CMP Media's CRN Inducts Five Technology Innovators into the CRN Industry Hall of Fame

PRNewswire-FirstCall
SANTA CLARA, Calif.
Nov 16, 2005

Last night at the ninth annual CRN Industry Hall of Fame awards ceremony in Santa Clara, CA, CMP Media's CRN, inducted five technology leaders who have transformed the industry with their visionary ideas, revolutionary concepts and ingenious technology products. The awards ceremony concluded a full day of networking and educational sessions for Solution Providers and technology vendors.

"For more than 23 years, CRN has worked tirelessly to bring Solution Providers and technology integrators a ringside perspective on the individuals, companies and technologies driving the IT industry," noted Dan Dignam, vice president and publisher of CMP Media's CRN. "The CRN Industry Hall of Fame allows us to pay tribute to the industry's pioneers, visionaries, entrepreneurs and evangelists. Through their ideas, drive, and perseverance, these individuals have revolutionized the computer industry."

"Tonight CRN celebrates the historic achievements of our latest inductees, dynamic industry visionaries who have paved the path to the world we live in today. They join dozens of other past inductees-technologists, business leaders and channel model pioneers who have had a profound impact on all of our lives," added Heather Clancy, vice president and editor, CRN. "It is with a great sense of pride and honor that the entire CRN staff congratulates the inductees we honor tonight as they take their place in history in the CRN Industry Hall of Fame."

  The 2005 Industry Hall of Fame inductees, listed alphabetically include:

  * Dr. James (Jim) Goodnight
    CEO of SAS, oversees an unbroken chain of revenue growth and
    profitability

  * Ray Kurzweil
    Inventor of omni-font optical character recognition solution;
    print-to-speech reading machine; CCD flat-bed scanner; text-to-speech
    synthesizer; music synthesizer; and large-vocabulary speech recognition
    solution

  * Mike Lazaridis
    President and Co-CEO of Research In Motion, inventor of more than thirty
    patents for innovations in wireless radio technology and software
    including the Blackberry

  * Frank Mogavero
    Founder and Chairman of Data Systems, formulates high-level ideas and
    "possibilities for change"

  * Atsutoshi Nishida
    Toshiba's president and CEO, introduced Toshiba's first notebook
    computer and created a multi-billion dollar industry

The CRN Industry Hall of Fame inductees are hand-selected by the CRN editorial staff. CRN identifies pioneers and innovators for outstanding merit and accomplishment through a stringent criteria analysis and single out those who have been pivotal figures in evolving the most dynamic industry in the business.

Established in 1997, the CRN Industry Hall of Fame is the most anticipated invitation-only event in the high-tech industry for honoring innovators, entrepreneurs and leaders who are the pivotal figures in evolving the most dynamic industry in the world. CRN Industry Hall of Fame alumni include legendary leaders of highly recognized companies such as William Hewlett, Andy Grove, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Charles Geschke and Michael Dell; industry renowned engineers and developers such as Philip Zimmermann, Steve Wozniak, Bill Joy, Ray Ozzie and Drew Major; well-known visionaries such as Steve Ballmer, Larry Ellison, Chip Lacy and Philippe Kahn; and other industry catalysts, such as Douglas Engelbart, Mort Rosenthal, Tim Berners-Lee, Don Estridge, Vint Cerf and Bill Millard.

The ninth annual CRN Industry Hall of Fame overall event sponsor is Synnex Corporation and generously supported by the following platinum sponsors: HP, OKI Printing Solutions, Symantec and Toshiba, while gold sponsors include: IBM, Lenova, and Lexmark, Panasonic, Sun Microsystems, Xerox and the following silver sponsors: Intel, Textron and GE.

To read more about the CRN Industry Hall of Fame, visit www.crn.com/hof. A special report on the Industry Hall of Fame will be published in the December 12 issue.

About CRN

CRN provides Solution Providers and Technology Integrators with the crucial information and analysis they need to drive their company's sales. As an advocate for and voice of the Channel, Solution Providers turn to CRN first for immediate information. With more than 20 years of experience, CRN is the most trusted source for 117,000 channel professionals. CRN can be found on the Web at http://www.crn.com/.

About CMP Media (www.cmp.com)

Through its market-leading portfolio of trusted information brands in the technology, healthcare and entertainment industries, CMP Media has earned the confidence of more professionals and enthusiasts in these fields than any other media company. As a result, CMP is the premier provider of access, insight and actionable programs designed to connect sellers and buyers in each of these industries in ways that yield superior return on investment.

  Contact:
  Laura M. Mastroberti
  CRN
  (516)562-7382
  LMastroberti@cmp.com

SOURCE: CMP Media LLC; CRN

CONTACT: Laura M. Mastroberti of CRN, +1-516-562-7382,
LMastroberti@cmp.com

Web site: http://www.cmp.com/
http://www.crn.com/
http://www.crn.com/hof