As John said, I'm with MacNeal-Schwendler; we're a software company and certainly we are in the midst of dramatic changes. Even though software is a very vital business today, every company seems to need more software to run their business, yet software companies have to change constantly. Change is just a way of life today and I think that to be successful in the future most businesses are really going to have to embrace change, and they are going to have to see concepts like re-engineering as positive concepts.

Gary, Twila, and Cliff are going to speak to the motivation to change, benchmarking, and how companies that embark on change are using the whole concept of benchmarking to set their direction. They're going to talk about the relationship between changing in the manufacturing process and changing at the very front end of the process. The changes that have to be made in the design area and the tools that are available to facilitate change. Twila is going to speak particularly to the tools in the design area. And then we're going to talk about enablers and a little bit bigger context. Cliff is going to talk about the enablers of change.

Kristen, Bob and Marilyn are going to have a little bit more emphasis I think on the barriers to change that they've encountered in their businesses. They're going to talk about the management models that their companies have put in place. We're going to talk a little bit about the role of top management in re-engineering and facilitating change. We're going to talk about the cultural transformation that's required in order to be successful.

Marilyn is going to be our anchor person. She's going to wind up this session. Her business, Fluor Daniel, is a little bit different from the other companies that are involved. She's really in the service business and has a unique insight into the consequences of change and the potential for change and a very uplifting kind of view of what you can do with your organization if you do embrace change.

Thomas C. Curry is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the leading analysis software company, the MacNeal-Schwendler Corporation. Prior to the merger with MSC, Tom was President of PDA Engineering. He joined MSC as Corporate Vice President and General Manager of the PDA Division where he directed development, technical support, and marketing of PDA division products. Previously Tom was vice president of marketing for McDonnell Douglas Corporation’s Manufacturing and Engineering Systems Company, now EDS Unigraphics. A professional engineer, Tom received his BS with honors from Rutgers University.


The first panelist is R. Gary Diaz from Case Corporation