Dell Global Branding Chief Shawn Dennis Set to Highlight Tech Giant's Worldwide Branding Game Plan at Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council Summit 2005
Former VP of Marketing at the National Football League to Deliver Keynote at Flagship Event for More Than 1,500 High-Level Marketing Decision Makers

PALO ALTO, Calif. (October 5, 2005) -- Shawn Dennis, vice president, Global Branding at Dell and former VP and group head of marketing for the NFL, will be a keynote speaker at the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council’s Summit 2005 to be held October 27-28 in Monterey, Calif.

The CMO Council Summit is the premier networking and thought leadership event for the CMO Council, an organization of more than 1,500 senior marketing decision makers in the technology and telecom industries. Members control more than 45 billion in combined annual marketing expenditures and represent most major global brands.

As head of Global Branding at Dell, Dennis—responsible for consumer and business programs that build preference for the Dell brand on a worldwide basis—is well-suited to address the CMO Summit theme of “Delivering On-Demand™.” Her keynote presentation, “Optimizing the Global Brand; The New Game Plan at Dell,” will highlight the challenges of increasing Dell’s global brand presence as the company—which has generated $52.8 billion in revenue in the last four quarters—expands its diversified product portfolio.

“We’re looking to drive the Dell brand on a global scale to be prepared for the next volume of growth,” said Dennis. “Our business outside the U.S. is growing rapidly. How do we grow our brand to the next level, and, more tactically, how do we scale our global marcom efforts?”

In coming to Dell in January 2005, Dennis moved to one strong brand from another, having previously served as VP and group head of marketing for the National Football League. In 2004, the combined revenue of the league’s 32 teams was $5.3 billion, making it the most valuable and profitable team sport in the world, according to Forbes. “The NFL is such a great brand, with 85 years of history and heritage,” said Dennis. Given that 32 teams, sponsors and TV networks all have key roles in the branding of the league, Dennis said, “You learn a lot about the role of master brands and sub-brands, not to mention the role of fans as a very effective branding tool.”

Additionally, Dennis spent several years with MasterCard International in a variety of roles, including Vice President, Global Co-branding, where she led global business development efforts to launch new co-brand payment card programs. Prior to coming to the East Coast, Dennis spent over seven years in various marketing positions with Universal Studios, and has over 12 years of additional marketing and brand experience in a number of fields, including consulting, toys and consumer packaged goods with top global brands including Clorox, Paramount Parks and Kenner Toys.

“Dell’s unsurpassed ‘product-on-demand’ model truly parallels our CMO Summit Delivering On-Demand marketing message,” said Donovan Neale-May, executive director of the CMO Council. “We’re delighted to have Shawn Dennis address Dell’s strategies and challenges in advancing its brand on a global basis.”

CMO Summit 2005 will focus on the adoption and implementation of optimal marketing systems and practices to better serve channel and internal sales constituencies; further the delivery, availably and control of marketing content and digital assets, expedite go-to-market programs and streamline marketing processes; as well as introduce greater operational visibility, accountability and governance into the marketing organization.

A variety of topics will be presented from some of the most respected voices and top brands in the business and marketing communities, including Visa USA, HP, IBM, Oracle, Yahoo!, Xerox, and many more. The Summit is headline sponsored by Akamai, the global leader in distributed computing solutions and services; marketing intelligence specialist Biz360; and security and information integrity leader Symantec.

For more information on CMO Summit 2005 or to register, please go to www.cmosummit.org. CMO Summit attendees need to join the CMO Council first in order to attend this important event, and can nominate themselves at www.cmocouncil.org/nominations.html. There are no membership fees to join the Council, however applicants must hold a senior marketing position in a technology company to meet eligibility standards.

About the CMO Council

The CMO Council is an influential global affinity group dedicated to high-level knowledge exchange, thought leadership and personal relationship building among senior marketing and brand decision-makers. More than 1,500 technology companies are represented on the CMO Council, controlling more than $45 billion in annual marketing expenditures. For more information, please visit our web site at www.cmocouncil.org.

The CMO Council convenes under the auspices and administration of GlobalFluency, a Silicon Valley-based marketing and public relations network comprising 114 offices, 650 professionals and 41 agency partners in 72 countries. More information is available at www.globalfluency.com.