Eight visionaries at Symantec event

LAS VEGAS, US: For the past three years, industry leaders from around the world have been recognized at Symantec's annual Vision event for their innovative use of technology in running their businesses. At last year's event, Symantec highlighted Visionaries such as Michael McGibbney from American Express, Yves Bauget from Clearstream International, Gary Clark from DHL, Eun Sik Kim from Shinhan Bank in Korea, among others.

Nominations for the 2007 Symantec Visionary Awards were accepted from the Symantec sales and services organizations around the world, with more than 60 customers submitted. The nominations were evaluated based on technology innovation, business value impact, and involvement of partners and services organization. Based on the results of the evaluation process, a total of eight customers were selected as Visionaries.

These customers, which represent a range of industries and global markets, are acknowledged and applauded for their innovative use of technology in driving down costs, optimizing operations, securing information, and improving customer experiences.

Each of the eight Visionaries was recognized by John W. Thompson, chairman and CEO, Symantec, and Mike Vizard, editorial director at Ziff Davis Enterprise, a co-sponsor of the awards this year, on June 12, 2007 at the Symantec Vision event held at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.

"As the global economy continues to expand and interactions become increasingly interconnected, companies must take the right measures to minimize their exposure to risk," said John W. Thompson, chairman and CEO, Symantec. "This year's Visionary Award winners have demonstrated their success leveraging Symantec technology to ensure the security and availability of their information and systems while minimizing risk, increasing IT efficiency and assuring compliance."

The eight Visionaries include Allen Montgomery, the corporate director of systems and development at Baptist Health South Florida; Rich Jackson, the general manager of Global Information Risk Management at Chevron Information Technology Company; Gary Scott, senior architect and team leader for GE Global Infrastructure Services; Theo Gibson, director of infrastructure at Honeywell Aerospace; Mark Kolodzej , vice president of IT and head of the infrastructure services department at ING Investment Management Group, LLC; Albert-Jan Boer, senior manager of communication services for the Defence Telematics Organisation, the IT supplier for the Dutch Ministry of Defence; Gilmar Ribeiro, the information security manager at Sistema Usiminas; and Laxman Badiga , the corporate vice president and global CIO at Wipro Limited.