NOTE TO CORRESPONDENTS UNITED NATIONS, AMERICAN MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION AND IBM JOIN FORCES TO TACKLE GLOBAL ISSUES OF BUSINESS PROTECTION

On Tuesday, 17 September at 10:30 a.m., the United Nations, the American Management Association International and IBM will announce a new coalition to improve global cooperation in disaster planning for companies. The event will take place at The Waldorf Astoria Hotel at 301 Park Avenue on the 18th Floor.

Scheduled to speak on the issue are the Director of the secretariat of the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction, Olavi Elo; the Manager of Information Systems Avon Brazil, Jose Paulo Feijo; the Worldwide Segment Manager of IBM Business Recovery Services, Ed Carreiro; and the Manager of Worldwide Operations, IBM Business Recovery Services, Maria Carpenter.

A recent Gartner Group study showed that two out of five companies that experienced a major disaster never resume operations. Of those that do, one out of three goes out of business two years later. Better public and private sector coordination in disaster planning and management on a global basis can help more companies overcome disasters.

Interested press attendees may contact Andrea Minoff, IBM (914) 759-4713 or Pete Judice, Burson-Marsteller (212) 614-4506.

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United Nations