Robots Replace Humans? CEO of 'Virtual Workforce' Company to be Featured Speaker at BOT 2001 Conference

Business Wire, Jan 24, 2001

Business Editors/Technology Writers

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 24, 2001

NativeMinds' Dr. Walter Tackett Discusses Virtual Representative

Technology and the Companies such as Ford, Oracle, Deutsche Telekom

That Use It

NativeMinds Inc., the leading provider of software and services to create automated natural-language customer service and sales representatives for the Web, today announced that Dr. Walter Tackett, chief executive officer, will be a featured speaker at the second annual BOT 2001 Conference in San Francisco. NativeMinds virtual representatives -- vReps(TM) -- provide automated customer service that reduces costs while improving end-users' ability to get information they need. Dr. Tackett will demonstrate how real-world vRep deployments have provided significant ROI for Global 1000 customers including Ford, Oracle and Deutsche Telekom. Dr. Tackett will also address the important technical aspects that concern enterprise IT organizations.

    When and Where

    Conference:       BOT 2001
    Session Title:    The Virtual Workforce: ROI Success Stories From
                      Ford, Oracle And Deutsche Telekom
    Date:             Thursday January 25, 2001
    Event Time:       7:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
    Session Time:     11:30 a.m - 12:00 p.m.
    Site:             The Fairmont Hotel, Atop Nob Hill, San Francisco

For more information, please visit: http://seminars.internet.com/bot/sf01/index.html

Biography for Dr. Walter Tackett

Dr. Tackett co-founded NativeMinds in 1996 to create a new category of automated, natural language customer service solutions for the Web. As the company's CEO, he is responsible for the strategic vision and direction of the company. Prior to NativeMinds, Dr. Tackett spent more than 13 years as a software developer and manager in advanced technologies such as data mining, simulation, and distributed computing. His prior professional experience includes project management at Hughes Aircraft Co. and principal investigator for several major projects focused on artificial intelligence, machine learning, image processing, simulation, and visualization. Tackett's past consulting clients include Silicon Graphics Inc., John Deere & Co., Electronic Arts Corp., Trimark Studios, and Stanford University. He holds a Ph.D. in computer engineering from the University of Southern California with a primary emphasis in machine learning & stochastic signal processing.

About vReps

Created with NativeMinds' flagship software product NeuroServer(R), vReps are automated Web interaction managers that engage online customers in two-way, conversational natural-language text dialog and manage rules-based customer interactions between a variety of information systems, including Web search, CRM systems, and other customer-facing databases. vReps deflect calls and emails to lower support costs, and enhance the customer experience, by empowering customers to help themselves. If and when necessary, vReps triage customer inquiries and escalate to other customer service channels, such as email, live chat and call centers.

About NativeMinds

NativeMinds enhances service and sales for e-businesses with its virtual online customer service agents--vReps. Using natural language responses to frequently asked product, service or user account questions, vReps reduce call center costs, increase online sales, and improve customer loyalty. Leading customers of NativeMinds' vRep solutions include Ford Motor Company, Oracle, Convergys, One 2 One, Axcess.com, Misys and SmithKline Beecham. NativeMinds is a privately held corporation based in San Francisco. For more information, visit www.nativeminds.com.

Note to Editors: NativeMinds, vReps, NeuroServer, and the NativeMinds logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of NativeMinds, Inc. All other names or products are the property of their respective holders.