USA
  
• Michael Kleinemeier, Managing Director of SAP, Germany
  
• Stan Laurent, CEO of AOL Germany
  
• Rob Lloyd, CEO and President Europe, Middle East and Africa of Cisco Europe, United Kingdom
  
• Gary Matuszak, Global Chief of Electronics, Software and Services at KPMG, USA
  
• Christian Morales, Vice President & General Manager Europe, Middle East and Africa of Intel Corporation, USA
  
• Rene Obermann, CEO and Member of the Board of T-Mobile, Germany
  
• Kevin Reardon, General Manager of IBM Global Electronics Industry, USA
  
• Patricia Russo, President und CEO of Lucent Technologies, USA
  
• Masamitsu Sakurai, CEO and President of the Ricoh Company, Japan
  
• Thomas Siebel, Chairman and CEO of Siebel Systems, USA
  
• Dr. Thomas Tribius, CIO of Axel Springer Verlag, Germany
  
• Sue Unger, CIO of DaimlerChrysler AG, USA
  
• Peter Wagner, CEO of debitel AG, Germany
  
• Mike Zafirovski, COO of Motorola Inc., USA

The "ICT World Forum @ CeBIT 2004" will be staged at the "Maritim Airport Hotel Hannover". The organizers (Deutsche Messe AG, Hannover, and l2i Media LLC of Lake Mary, Florida/USA) expect to welcome more than 500 guests from 50 countries. As was the case last year, the event is being partnered by Forrester Research Inc., USA. Further information about the "ICT World Forum @ CeBIT 2004" is available at www.ictwf.com