Infy, Wharton institute award for creative excellence in business

BANGALORE: Infosys Technologies and the William and Phyllis Mack Center for

Technological Innovation at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

are joining forces to present the Wharton Infosys Business Transformation Award,

to recognize organizations that have transformed their business or industry

through the creative application of technology.

Cutting across industries, these awards will showcase best practices of using

technology to create new paradigms and change the way business is done by

influencing companies' bottom lines. The Wharton Infosys Business Transformation

Award (WIBTA) has three categories to recognize transformation initiatives that

are enterprise-wide, initiatives limited to a location or division and

individuals who have been key drivers of the use of technology as a

transformation tool. There will be two winners in each category.

Applications will be judged by a panel that includes thought leaders such as

Esther Dyson, chairman of EDventure Holdings, Sir Paul Judge, chairman, Schroder

Income Fund, NR Narayana Murthy, chairman and chief executive Officer, Infosys

Technologies and Dr. Harbir Singh, Co-director of the Mack Center and

chairperson of Wharton's Management Department. The panel also includes industry

leaders such as Michael Eskew, chairman and CEO, United Parcel Services (UPS),

and David Boyles, group managing director, Technology and Services, Australia

and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ).

The industry judges have considerable experience in successfully applying

technology to improve the processes and bottom lines of their respective

organizations. To ensure objectivity, industry panelists will not be involved in

reviewing or judging applications from their own industry. "Technology has

the power to drive innovation and create new ways of doing business. Because of

this, technology will be the cornerstone for the enterprises of the future -

without it they will cease to function," said N. R. Narayana Murthy,

chairman and CEO, Infosys Technologies. "We hope this award program will

serve as a catalyst for organizations to look at ways in which they can use

technology to transform through increased process efficiencies, enhanced

customer relationships, or competitive advantages driven by unique

technology-enabled business models."

"As an educational leader, the role of Wharton and the Mack Center is to

help companies manage technological development and innovation," said

Patrick Harker, Dean of the Wharton School. "We are pleased to join with

Infosys to create this award, in order to further that mission and to have a

lasting impact on the global business community." Awards will be based on

the level of innovation, thought leadership and transformational results

represented by the entry and will be presented in May 2002. Winners based

outside North America will be recognized at a special ceremony during a gala

dinner at Chateau de Versailles, as part of the Wharton-INSEAD Economic Forum

2002 in Paris on May 16. Award winners from North America will be honored at an

invitation-only conference to be held in New York on May 21.

Nominations are now open and invited from individuals and organizations.