Whitman School to hold 55th annual Salzberg Lecture Program March 31

Whitman School to hold 55th annual Salzberg Lecture Program March 31March 23, 2006Amy Schmitzaemehrin@syr.edu

Glen T. Meakem, co-founder and managing general partner of Meakem Becker Venture Capital, which invests in early-stage information technology companies, will be the 57th recipient of the Salzberg Medallion, awarded by the Martin J. Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University.

The award ceremony is part of the 55th Annual Harry E. Salzberg Lecture Program, scheduled for March 31 in Lender Auditorium of the Whitman School. The program includes a keynote speech by Daniel Keen, assistant vice president of policy analysis for the Association of American Railroads; a presentation by SU students; a lecture by Nancy Jenkins-Kennedy, vice president of global logistics operations support for IBM Integrated Supply Chain; the presentation of the Zinsmeister Award to Christopher Rhinehart, a Whitman senior majoring in supply chain; and the Salzberg Address, given by Meakem.

“The Salzberg Award is the oldest supply chain award in the country, and this year the Whitman School is very proud to recognize Glen Meakem,” says Gary LaPoint, assistant professor of supply chain management in the Department of Marketing. “Glen has revolutionized the way companies negotiate, bid and procure materials through online reverse auctioning and is very deserving of the Salzberg Award.”

In 1995, Meakem founded FreeMarkets Inc., which created the market for Internet-deployed supply management software and services. Before being sold in 2004, the company earned more than $180 million in annual revenues.

Meakem previously held professional and managerial positions with McKinsey and Co., Kraft-General Foods and General Electric. A former officer in the U.S. Army Reserve, Meakem achieved the rank of captain and served in the 1991 Gulf War. He holds a B.A. from Harvard University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Established in 1949 by Murray M. Salzberg ’37 in memory of his father’s distinguished career in transportation, the Salzberg Medallion is awarded annually to outstanding practitioners, advocates, academicians or researchers in the field of transportation, distribution and logistics management, and to companies for pioneering ideas and policies that reshaped the industry.

The Salzberg Lecture Program is free and open to the public. For more information or to RSVP, please contact Shannon Hiemstra, administrator for the Whitman Research Centers, at srhiemst@syr.edu.