Google executive to address Wisconsin industry at e-business conference

Record attendance is expected at the 12th annual Business Best Practices and Emerging Technologies Conference, which will be hosted Thursday, Sept. 30, by the University of Wisconsin–Madison E-Business Consortium.

Members of the media are invited to join attendees to hear a talk by a Google executive who is the youngest woman ever included on the Fortune Most Powerful Women list.

Marissa Mayer, vice president of search product and user experience at Google, will discuss creating an organizational culture of innovation and how such a culture developed at Google. In addition to giving the conference keynote address, Mayer — who grew up in Wausau, Wis., and was the first female engineer to join Google — will receive the 2010 Distinguished Fellow Award from the UW–Madison E-Business Institute, the research-oriented counterpart to the industry-focused consortium. The award is presented annually in honor of significant achievements and advancements in information technology and e-business.

Wisconsin-based executives and managers will make up the majority of the more than 500 people registered for the conference. In addition to Mayer, the conference will provide talks from many well-known speakers, including Gordon Bell, principal research at Microsoft; Dan Gillmore, editor in chief of Supply Chain Digest; and Kelly Goto, principal and CEO of gotomedia.

The conference is an opportunity for business community members to meet and discuss innovative practices and emerging technological trends in marketing and customer experience, information technology and supply chain management.

Founded in 1998, the UW E-Business Consortium is active with more than 50 meeting opportunities each year for its 65 member organizations, which include a wide range of leading Wisconsin companies. The consortium has a member-to-member advising service and facilitates collaboration with UW–Madison faculty and students.

“The UW E-Business Consortium is a unique university-industry partnership that truly embodies the Wisconsin Idea,” says consortium executive director Raj Veeramani, a professor of industrial and systems engineering and business. “Since its inception, the consortium has served as a trusted collaborative learning community for companies to learn and share business best practices and innovative applications of emerging information technologies. Our annual conference, which features an exemplary group of thought leaders and experts, is just one the many ways in which the consortium helps Wisconsin businesses stay on the leading edge.”

Media are welcome to attend conference sessions, which will be held at the Monona Terrace Convention Center in Madison. Those interested are asked to contact Kyle Henderson at 608-890-2449 or khenderson2@wisc.edu prior to the event for press passes and event details. Learn more about the conference and the consortium at http://www.uwebc.org/2010conference/.