Dave Barnes of UPS to speak at WorldFuture 2008

Dave Barnes, the senior vice president and CIO of UPS, has confirmed that he will speak at WorldFuture 2008, the annual conference of the World Future Society, on ways that businesses can keep customers satisfied in tomorrow’s tumultuous economy.

In his speech, which will take place Monday, July 28, during a 12:15 to 1:45 p.m. luncheon, Barnes will tell business professionals how they can give their customers greater individual attention, a feat that he says is more important than ever.

“Fueled by the Internet, customers can choose what they want, when they want it, and from whomever they choose,” he says. “To succeed, businesses of all sizes must continually deliver this personalized customer experience–whether wooing a new customer or resolving a problem for a long-standing one.”

WorldFuture 2008 will take place from July 26-28 at the Hilton Washington, Washington, D.C. Also presenting at this year's conference: life-cycle expert Maddy Dychtwald, noted sociologist Amitai Etzioni, NASA chief scientist Dennis M. Bushnell, bioethicist Arthur Caplan, and dozens more. Registration for the conference is $550 until April 30, $600 afterwards.

Founded in 1966 as a nonprofit educational and scientific organization in Washington, D.C., the World Future Society has members in more than eighty countries around the world. Individuals and groups from all nations are eligible to join the Society and participate in its programs and activities.

The Society holds a two-day, international conference once a year where participants discuss foresight techniques and global trends that are influencing the future. Previous conference attendees have included future U.S. President Gerald Ford (1974), Massachusetts Senator Edward M. Kennedy (1975), behavioral psychologist B.F. Skinner (1984), age-wave expert Ken Dychtwald (2005), U.S. Comptroller General David M. Walker (2006), and scientist and inventor Ray Kurzweil (2006).

For information about WorldFuture 2008, contact the World Future Society at 1-301-656-8274 or e-mail director of communications Patrick Tucker, ptucker@wfs.org, or Susan Echard, sechard@wfs.org, vice president for membership and conference operations, or check the World Future Society's Web site, www.wfs.org.