BOB METCALFE JOINS RFID JOURNAL LIVE! INVESTOR SEMINAR; The Inventor of Ethernet, Now a Partner with Polaris Ventures, will Moderate Two Panel Discussions at RFID Journal LIVE! 2005

    BOB METCALFE JOINS RFID JOURNAL LIVE! INVESTOR SEMINAR

The Inventor of Ethernet, Now a Partner with Polaris Ventures, will
Moderate Two Panel Discussions at RFID Journal LIVE! 2005

/24-7PressRelease.com/ - New York, March 10, 2005—Bob Metcalfe, the legendary Internet pioneer, has joined the "Investing in RFID" pre-conference seminar that will be held as part of RFID Journal LIVE! 2005, (www.rfidjournallive.com) RFID Journal's third annual executive conference, taking place April 10-12, 2005 at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers. Metcalfe will host two panels on the current RFID startup landscape and on RFID in 2010.

"Bob is a legend in IT, an innovator, an entrepreneur and now a venture capitalist," said Mark Roberti, founder and editor of RFID Journal. "I can't think of anyone who would have a better perspective on RFID as an emerging technology, so I'm pleased that he has agreed to participate in RFID Journal LIVE!."

Metcalfe helped build the early Internet. In 1973, while working as a scientist-engineer at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, he invented Ethernet, the local-area networking standard on which he shares four patents. In 1979, he founded network-equipment maker 3Com Corp. At various times, he was the firm's chairman, CEO, division general manager, and vice president of engineering, sales and marketing. He helped build 3Com into a billion-dollar company. In January 2001, he joined Polaris Ventures, a venture capital firm, as general partner in the firm's Boston office, where he works with IT startups.

Metcalfe will receive the National Medal of Technology from President Bush during a White House ceremony on Mar. 14. He was selected for the award for inventing, standardizing and commercializing Ethernet, which is the "plumbing" for the Internet and foundation for the World Wide Web.

His first panel on April 10th at RFID Journal LIVE!, "The Startup Landscape" features Jeff Evanson, a senior research analyst in the equity capital markets unit of Dougherty and Co.; Dave Shrigley, a partner in Sevin Rosen Funds; and Edward Schneider, a director at Quan Ventures. The panel will discuss the most successful RFID startups today, why they have succeeded thus far and what their market position and potential is going forward.

Metcalfe's "RFID in 2010" panel includes Daniel Engels, research director of the MIT Auto-ID Labs; Nobel Laureate Arno Penzias, a venture partner with New Enterprise Associates; and Sanjay E. Sarma, chief technology officer at OATSystems and cofounder of the Auto-ID Center at MIT. The panelists will discuss what they believe will be the most promising new RFID product areas over the next five years and when the market for RFID software, middleware and other products will take off, and they will provide guidance for investors based on current RFID adoption patterns and the evolution of the technology.

The "Investing in RFID" pre-conference seminar begins with a session on RFID basics, for those new to the technology, and a session on the business benefits of the technology. Other panel sessions will examine the position of startups versus incumbents in the market, startup strategies and new RFID-driven business models.

Among the other participants in the "Investing in RFID" pre-conference seminar are Reik Read, senior research analyst with Robert W. Baird and Co.; Rick Segal, a partner with J. L. Albright Venture Partners; Mike Hirsland, a general partner with Polaris Ventures; Brian Ascher, a senior principal with Venrock Associates; Terry Rock, a general partner with CenterPoint Ventures; Stav Prodromou, CEO of Alien Technology; and Piyush Sodha, general manager and VP for RFID at Symbol Technologies.

Other pre-conference seminars being held as part of RFID Journal LIVE! 2005 include:

RFID Journal University: A tutorial designed for those relatively new to RFID who, before participating in the main conference, want to understand the terminology and how RFID systems work.

The EPC Developers Conference: Co-presented with VeriSign, this a one-day conference for in-house developers and independent software vendors focuses on creating applications that turn the evolutionary technologies of EPC and RFID into practical, real-world solutions for inventory, asset and supply chain management solutions.

RFID in the Health Care Industry: This seminar will look at tracking pallets, cases and unique items in the health care and pharmaceutical industry supply chains. Speakers will address the special deployment challenges faced by companies in these industries.

Packaging and Printing: This seminar explores the changes that are in store for the packaging and printing industries. Speakers will address the specific issues that packaging and printing companies need to understand to meet the challenges of embedding RFID tags in packaging.

RFID in Commercial Aviation: Presented in conjunction with Boeing and Airbus, this seminar explains the RFID guidelines the two manufacturers have established for suppliers, examines the business case for the use of RFID in the aviation industry and provides a roadmap for RFID implementation.

Intellectual Property and RFID: Hosted by the Intellectual Property Society, this seminar explores critical intellectual property issues that companies selling, deploying and investing in RFID technologies face today.

To learn more about RFID Journal LIVE! 2005, or to register for the conference, go to http://www.rfidjournallive.com. Group discounts are available. RFID Journal LIVE! 2005 is co-produced by Mosaic Media Partners.

About RFID Journal
RFID Journal is the only independent media company devoted solely to radio frequency identification and its many business applications. Our mission is to be the ultimate resource for businesspeople that need to understand how RFID can help their companies boost supply chain efficiencies, reduce inventories, limit theft, improve product availability and add convenience for consumers. RFID Journal serves the needs of businesspeople looking to take advantage of RFID technologies with timely news, strategic analysis, networking opportunities at events and in-depth education.


Editor's Note: To register as press for RFID Journal LIVE! go to http://www.rfidjournallive.com/press.htm or contact Annie Scully at [email protected]

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