New Highlight to Mark the
Opening of photokina 2002:

Panel Discussion On the Future of the Imaging Industry CEOs of Agfa, Fuji, Kodak and Epson to Participate

 IBM, PMA and Future Image Also to Participate

Forbes Executive Editor Paul Maidment to Serve as Moderator

KölnMesse GmbH and the Photo Industry Association today announced that the chief executive officers of Agfa-Gevaert Group, Eastman Kodak Company, Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. and Seiko Epson Corp. - as well as executives from IBM Corp., PMA and Future Image Inc. - will serve as members of a marquee panel of industry visionaries who will discuss the changing landscape of the imaging industry at photokina 2002 (September 25 to 30) in Cologne. Additionally, influential journalist Paul Maidment of Forbes will serve as the panel's moderator.

KölnMesse GmbH and the Photo Industry Association, the organizers of photokina 2002, have scheduled the panel discussion as the opening event for the world's largest imaging trade show - the first time in photokina's 52-year history that such a high-level panel discussion has served as the opening event. The panel discussion, titled "Imaging Convergence. Market Convergence: Advances In Imaging Are Reshaping World Markets," will begin at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 25, in the Kristallsaal (Entrance 10/11 of the Cologne Exhibition Center). It is open to members of the media and the general photokina audience.

The following panelists will address topics such as how the convergence of imaging and information technology is reshaping the imaging industry, new technologies and trends, how companies can adapt to the changing industry, the nature of competition with new industry players, and the future of the industry:

- Dr. Ludo Verhoeven, chief executive officer, Agfa-Gevaert Group

- Daniel A. Carp, chairman and chief executive officer, Eastman Kodak Company

- Minoru Ohnishi, chairman and chief executive officer, Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd.

- Norio Niwa, senior managing director and chief executive, Seiko Epson Corp.

- Gail Whipple, vice president, Global Digital Media, IBM Corp.

- Ted Fox, chief operating officer, PMA (Photo Marketing Association International)

- Alexis J. Gerard, president, Future Image Inc.

Moreover, the organizers are continuing to recruit senior-level executives and visionaries of leading companies to serve as additional panelists.

Paul Maidment, editor of Forbes.com and executive editor of Forbes magazine, will serve as the moderator of the panel, guiding the exchange of ideas among the panelists. Maidment joined Forbes.com and Forbes in January 2001 after working for the Financial Times, where he was the founding editor of FT.com, the Financial Times' award-winning Web site. He also has served in various positions with Newsweek, The Economist and the Asian edition of The Wall Street Journal, as well as a broadcaster with the BBC and in Hong Kong.

"We are pleased to have attracted such a high-profile panel of industry executives and visionaries from the world's leading imaging and technology companies, and Mr. Maidment's role as moderator will ensure that the discussion is thought-provoking and lively," said Bernd Aufderheide, executive vice president of KölnMesse GmbH. "These executives and luminaries are leading the charge of a new industry shaped by the convergence of imaging and information technology, and their experiences and insights will make this a truly valuable event for the photokina audience."

"Industry leaders, analysts, journalists and others will be very interested to listen to this discussion, which will offer a roadmap for the future," said Rainer Schmidt, managing director, Photo Industry Association. "This panel will allow us to peer inside a crystal ball to see how the merging of imaging and information will transform our industry now and in the future."

(The conference will be held in English and Japanese with simultaneous translation into German resp. English)