AbleMedia CEO Appointed to Commerce Department Advisory Committee

Business Wire, Oct 3, 2002

Business/Technology Editors

WOBURN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 3, 2002

The US Commerce Department has appointed AbleMedia President & CEO Wendy E. Owens to its Industry Functional Advisory Committee on Electronic Commerce for Trade Policy Matters (IFAC). Owens will advise US Secretary of Commerce Donald L. Evans and US Trade Representative Robert B. Zoellick on the views and interests of US businesses in the electronic commerce industry.

In a letter to Ms. Owens, the two senior administration officials wrote: "Your industry expertise is critical to the Secretary of Commerce and the US Trade Representative in pursuing trade objectives that reflect the concerns and interests of the private sector."

In accepting the appointment, Owens noted that the United States exports approximately $10 billion per year in educational services, primarily by admitting foreign students to US colleges and universities. She added: "I believe that the Internet offers us the ability to dramatically increase the delivery of US educational services abroad. I hope to focus on expanding this opportunity by helping to eliminate the barriers to the electronic exportation of educational and other services to foreign nationals."

The Electronic Commerce IFAC is charged with addressing a range of issues, including data privacy, taxation, standards, consumer protection, authentication, security and content, among others. The Committee is a key element in the US government's decision-making process on trade policy. This is a particularly active period in trade negotiations both on a regional and multilateral-basis as talks continue in the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC), and in a number of country-specific free-trade agreements (FTAs).

Also serving on the advisory committee are representatives of IBM, Union Carbide, Microsoft, Cisco Systems, General Motors, eBay, Boeing, Caterpillar, UUNET, AOL Time Warner, and other major corporations and trade associations. "I am particularly pleased that our company has been chosen to sit along side these respected companies as we formulate US trade policy," said Owens.

Owens also is a Director of UniStates, LLC, a private US technology company with the right to commercialize Reflexive Materials Technology(TM) (RMT(TM)).

AbleMedia (http://ablemedia.com) is a global management and technology consulting firm. For over a quarter of a century, AbleMedia has served the best, the brightest and the biggest in business, technology, and education.