iXmatch President and CEO Appointed to the President’s Export Council

Prakash Puram joins the U.S. government's principal advisory body on international trade

Minneapolis, Minnesota – Dec. 6, 2005 – Prakash Puram, President and CEO of iXmatch, was recently appointed by President George W. Bush and was sworn-in today to the President’s Export Council by Secretary of Commerce Mr. Carlos M. Gutierrez in Washington, D.C.

In this new capacity, Mr. Puram will advise the President on government policies and programs that will further his commitment to strengthen the economy and level the international playing field.  ”We must take the pulse of the U.S. business community for America to compete and win in today's economy, which is why I am very pleased to welcome Prakash Puram to the President's Export Council," said U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez. “In this new capacity, he will advise the President on government policies and programs that will further his commitment to strengthen the economy, build stronger trade relations and level the international playing field.”

Puram’s business leadership and management experience is in the consumer and high-tech industries, at Honeywell, IBM, Pillsbury, and Unilever. “My experience in both technology and consumer-packaged goods, coupled with first hand knowledge of markets in India, China and the the former Soviet Union, give me a foundation on which to base my recommendations to Secretary Gutierrez and the President.  I am honored that President Bush has appointed me to this important role. It is a privilege to have the opportunity to serve the President and our nation,” he stated.

In his first meeting in Washington, D.C. today, he participated in a discussion of the Export Council’s recommendations on the issue of visas.  The Council’s letter stated that the easy and reliable movement of goods and people – always with due regard for national security and public safety – is essential to the ability to compete, grow and deliver gains for the U.S. economy and its citizens.  “We must improve the visa acquisition process to effectively compete for the same finite talent pool, something that other nations have targeted for pursuit at the national level,” stated Puram.

As the top advisory committee on global trade, the President's Export Council advises the President on government policies and programs that affect U.S. trade performance while providing a forum for discussing and resolving trade-related problems among the business, industrial, agricultural, labor and government sectors. For more information on the PEC and its membership, please visit http://www.ita.doc.gov/td/pec.

About iXmatch Inc.

iXmatch is a leading provider of advanced search software. It creates a positive impact on a customer’s business by presenting people with the most contextually-relevant information. iXmatch is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Its customers include Broward County (Florida), Carlson Companies, IDEAL Technology, F.W. Webb, 3M’s HighJump Software, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Pfizer, Pro Staff, Sagebrush Corporation, ShopNBC, Edgenet, Thomas Publishing, True, U.S. Department of Defense, and XIOtech. http://www.ixmatch.com.