10.27.2006 - 05:57pm ET

(CSRwire) NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-The first-ever CRO Conference will draw 225 Corporate Responsibility Officers--reflecting the skyrocketing influence of corporate America's newest power role. Produced by The CRO--publishers of CRO Magazine--the one-day conference on November 1 in NYC features 17 speakers, including the Vice Chair of Citigroup Lewis Kaden, and top officers from Timberland, Schering-Plough, Pfizer, IBM, Xerox, the associate managing editor of the Wall Street Journal Alan Murray, top editor from Bloomberg News Martin Schenker, and Phat Farm Fashions and Def Jam founder and corporate activist Russell Simmons.

With Sarbanes-Oxley governance and compliance a constant business reality and consumer awareness of global warming and sustainability at an all-time high, the CRO Conference hits on themes ripped from today's headlines. In mid-October, 20,000-reader CRO Magazine featured The Gap's SVP Dan Henkle on the fashion retailer's infusion of its brand with a corporate responsibility message, inspired by rock band U2's lead singer Bono. Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons' presence in the conference lineup beside Citigroup's Vice Chair Lewis Kaden confirms the broad and deep impact of corporate responsibility on business today.

The magazine and conference are products of The CRO, the first corporate membership media platform focused on the $20 billion domestic "corporate responsibility" industry. Since its launch on August 1, 2006, The CRO has gathered nearly 100 corporate members, including Pepsi, Starbucks, IBM, Citigroup, Intel, Dell, Avon, Gap, Washington Mutual, Mattel, Ecolab, Baldor Electric, Stanford, Harvard, Columbia, LRN, OPI, OCEG, SHRM and many others.

The presence of business media heavyweights such as Alan Murray of the Wall Street Journal and Martin Schenker of Bloomberg News at the CRO Conference underscores how top-of-mind corporate stakeholder accountability has become. Former Wall Street Journal and ABC News reporter Michael Connor is Chair of the CRO Conference and editor and publisher of CRO Magazine. The CRO acquired Connor's Business Ethics magazine in August, 2006.

"Press interest in The CRO and the CRO Conference is unusually high," says The CRO's CEO Jay Whitehead. "To get 25 business media editors, writers and reporters to pre-register for a business conference is extraordinary, and reflects the sudden importance of the Corporate Responsibility Officer role. But the rapid uptake in big-name corporate membership since August 1 is an even more important indicator."

About The CRO

Launched August 1, 2006 by business media veterans Jay Whitehead, CEO and Michael Connor, Editor and Publisher, The CRO is the leading corporate membership media platform in corporate responsibility. The CRO's media products include CRO Magazine, TheCRO.com, CRO Conference and webinars. The CRO covers governance, compliance, ethics, corporate social responsibility, investor relations, citizenship, socially responsible investing, sustainability, philanthropy and related topics. Members include 100+ corporations including IBM, Pepsi, Citigroup, Avon, Mattel, Washington Mutual, Stanford, Harvard, UCLA, Columbia, OCEG, LRN, OPI, and others. Headquartered in New York City and Roseland, NJ. More information at TheCRO.com.


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