September 22, 2009: Pre-Dinner Forum and Dinner Presentation

New York Hilton, 1335 Avenue of the Americas, New York City
    . 4:30 P.M. - Pre-Dinner Forum
    . 5:30 P.M. - Reception
    . 6:00 P.M. - Dinner Presentation and Dinner


Pre-Dinner Forum: 4:30-5:30 PM
Topic: Energy Market Price Volatility and the View for 2010
Speaker: Addison Armstrong, Director, Market Research
Sponsor: Tradition Energy

Addison Armstrong, Director of Market Research for Tradition Energy, and one of only three exclusive CNBC energy contributors, will address the volatility of the energy markets over the past twelve months and then present his views of the global macro economic environment in 2010 and the factors that will be the primary drivers of energy prices. He will discuss the impact of Chinese and emerging market demand, global inventories, likely OPEC moves, potential geo-political impacts, the rise of commodities as a store of value against the backdrop of a falling dollar and the consequences of tight credit conditions. Mr. Addison will also examine the volatility of future energy prices, particularly in light of the new regulatory conditions proposed for the commodities futures markets. His remarks will conclude with price forecasts for crude oil, natural gas, power and gasoline prices.

Addison Armstrong is the Director of Market Research for Tradition. He is a veteran of the energy commodity business, having previously held positions in marketing, commercial and industrial sales and business development with Sempra Energy, AIG Energy and ADM. After receiving his undergraduate degree from Columbia University, he became a journalist and television producer for NBC, the BBC and Reuters. Mr. Armstrong is one of only three exclusive contributors to CNBC, and a regular contributor to Fox Business, Bloomberg, Public Radio, Reuters, The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. Along with his research team, Mr. Armstrong produces daily, weekly and monthly market reports, trends and forecasts.

Tradition Energy is one of the world's largest energy management advisors, helping commercial, industrial and governmental organizations manage electricity and natural gas costs in regulated and volatile deregulated energy markets. Tradition Energy is the retail arm of Tradition's award-winning wholesale energy brokerage division, with eight offices worldwide, over 300 energy specialists, and in the energy business since 1986. In 2008, Tradition was named "Broker of the Year" by Energy Risk magazine. Tradition also recently garnered fourteen awards, more than any other company in the eightyear history of Environmental Finance magazine's industry survey. Globally, Tradition is a leading inter-dealer broker in financial and commodity-related products with a presence in 27 countries and over 2,400 employees.


Networking Reception: 5:30-6:00 PM


Dinner Presentation: 5:30-6:00 PM
Topic: Managing Your Most Strategic IT Vendors
Speaker: William R. Snyder, Vice President, Gartner

IT organizations' relationships with suppliers have historically been one of feast or famine, tied directly to spend events rather than an ongoing dialog on mutual interests. Mature IT organizations realize that maximizing the customer-supplier relationship requires more than just communicating at the time of purchase. Forward-looking IT organizations are rolling out Strategic Vendor Management (SVM) programs to manage high dependency suppliers in a more constructive and proactive process.

In this presentation, William Snyder of Gartner, Inc. will cover the following key issues surrounding SVM: What is Strategic Vendor Management and why is it important to IT organizations? How to establish an effective SVM program, and key pitfalls to avoid in SVM management.

William R. Snyder is a vice president of Gartner, where he specializes in IT strategic vendor management. In addition to SVM practices, his expertise extends into transitioning IT asset management programs into strategic cross-platform programs charged with running the finances of IT. He assists clients in integrating asset management programs into portfolio management programs, as well as in assessing maturity of asset management. Mr. Snyder's key areas of focus are process development, identifying organizational integrations and affecting improvements in IT efficiency. Mr. Snyder's coverage also includes best practices in workstation, server and mainframe hardware and software asset management. He has extensive experience in planning and negotiating enterprise license agreements, including financial analysis and software acquisition contract review. Specific areas of coverage include asset management, chargeback, IT budgeting, ROI analysis, procurement, strategic vendor management, portfolio management, data center infrastructure, IT operations and vendor negotiation and management.

Registration:
Please email ISM-New York to register for a meeting or to request more information.