Industry Leaders Convene at CEA'S 2005 CEO Summit; CE Industry Trends Explored by More than 120 Top Industry Executives at the Ninth Annual CEO Summit

Business Wire, June 30, 2005

ARLINGTON, Va. -- The ever-evolving digital world as well as the rising wave of teenage consumers, were among the key issues addressed at the ninth annual Consumer Electronics CEO Summit, held in Colorado Springs, Colorado last week. Produced by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the summit brought together more than 120 senior executives from top consumer electronics (CE) retail and manufacturing companies, such as Samsung Electronics, Circuit City, CompUSA, RadioShack and LG Electronics, to discuss the latest industry trends and network with their peers.

"The record attendance and product category focused sessions made this year's CEO Summit our most successful yet," said CEA President and CEO Gary Shapiro. "By focusing on 'hot' technology segments at our conference sessions this event delivered a full and compelling slate of industry issues and business strategies for our attendees and provided meaningful networking among the participants."

Larry Mondry, CEO of CompUSA, kicked off the CEO Summit with a "One on One" session with CEA's Shapiro, detailing current challenges and opportunities facing CE retailers.

During the first conference session, "Top Trends for the Digital Home," panelists focused on the necessity for consumers to obtain a seamless, electronic stream of information within the home. Moderated by Shapiro, panel members included Tsutomu Haga, chairman and CEO of Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc.; Dong-Jin Oh, president and CEO of Samsung Electronics and Yoshihiko Yamada, chairman and CEO of Panasonic Corp. of North America.

Concentrating on products which enable consumers to obtain easy access to information inside the home, such as media servers, displays, home networks and broadband connectivity, the panelists discussed issues related to the growing category and unanimously expressed their confidence in Voice-Over IP and remote diagnostics, used to repair in-home networks.

Following the discussion of Digital Home trends, attendees were given an in-depth look into the mind of the average teenage consumer - one of the most rapidly growing consumer categories in the electronics industry.

Led by moderator Robin Raskin, also known as The Internet Mom, a panel of teens, representing this new wave of digital consumers, was asked to share insights into what products make their generation tick. By hearing how the average teenager uses new products and technology, industry leaders learned first-hand how to reach this target group of consumers.

As the daily lives of consumers grow more hectic, the CEO Summit's "Digital on the Go" conference session addressed the increasing need for more multifunctional electronic devices. Panelists were drawn from across the portable and wireless spectrum, including Dr. Philip Alvelda, chairman and CEO of Idetic/MobiTV; Jim Behrens, CEO of Orb Networks; Dr. Levy Gerzberg, president and CEO of Zoran Corp.; and John O'Rourke, senior director of consumer strategy with Microsoft. They offered their insights on emerging opportunities and discussed which products and innovations would meet consumers' needs in the digital on the go market.

Staying connected to the outside world is a growing concern for most consumers. Rob Hephner, editorial director of CMP Media moderated the "Drive the Digital Car" session which explored this and related issues. The panel included: Mike Giffin, president of Mobile Systems Division with Harman Consumer Group; Myron Trenne, vice president of research and development with Yazaki North America Inc.; Christopher Wilson, vice president of ITS strategy and programs with DaimlerChrysler Corp.; and Stephen Witt, vice president of brand marketing and communications with Alpine Electronics. The group discussed the rising challenge of bringing a seamless digital experience to the automotive world. While the industry continues to make headway, the growing concern is in developing a cooperative approach, for both manufacturers and retailers, to get these new products into the consumer's car.

The final summit panel discussion, "Selling the Digital Lifestyle," moderated by Julie Jacobson, co-founder of EH Publishing Inc., dissected the pressing issues of alleviating consumer confusion as innovations in the digital world grow more complex. Panelists included Shannon Dillavou, In-Home specialist with Micro Center; Pete Griffin, director of corporate technology with RadioShack Corp.; Doug Pilcher, Home Integration account executive with CompUSA and Walt Stinson, president of ListenUp. They addressed how retailers can effectively demonstrate complex products, such as wireless home networks, to the average consumer, and how the retail industry can begin to integrate the selling of content services and professional installation.

The 2006 CEO Summit is an invitation-only event set for June 21-23, 2006 at The Fairmont Southampton in Bermuda. To obtain information on next year's CEO Summit, contact Lisa McKellar at CEA at (703) 907-7047 or e-mail: lmckellar@ce.org.

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