IDEA Announces New President, Robert E. Gaylord

Arlington, VA - November 26, 2007 - IDEA, an eCommerce service provider, is pleased to announce that Robert E. Gaylord will become the organization's president on December 3, 2007.

Gaylord, a retired U.S. Army Brigadier General, is a versatile senior executive with a proven record of accomplishment as a leader, manager and communicator. He brings to IDEA in-depth expertise in leading large, complex, dispersed organizations of both military and civilian personnel. He joins IDEA after serving as president and chief executive officer of the Leader to Leader Institute in New York.

"We are incredibly lucky that Bob has accepted the presidency of IDEA. Although he is new to this particular industry, Bob has a proven track record. With his leadership, IDEA will continue its success," said IDEA Chairman, Todd Kumm.

IDEA was founded in 1998 by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) and the National Association of Electrical Distributors (NAED). The organization has been instrumental in improving data quality in the electrical industry, overseeing industry data standards, and driving down supply chain costs for its customers.

"I know Bob Gaylord as a remarkable officer and a fantastic leader. I am confident that Bob will work with our industries to lead IDEA to new levels of service and accomplishment," said NEMA President and Chief Executive Officer, Evan R. Gaddis.

NEMA is the leading trade association in the United States representing the interests of electroindustry manufacturers. Founded in 1926 and headquartered near Washington, D.C., its 400 member companies manufacture products used in the generation, transmission and distribution, control, and end-use of electricity. Domestic shipments of electrical products within the NEMA scope exceed $100 billion.

NAED is the trade association for the $70+ billion electrical distribution industry. Through networking, education, research, and benchmarking, NAED helps electrical distributors increase profitability and improve the channel. NAED's membership represents approximately 4,200 locations internationally.

About IDEA

IDEA (idea-esolutions.com) is the only standard-setting organization offering a full range of eCommerce products and services designed to drive supply network efficiencies, reduce costs, slash cycle times, and ensure standardized, timely, and accurate data. IDEA provides the Industry Data Warehouse (IDW), a database of product, pricing, and marketing data; the Industry Data Exchange (IDX), a centralized and standardized document exchange solution; the Industry Retail Database (IRD) a central repository of manufacturer retail product data powered by CERICOMX® which helps users meet retailer mandates and CPG and GS1 US requirements; IDEA eCredit (IeC), a hosted industry account receivables reporting database and the Data Audit and Certification (DAC) Program which assures the accuracy and completeness of the manufacturer data found in IDW.

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