Washington, DC–Eleven new members to the 2007 CE Hall of Fame were announced during Monday’s luncheon at the Consumer Electronics Association’s (CEA) Washington Forum conference. The two-day conference is being held at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC.
Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of CEA, the association that created the CE Hall of Fame in 2000, praised the new members for their efforts to improve the lifestyles of consumers all over the world. “These eleven individuals have contributed enormously to the growth of the consumer electronics industry. They are truly deserving of this honor,” he said.
The CE Hall of Fame includes inventors, executives, engineers, retailers and journalists who are chosen by a panel of industry judges each year. The judging for 2007 took place in New York on February 27th. Nominations are submitted by industry professionals and media through online submissions at www.CE.org.
Following are the new members of the 2007 CE Hall of Fame in the categories for which they were inducted:
Founders/Inventors:
Paul Allen, who with Bill Gates, founded Microsoft
Amar Bose, founder and chairman of Bose Corp.
Steve Sasson, an electrical engineer who invented the digital camera at Eastman Kodak Co.
The German team of Karlheinz Brandenberg, Dieter Seitzer and Heinz Gerhauser, who developed the MP3 format.
Sales/Marketing:
John McDonald, former CEO of Casio Inc.
Retailers :
Richard M. “Dick” Schulze, founder and chairman of retailing giant, Best Buy
William Crutchfield, founder of catalog retailer Crutchfield Inc.
Miscellaneous:
J. Edward Day, CEA Counsel and lawyer, who represented the industry in the Betamax case.
Journalist:
The late Art Weinberg, who wrote about the industry for Home Furnishings Daily.
These leaders will be inducted into the CE Hall of Fame during CEA’s Industry Forum to be held in San Diego October 15-17, 2007. For more information about the program, visit www.CE.org.
