The 2008 InformationWeek 500 Conference Celebrates Technology Innovation with Dynamic Sessions that Define Tomorrow's CIO

TechWeb's InformationWeek, the market-leading business technology brand, announced today that the 2008 InformationWeek 500 Conference will kick off its premier industry event with a list of impressive keynotes, including high-profile executives and industry thought-leaders. The event will take place at the St. Regis Resort and Spa in Monarch Beach, California, September 14-16.

The list of speakers planned for the 2008 InformationWeek 500 Conference includes:

  -- Marvin Balliet, Managing Director and COO, Merrill Lynch
  -- Barry Briggs, Chief Architect and CTO, Microsoft
  -- Alan Buffington, EVP, KeyBank
  -- Rob Enderle, Analyst, Enderle Group
  -- Carolyn Lawson, CIO, California Public Utilities Commission
  -- Gary Loveman, CEO, Harrah's Entertainment
  -- Randy Mott, CIO, Hewlett-Packard
  -- Toby Redshaw, CIO, Aviva
  -- Manjit Singh, CIO, Chiquita Brands
  -- Tim Stanley, CIO, Harrah's Entertainment

"Once again, we have filled the conference agenda with leaders in the truest sense of the word," said Rob Preston, Vice President and Editor-in-Chief of InformationWeek. "The executives who will speak at this year's conference are not only leaders within their own organizations, but they're also shaping business and leading change in the business technology market."

Each year, InformationWeek brings CIOs and business leaders together to network and collaborate on the use of technology to transform business. This year, the discussion will focus on "Tomorrow's CIO." The CIO of tomorrow must be a master of technology, lead a business and anticipate the demands of a global marketplace during a dynamic business cycle. The 2008 InformationWeek 500 Conference looks to uncover what skills, experience and expertise will ensure success for the CIO of the future.

The premier event also identifies the 500 companies that are the most innovative users of business technology. The InformationWeek 500 Conference and Gala Awards celebrate technology innovation with two days of workshops, networking and discussion. Unlike most technology-oriented events, attendees get a unique opportunity to interact with and learn from some of the most successful business technology executives, editors and influencers in the industry in an intimate setting.

"The InformationWeek team prides itself on having unrivaled access to the top business technology executives in the industry today," said John Siefert, Vice President and Publisher of InformationWeek. "The InformationWeek 500 selection process is a rigorous one, and we're thrilled to have the opportunity to recognize excellence in this forum while also offering invaluable content and networking opportunities for our attendees."

Also being showcased at the conference is Startup City Live. Based on the popular column and blog on technology startups by InformationWeek editor John Foley, this face-to-face session highlights six startups that will make their "elevator pitch" to the CIO audience at the InformationWeek 500 Conference. The process for choosing the live participants for the Startup City Live competition is unique in the industry. After a nomination by InformationWeek editors, 50 startups were highlighted in an online poll with the InformationWeek.com audience. With more than a thousand votes cast, the top six startups were invited to participate in Startup City Live. The six participating companies are Firescope, Mi5 Networks, Xkoto, Vyatta, Pentaho, and SugarCRM.

Sponsors for the 2008 event include: iRise, Cognizant, Foundry Networks, Microsoft, SAS, Teradata, Avocent, Kaseya, Satyam, Workday and Firescope.

To celebrate with the best and brightest at the InformationWeek 500 Conference and Gala Awards on September 14-16, 2008, visit the conference registration Website: www.informationweekconference.com

Join the InformationWeek 500 fan page on Facebook and be part of the dialog before and after the event, please visit: http://www.new.facebook.com/pages/The-InformationWeek-500- Conference/12517236419 (Due to length of URL, please cut and paste into browser.)

About the InformationWeek 500 (http://www.informationweek.com/iw500)

The InformationWeek 500 is the annual ranking of the 500 most innovative users of business technology in the nation. For 20 years, InformationWeek, the leading multimedia business technology brand, has tracked the technology innovations, investments and administrative practices for America's best-known companies. The InformationWeek 500 research reveals the strategies, best practices of the top 500 companies in a comprehensive study each year.

The annual InformationWeek 500 Conference is where InformationWeek brings together the most innovative users of technology to share knowledge and experiences, while celebrating the companies named in the current InformationWeek 500. The InformationWeek 500 Conference provides a unique opportunity to meet and interact with the most respected and recognized executives in the field. The conference is held each fall and continually proves to be an insightful, thought-provoking discussion amongst America's top business technology executives.

About InformationWeek Business Technology Network (http://www.informationweek.com/)

The InformationWeek Business Technology Network provides business technology executives with unique perspective, market leading research and innovative tools that work in lock step with their work flow -- from defining and framing business technology objectives through to the evaluation and recommendation of specific solutions. The InformationWeek Business Technology Network delivers the entire market, from growing SMBs with bMighty.com to large-scale global companies with InformationWeek. And the Network spans the most critical technology categories -- security with DarkReading.com, storage with ByteandSwitch.com, application architecture with IntelligentEnterprise.com, network architecture with NetworkComputing.com and communications with NoJitter.com. Through its multi-media platform and unique content-in-context information distribution system, the InformationWeek Business Technology Network provides trusted information developed both by editors and real world CIO/IT professionals delivered how and when business technology executives want it, 24/7.

About TechWeb (http://www.techweb.com/aboutus)

TechWeb, the global leader in business technology media, is an innovative business focused on serving the needs of technology decision-makers and marketers worldwide. TechWeb produces the most respected and consumed media brands in the business technology market. Today, more than 13.3 million* business technology professionals actively engage in our communities created around our global face-to-face events Interop, Web 2.0, Black Hat and VoiceCon; online resources such as the InformationWeek Business Technology Network, Light Reading, Intelligent Enterprise, bMighty.com, and The Financial Technology Network; and the market leading, award-winning InformationWeek, TechNet Magazine, MSDN Magazine, and Wall Street & Technology magazines. TechWeb also provides end-to-end services ranging from next-generation performance marketing, integrated media, market research, and analyst services.

TechWeb is a division of United Business Media, a global provider of news distribution and specialist information services with a market capitalization of more than $2.5 billion.

*13.3 million business decision-makers: based on # of monthly connections across TechWeb brands.

About United Business Media Limited

United Business Media Limited is a leading global business media company. We inform markets and bring the world's buyers and sellers together at events, online, in print, and with the information they need to do business successfully. We focus on serving professional commercial communities, from doctors to game developers, from journalists to jewellery traders, from farmers to pharmacists around the world. Our 6,500 staff in more than 30 countries are organised into specialist teams that serve these communities, helping them to do business and their markets to work effectively and efficiently.

  For more information, go to www.unitedbusinessmedia.com

  Contact:  Ellen Asuncion
            Marketing Manager
            949.223.3622
            easuncion@techweb.com

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact: EAsuncion@cmp.com
Web site: http://www.informationweek.com/iw500
http://www.unitedbusinessmedia.com
http://www.techweb.com/aboutus

SOURCE: TechWeb's InformationWeek

CONTACT: Ellen Asuncion, TechWeb, Marketing Manager, +1-949-223-3622,
easuncion@techweb.com

Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/141742.html