OGC Installs Directors, Appoints VP

June 19, 2001, Wayland, MA, USA – The Open GIS Consortium (OGC) has had its biennial election of directors with the result that eight sitting directors have been re-elected and three new directors have been elected. New directors are nominated by the board and are elected by the OGC Planning Committee, which includes the consortium's Principal Members and which oversees implementation of OGC's technology development plan in accordance with strategic directions set by the board.OGC directors are elected as individuals and do not represent the companies with which they are professionally affiliated. OGC's policy is to attract directors to its board who represent an appropriate spectrum of professional and industry experience and who are able to reflect objectively the real requirements and movements of the market and community that OGC serves.The three new directors are Robert King, President of MSR, Inc.; Preetha Pulusani, Executive Vice President for Mapping/GIS & Intergraph India, Ltd. at Intergraph Corporation; and SJ Camarata, Director of Corporate Strategies for ESRI, Inc.Reelected OGC directors include: Carl Cargill, Director of Corporate Standards, Sun Microsystems; Robert Corell, Senior Research Fellow at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government and Senior Fellow of the American Meteorological Society; Lawrence Fritz, First Vice President of ISPRS and Sr. Staff Scientist at Lockheed Martin Corp; Emil Horvath, Director of the USDA/NRCS Information Technology Institute, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service; Fred Limp, Director, Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies (CAST) and Professor of Anthropology & Adjunct Professor of Geography, University of Arkansas; Ulrich Neunfinger, President & CEO, SICAD Geomatics; Jack Pellicci, Group Vice President, Business Development, Oracle Service Industries, Oracle Corporation; and Akihiro Yamaura, Assistant General Manager, Aerospace Division, Mitsubishi Corporation.Robert King is President of MSR, Inc., a provider of consulting services in the areas of Strategic Business Development and Program Planning and Controls. He recently served as a member of the Independent Commission on the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA Commission) established by the FY2000 Defense Appropriations Bill. Mr. King has been a valuable advisor to OGC management on business practice and strategy since before OGC was founded in 1994.Preetha Pulusani is Executive Vice President for Mapping/GIS & Intergraph India, Ltd. at Intergraph Corporation. She is responsible for the management of Intergraph's Mapping and GIS product business unit, as well as the management of Intergraph India, Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Intergraph positioned for an IPO in India. Since 1995, as the first Principal Member representative to OGC, she has worked enthusiastically with OGC staff to support OGC and ensure the success of OpenGIS in the market.SJ Camarata is currently Director of Corporate Strategies for ESRI, Inc., Redlands, CA, where he focuses on worldwide corporate initiatives including internet and wireless business strategies, Location Services initiatives, joint ventures, eBusiness / eCommerce marketing and global strategic partnerships. Mr. Camarata's experience covers a wide range of operational areas in corporate management as well as marketing & sales, strategic planning, and the development of strategic partnerships and joint ventures in multiple industries.The board includes three members of OGC's executive staff. In addition to the two executive staff members who hold continuing appointments to the board, David Schell, President & Chairman, and Kurt Buehler, VP-CTO & Vice Chairman, a third staff member, Jeffrey Burnett, VP-CFO, has been added to the director list. Mr. Burnett joined OGC in April of 2000 as VP of Operations and Finance, with primary responsibility for OGC's business plan and operational management. Mr. Burnett joined OGC from Applied Analysis, Inc. of Billerica, MA after a long career in information technology, including product and business management positions with DEC, MassComp, and Harte-Hanks Response Management.David Schell, OGC's President, commented, “Like the consortium itself, the OGC board of directors has a significant role to play in the OpenGIS consensus process. It is our board that provides a strategic compass for the work of the entire organization, and it is the board that is responsible for ensuring that the strategic objectives of the corporation are underwritten by an effective business plan. Every two years we refresh our board with new talent and perspective, while preserving a core of experience and understanding in order to ensure continuity of vision as we respond to the evolving geospatial requirements of the IT community. I am particularly pleased with the composition of the new board for the 2001-2002 term of office, and grateful for the interest and experience that our new directors bring to the OGC community effort. “OGC is an international industry consortium of over 200 companies, government agencies and universities participating in a consensus process to develop publicly available geoprocessing specifications. OpenGIS Specifications establish common interfaces that “geo-enable” the Web and mainstream IT, enabling technology developers to make complex spatial information and services accessible and useful with all kinds of applications. Visit the OGC website at www.opengeospatial.org .– end –“