RICHARDSON, Texas (May 19, 2006) – “Transforming the Enterprise in Turbulent Times: The Role of the Chief Financial Officer” will be the topic of a Financial Executives Forum May 23 at The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) School of Management.

 

Sponsors of the event are the Dallas Chapter of Financial Executives International, the Metroplex Technology Business Council, UTD’s Executive Education Center, Avnet, Inc., Biznet Software, Senable Technologies, Inc., and FirstKernel Consulting, Inc.

 

Presenters at the event include Dr. David Springate, UTD’s associate dean for executive education, who will speak on the role of the chief financial officer (CFO) and Dr. Michael Oliff, head of The UTD School of Management’s 2020 Enterprise Transformation Program and co-developer of the “Enterprise Transformation Maturity Model” (eTMM).

 

The model is designed as a prescriptive framework that can be used by industry to assess and develop transformation-specific capabilities in a variety of enterprises.  Oliff co-developed the eTMM model over the last 12 months with Andy Pulianda, managing principal of FirstKernel.

 

The event’s program also includes addresses from corporate executives involved with enterprise transformation in their respective companies. Tony DiMaso, vice president of global strategy and development for Verizon Communications, will speak on the tranformational change impacting the communications industry, and Pulianda will join Oliff in a presentation on the applications of eTMM. Participants in a panel critique of eTMM include Ed Cantwell, president, chairman and CEO of InnerWireless; Jim Strand, vice president of financial operations at Avnet; and William L. (Lonnie) Martin III, founder and CEO of White Rock Networks.

 

“Enterprise transformation is an important concept for companies operating in the turbulent environment of today’s world,” Oliff explained. “This environment has led to a specific set of challenges for dominant companies trying to maintain their competitive position.”

 

Noting that three out of 10 Fortune 500 companies now have ‘transformation’ officers, Oliff said that the role of this position is to “create value for both customers and employees while building a ‘stretch’ culture that accommodates rapid change and at the same time building the company’s distinctive competencies.”

 

Registration fee for the forum is $325. More information is available from either Springate at 972-883-2647 or spring8@utdallas.edu or from Oliff at 972-883-4118 or michael.oliff@utdallas.edu.

 

About the UTD School of Management

 

Based on publications in the top 24 business journals spanning all areas of business, The University of Texas at Dallas School of Management faculty ranks 33rd in research productivity nationwide. Financial Times, using a broader set of 40 journals, ranks UTD’s management faculty 32nd worldwide. Financial Times also ranks The UTD Executive MBA program 46th in the world and 25th in the U.S, and U.S. News and World Report lists UTD’s fulltime Cohort MBA program 54th nationwide and 25th at public colleges and universities in the U.S. The School of Management is the largest of UTD’s seven schools, with an enrollment of nearly 4,700, of which 2,500 are graduate students.

 

About UTD

 

The University of Texas at Dallas, located at the convergence of Richardson, Plano and Dallas in the heart of the complex of major multinational technology corporations known as the Telecom Corridor®, enrolls nearly 14,500 students. The school’s freshman class traditionally stands at the forefront of Texas state universities in terms of average SAT scores. The university offers a broad assortment of bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs. For additional information about UTD, please visit the university’s website at www.utdallas.edu.