CEO of ForestExpress is Opening Speaker of the CPBIS/IPST Distinguished Lecture Series

"Facilitating eBusiness Adoption in the Paper and Forest Products Industries"
"If you build it they will come…But, perhaps not as fast as you thought they would."

ATLANTA, GEORGIA, September 30, 2002 --- Bob Renner, CEO of ForestExpress LLC was the first speaker in a Distinguished Lecture Series presented by the Center for Paper Business and Industry Studies (CPBIS), Institute of Paper Science and Technology (IPST), and Buckman Laboratories. The lecture was presented on September 27, 2002 at 11:00 a.m. ET in the Kress Auditorium at IPST, and live over the Internet. For viewing it, click on: Webcast of Bob Renner's Seminar.

As the opening speaker of the lecture series, Renner shared his experience of how e-business has impacted the industry, and provided his impressions of what he believes it will take for the industry to successfully drive e-commerce adoption to critical mass. His topics included successful engagement of new processes as a result of planned evolution, not revolution; creating focus as a key to getting things done; leveraging the expertise of technology partners; accepting that industry standards are not an option for accelerating adoption; and the importance of benchmarking for success.

ForestExpress is an industry supported e-business solutions company providing business-to-business (B2B) connectivity and catalog content services for the paper and forest products industries, along with integration and transaction services for timber customers via the ForestExpress timber marketplace. Bob Renner is one of the original team members founding the ForestExpress network concept more than two years ago, and served as CTO prior to his current role. Renner has evolved a keen understanding of the challenges facing the paper industry in B2B trading partner relationships, and the opportunities for enhancing those relationships through e-commerce.

To see the recorded lecture please register at http://www.ipst.gatech.edu/lectureseries.html. Buckman Laboratories has sponsored the Distinguished Lecture Series -- the series is free to the public.

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About CPBIS: The Center for Paper Business and Industry Studies (CPBIS) is a globally recognized and industry-valued academic center, creating knowledge and tools that support paper industry decision-makers, and producing interdisciplinary graduates who contribute to the long-term success of the paper industry. The CPBIS is co-sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Institute of Paper Science and Technology (IPST), the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), and the Paper Industry.
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