"Futurize West" April Event Gains Momentum With Keynote Talks By eBay, Boeing, Cluetrain Coauthor, And Well Founder

The roster of speakers and schedule of activities only gets better for FUTURIZE WEST, a pioneering, one-of-a-kind conference and workshop scheduled for APRIL 19-22 at the SILVERADO RESORT in NAPA, CA. And so does enthusiasm for the event.

Futurize West is hosted by San Francisco-based Echelon Five, a new, all-star consulting company that helps its primarily Fortune 500 companies to futurize their operations in an e-business environment. The Futurize West website is at www.futurizenow.com/futurizewest.>David Siegel, Echelon Five's chairman and author of the groundbreaking business bestseller, Futurize Your Enterprise (Wiley 1999), describes "futurization" as "transformational": "We help our Fortune 500 customers transform themselves into customer- centric e-businesses that can win in a networked economy," says Siegel.

Reports Greg Tucker, CEO of Echelon Five, "Futurize West is a chance for world-class corporate change agents from around the world to learn how best to futurize their companies. We have tapped a nerve in Corporate America and perhaps the world, because reservations (limited to 80 places) are going fast!"

Featuring four complementary sessions -- Market Conversations, Customer-Centricity, Tools for Futurizing, and Developing Communities, -- Futurize West offers a wealth of presentations by leading change agents.

Speakers recently added to the roster include MARY LOU SONG, eBay; DOC SEARLES, coauthor of the bestselling Cluetrain Manifesto; CLIFF FIGALLO and NANCY RHINE, community developers at The WELL and Salon; and Erik Oksendahl, Boeing Institute of Aerospace Excellence. Tentatively scheduled additional speakers include TIM and NINA ZAGAT, The Zagat Survey; IDEO cofounder BILL MOGGRIDGE; technology critic MICHAEL GOLDHABER; NetAction's AUDRIE KRAUSE; and PETE BLACKSHAW, founder of the new customer-empowering startup, PlanetFeedback.com. confirmed speakers, in addition to SIEGEL and TUCKER, include JEREMY COOPERSTOCK, creator of the rebellious Untied.com website; REBECCA MAY, Kibu.com; CARRIE HOLLENBERG, SRI's VALS Program; STERLING HUTTO, Open Source Movement; CYNTHIA TYPALDOS, RealCommunities; JUKKA ROPPONEN, Eastman-Kodak; JENNA WOODUL, TalkCity; DWIGHT FOSTER of LivePerson; HARLAN HUGH, inventor of The Brain; and DANA ATCHLEY, digital storyteller extraordinaire.

Futurize West participants also will actually get to "futurize" two major wineries, guided by Echelon Five and using the online polling services of QuickTake. This two-day participatory experience, one of many unusual Futurize West happenings, will be the first of its kind.

Says David Siegel, "Futurize West is a chance for people who are serious about embracing their customers to get together and discover together. Anyone who's read Futurize Your Enterprise or The Cluetrain Manifesto and who wants to light a fire under his or her company will find plenty of fuel here. This won't be your average conference!"

For more Futurize West information and to register, visit www.futurizenow.com/futurizewest or call 415-777-5511 and ask for Catherine Gee.