Press release:

IBM Smarter Commerce Helps RadioShack Deliver Customer Value and Drive Sales

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ORLANDO - 06 Sep 2012: At the Smarter Commerce Global Summit, IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that RadioShack, a leading national retailer of innovative mobile and technology products, services and accessories, is working with IBM’s cloud-based solutions that help chief marketing officers (CMO) and their teams improve price image and pricing operations over the entire pricing lifecycle.

The solutions being used by RadioShack are part of IBM’s cloud-based merchandising analytics software and services, which help companies define the optimal price points and product mix based on customer buying trends. As a result, companies have the power to deliver a more positive buying experience, thereby improving customer service and at the same time increasing both revenue and profitability. 

RadioShack Corporation has extended its right to use IBM’s cloud-based business marketing software and services. Tapping into IBM’s Smarter Commerce initiative, RadioShack will look to grow key categories by incorporating shopper-focused strategies that are localized to each of its 4,700 stores. 

IBM's Smarter Commerce initiative features software and services that help companies transform their business processes to more quickly respond to shifting customer demands in today's digitally transformed marketplace. The initiative is driven by CMOs and organizations that are increasingly looking for ways to bring new levels of automation to marketing, sales and fulfillment to secure greater customer loyalty. 

"RadioShack is one of the most iconic and enduring brands in the American retail landscape. A major contributor to its business has been its foresight to invest in technologies that will inform better strategic merchandising decisions, and best serve their customers," said Yuchun Lee, vce president, IBM Enterprise Marketing Management. "We look forward to continuing to work with the RadioShack team and providing them an expanded set of software and services that deliver greater insight into today’s empowered customer, allowing it to better market, sell and deliver their products and services.” 

Current DemandTec software and services being used by RadioShack include DemandTec Price Management™, DemandTec Price Optimization™, DemandTec Markdown Optimization™, and DemandTec Promotion Planning™. 

More information on Smarter Commerce can be found atwww.ibm.com/smarterplanet/us/en/smarter_commerce/overview/

Press release:

The American Marketing Association Turns to IBM Smarter Commerce to Target CMOs, Marketing Professionals’ Interests

IBM Helps AMA Connect to marketers across Digital, Social, and Traditional Channels

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ORLANDO - 06 Sep 2012: At the Smarter Commerce Global Summit, IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that the American Marketing Association (AMA) is using IBM's Smarter Commerce initiative to connect on a deeper level to the marketing community and its 30,000 members and deliver marketing content, professional development and training that meets their needs. Through Smarter Commerce, IBM provides digital marketing and Web analytics software that helps chief marketing officers (CMO) sift through Big Data to understand the individual preferences and needs of consumers in order to deliver targeted and relevant marketing messages.

One of the largest and most prestigious marketing associations in the world, the AMA is a professional organization for individuals involved in the practice, teaching and study of marketing worldwide.  It helps marketers deepen their expertise, elevate their careers, and ultimately achieve better business results. In addition, the AMA provides relevant information and comprehensive education and training programs. To reach members, the AMA previouslyused multiple third party vendors, which resulted in a fragmented view of its own data. The AMA turned to IBM to gain a more holistic view of member data and more effectively meet the needs of each individual. 

The AMA has transitioned to a comprehensive solution providing a 360 degree view of their customer so they can more easily share information, resources and content with their members, which include CMOs, marketing professionals, professors and students. Other benefits will include improved inbound and outbound campaigns to members, increased marketing automation, and integration across multiple marketing channels, resulting in increased marketing effectiveness. 

“As a leading professional organization for marketers, our members depend on us to quickly and easily share answers and resources to help them do their jobs better. Through this improved view of our members’ data, we have the ability to better understand individual member’s preferences and needs, providing them with the information, resources and content they want most,” said Nancy Costopulos, chief marketing officer, American Marketing Association. “Together with IBM, we understand the importance of technology in today’s marketing landscape and, through this collaboration, we expect to see significant business operating efficiency, improved member engagement, and an increase in ROI.” 

"The AMA is among the largest marketing associations in the world," said Yuchun Lee, vice president, IBM Enterprise Marketing Management. “As the marketing industry itself evolves toward greater personalization, AMA's members can count on IBM's digital technology to help AMA sift through Big Data, pinpoint and address the needs of individual members and help deliver marketing resources and information that feels like a welcomed service.

IBM's Smarter Commerce initiative features software and services that help companies transform their business processes to more quickly respond to shifting customer demands in today's digitally-transformed marketplace. The initiative is driven by CMOs and organizations that are increasingly looking for ways to bring new levels of automation to marketing, sales and fulfillment to secure greater customer loyalty. 

Current IBM Enterprise Marketing Management software and services being used by the American Marketing Association include IBM Unica eMessage™, IBM Unica NetInsight™, IBM Unica PredictiveInsight™, and IBM Unica CustomerInsight™. 

More information on Smarter Commerce can be found atwww.ibm.com/smarterplanet/us/en/smarter_commerce/overview/

Flextronics CFO and EVP Paul Read Elected to Ingram Micro Board of Directors

Press release from Ingram Micro:

Flextronics CFO and EVP Paul Read Elected to Ingram Micro Board of Directors

SANTA ANA, Calif., Aug. 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Ingram Micro Inc. (NYSE: IM), the world's largest technology distributor and supply-chain services provider, today announced that its board of directors elected Paul Read, chief financial officer and executive vice president for Flextronics, to serve as an independent director, and appointed him to serve as a member of the Audit and the Human Resources Committees, all effective Sept. 1, 2012. The election of Read increases the Ingram Micro board of directors from 10 to 11."We welcome Paul to the board," said Dale R. Laurance, chairman of the board, Ingram Micro Inc. "Ingram Micro will benefit from his many years of hands-on, executive level financial experience, as well as his valuable perspective on successfully operating a complex global organization. We look forward to Paul's contribution."Read, 46, has served as chief financial officer and executive vice president for Flextronics sinceJune 30, 2008. Previously he served as the company's executive vice president of Finance for Worldwide Operations. Flextronics is a $30 billion, industry-leading, Fortune Global 500 electronics manufacturing services provider with more than 200,000 employees and operations in 30 countries. Read's financial management and operations background includes increasingly important roles at Flextronics where he has led many critical initiatives that include serving as the lead executive responsible for the integration of the Solectron acquisition. Prior to joiningFlextronics in 1995, he held various senior financial positions in the United Kingdom with Allied Steel and Wire, STI Telecommunications and Associated British Foods.Read graduated from the University of Wales as a qualified Chartered Management Accountant. About Ingram Micro Inc. As a vital link in the technology value chain, Ingram Micro creates sales and profitability opportunities for vendors and resellers through unique marketing programs, outsourced logistics, technical and financial support, managed and cloud-based services, and product aggregation and distribution. The company is the only global broad-based IT distributor, serving 145 countries on six continents with the world's most comprehensive portfolio of IT products and services. Visit www.ingrammicro.com.

Final Baltimore Police Officer Pleads Guilty in Towing Extortion Scheme

Final Baltimore Police Officer Pleads Guilty in Towing Extortion Scheme 
Fifteen Police Officers Have Pleaded Guilty in the Extortion Scheme in Federal Court and Another Officer Pleaded Guilty in State Court

U.S. Attorney’s OfficeMarch 22, 2012

District of Maryland(410) 209-4800

BALTIMORE—Baltimore Police officer Jaime Luis Lugo, age 36, of Aberdeen, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to commit and committing extortion under color of official right in connection with a scheme in which brothers Hernan Alexis Moreno and Edwin Javier Mejia paid Lugo and over 50 other officers to arrange for their car repair company, Majestic, rather than a city-authorized company, to tow vehicles from accident scenes and make repairs.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein, Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld, III.

According to his guilty plea, beginning in 2010, Moreno and Mejia agreed with Lugo that while acting in his capacity as Baltimore Police Department (BPD) officer at accident scenes, Lugo would contact Moreno and Mejia for towing and repair services for vehicles even though Majestic was not an authorized tow company for the city of Baltimore. In exchange, Mejia or Moreno would pay Lugo $300 for each vehicle that arrived at Majestic. Lugo then began to refer vehicles on a regular basis to Moreno in exchange for payment, usually by contacting Moreno by cell phone.

Specifically, while on the scene of an accident, Lugo would contact Moreno and provide him with the details of the accident, including the type and extent of damage to the car or cars, insurance information, and contact information for the car’s owner. It was agreed that Lugo, while performing his official duties as a police officer, would persuade accident victims to allow their cars to be towed or otherwise delivered to Majestic by telling the victims that Majestic could tow the car, provide repair services, help with the insurance claim, assist in getting a rental car, and waive the owner’s deductible. Lugo advised accident victims that they should not call their insurance company until after they spoke to Moreno or Mejia.

Lugo also understood and agreed that Moreno and Mejia would create additional damage to certain vehicles in order to increase the vehicle insurance claims, thereby increasing the net profit for Majestic as well as covering both the cash bribe payment to Lugo and the payment of the vehicle owner’s deductible. When referring vehicles from accident scenes, Lugo often discussed with Moreno whether a particular vehicle needed more damage. Lugo also falsified his police reports on several occasions in order to make it appear that the damage added to a vehicle by Majestic had been caused by an accident so that the insurance company would not question the repairs. Moreno paid Lugo $200 in cash in exchange for falsifying a police report.

From at least October 2010 to February 2011, Moreno and Mejia paid Lugo $6,000 in cash for vehicles that he had referred to Majestic. Those payments, plus the cost of the additional damages that Moreno and others inflicted upon various accident vehicles in the form of insurance claims paid by the various insurance companies, caused a total loss of between $120,000 to $200,000.

Lugo faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for the conspiracy, and a maximum of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,0000 or twice the amount of the gross gain or loss for extortion. U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake has scheduled sentencing for July 10, 2012 at 9:00 a.m.

Hernan Alexis Moreno, age 30, of Rosedale; and Edwin Javier Mejia, age 27, of Middle River, pleaded guilty to the extortion conspiracy and face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Their sentencing has not yet been scheduled.

Fifteen Baltimore Police officers have pleaded guilty to their participation in the extortion scheme in federal court and one officer pleaded guilty in state court.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the FBI and the Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Tonya N. Kelly and Kathleen O. Gavin, who are prosecuting the case.