(New York City) CRO Conference Chair Michael Connor announced today that one of America's most successful modern entrepreneurs and corporate activists, Russell Simmons, will be a featured speaker on November 1, 2006 at the Marriott New York Financial Center. The "Fireside Chat With Russell Simmons," will be a highlight of the CRO Conference's 20-speaker roster that includes The Wall Street Journal Assistant Managing Editor Alan Murray, Triple Bottom Line best-selling author Andy Savitz, Citigroup Vice Chairman Lewis Kaden, and senior corporate responsibility practitioners from Pfizer, Xerox and Timberland, among others.

"Russell Simmons has been at the forefront of many modern cultural movements, driving social change," said Chair Michael Connor, Editor and Publisher of Business Ethics and The CRO Magazines. "His participation will enlighten our audience, and reinforce the importance of corporate responsibility."

Russell Simmons attended the City College of New York and quickly became instrumental in bringing hip-hop to every facet of business and media since its inception in the late 1970s. His success is evident across many industries: music, fashion, TV and film, financial services, and philanthropy. In 1995, along with his brothers Danny Simmons and Joseph "Rev. Run" Simmons, he founded Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation. The organization is dedicated to providing disadvantaged urban youth with significant exposure and access to the arts, as well as offering exhibition opportunities to underrepresented artists and artists of color. Following the historic Hip-Hop Summit he organized in June 2001, Russell founded the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN) to harness the cultural relevance of hip-hop music as a catalyst for education advocacy and other societal concerns fundamental to the well being of at-risk youth throughout the United States. Currently, Russell also serves as the Chairman of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, a non-profit organization dedicated to strengthening relations between ethnic communities.

Tangie Murray, Executive Director of Rush Philanthropic, says, "Russell's participation at the CRO Conference underscores Rush Philanthropic's ongoing focus of working alongside corporations to meet the needs of disadvantaged youth in the most relevant, effective ways possible." In its first 11 years, Rush Philanthropic has directed millions in funding from donors that include leading corporations, giving out more than 620 community grants and impacting the lives of more than 700,000 children. The foundation has established two arts exhibition and education facilities, Corridor Gallery in Brooklyn's Clinton Hill neighborhood and Rush Arts Gallery in Manhattan's Chelsea, and is planning to open an arts education and resource center in East New York, Brooklyn in the coming year. In 2005, the foundation's Art For Life benefits raised more than $2 million.

"The CRO Conference demonstrates that whether your professional focus is financial reporting, CSR, public affairs, corporate communications, investor relations, SRI, compliance, ethics, sustainability or philanthropy, you are functioning as a CRO," says Jay Whitehead, CEO of The CRO, the producer of the conference. "By helping to integrate and further professionalize these related disciplines, membership in The CRO boosts the bottom-line impact of CROs everywhere."

The inaugural CRO Conference ( www.thecro.com) will be held one day only on November 1, 2006 at the Marriott New York Financial Center. The CRO Conference attendance is open only to members of The CRO. Since its inception in August, 2006, The CRO has attracted over 100 corporate members, including Mattel, Avon, Gap, Inc., Intel, DELL, Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation, The CSR Group, Ecolab, Stanford, Columbia, and Harvard Universities.

ABOUT RUSH PHILANTHROPIC ARTS FOUNDATION

Founded in 1995 by brothers Russell, Danny and Joseph Simmons, Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation is dedicated to providing disadvantaged urban youth with significant exposure and access to the arts, as well as providing exhibition opportunities to under-represented artists and artists of color. While its primary emphasis is the arts, Rush Philanthropic is committed to the general well being of young people by considering a wide range of concerns. A 501(C)3 organization, Rush Philanthropic fulfills its mission through three core programs: grants, exhibitions and mentoring. The Rush Community Grants Program annually provides direct funding to over 70 nonprofit organizations that offer education programming in all disciplines of the arts to New York City youth. Rush also runs two arts exhibition and education facilities: Rush Arts Gallery and Resource Center in Manhattan's Chelsea arts district and the Corridor Gallery in Brooklyn's Clinton Hill neighborhood. Our Rush Kids Visual Arts Mentorship Programs use arts education to create a spark that fires the imagination and creativity of the urban youth we serve. The Rush Impact Mentorship Initiative allows the foundation's leadership to reach out to young people by taking them behind the scenes at Rush Communications' headquarters for in-depth Q&A sessions with Russell Simmons and executives in music, fashion, and creative-related professions. Rush Philanthropic believes in the vital importance of lifelong exposure to the arts, nurtured in early childhood, and anchored in sustained, creative experiences throughout one's life.

ABOUT THE CRO

The CRO, publisher of The CRO Magazine, TheCRO.com and producer of The CRO Conferences, is the media voice of the $20 billion Corporate Responsibility industry. Founded in 2006 by professional media veteran Jay Whitehead and Business Ethics Magazine owner Michael Connor, The CRO is a corporate membership organization whose mission is to increase the strategic impact of Corporate Responsibility Officers (CROs) by further professionalizing and integrating 3 related disciplines: a) Audit, Risk Management, Compliance & Ethics, b) Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and c) Socially Responsible Investing (SRI), Sustainability and Philanthropy. Corporate members include corporate practitioners, professional service providers and influencers (NGOs and government). www.thecro.com

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