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FOR RELEASE: Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Walton College Announces Alliance With Pitney Bowes MapInfo and Gadberry Group
FAYETTEVILLE,
Ark. --
The Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University
of Arkansas announced that it has
formed an alliance with Pitney Bowes MapInfo Corp. of Troy,
N.Y., and the Gadberry Group LLC, of Little
Rock, Ark. The alliance will
provide Walton College
finance students with access to the latest advanced spatial technology from
MapInfo and the most current data intelligence products from Gadberry. "We are excited about the
applications of this innovative technology to come to more informed financial
decision-making," said Wayne Lee, chair of the finance department and executive
director of the Garrison Financial Institute. "Markets are global, but
competition is local. Understanding the idiosyncratic attributes of consumers
where they live and work is critical to the success of any business. Our
students have an unparalleled window of opportunity to lead in the strategic
use of this innovative technology." The Walton College unveiled a
newly redesigned Master of Business Administration program in January 2007 focused
on consumer products and retailing with industry career track electives in
retail marketing and supply chain management, finance, as well as
entrepreneurship and innovation. MBA students will be the first to take
advantage of this new technology. "MapInfo is dedicated to fostering
education in location intelligence, and we are proud to partner with the Walton
College to help build a world-class
program." said Devon Wolfe, retail global
practice leader for MapInfo. "Together with Gadberry Group, we look forward to
working with the Garrison Financial Institute and the Center for Retailing
Excellence to deliver the students the most innovative, industry-leading
solution, and ensuring they graduate with a distinct advantage over their
competition in the workplace." University alumnus Adam Gadberry
of the Little Rock-based Gadberry Group said, "We could not be more excited
about this alliance. The opportunity to leverage our MicroBuildT product with
MapInfo's best of breed mapping technology in an academic setting is a great
way to help future retail and real estate professionals understand the power of
data and visualization." Gadberry Group is a strategic
business partner of MapInfo and provides data products to retail research professionals,
including James Webster, a former Wal-Mart director of real estate research and
planning who is now an adjunct professor of finance in the Walton
College. "Geospatial technology combined
with market-specific, detailed data is having an important and broad impact on
retail today and will have an expanded one in the future." said Webster. "This
alliance will allow students in the Walton
College the unique opportunity to
be exposed to these tools to assist them in retail financial decision-making." MapInfo is a global company and the leading provider of
location intelligence solutions, integrating software, data and services to
provide greater value from location-based information and drive more insightful
decisions for businesses and government organizations around the world. MapInfo
solutions are available in multiple languages through a network of strategic
partners and distribution channels in 60 countries. Headquartered in Troy,
N.Y., MapInfo is on the World Wide Web at
http://www.mapinfo.com. ### Contact:
Wayne Y. Lee, chair, finance
department, and executive director, Garrison Financial Institute Dixie Kline, director of
communications |
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