Former President of Mexico joins Author Michael Treacy, scholar Tom Morris, and manufacturing leaders at QAD Global User Conference

QAD Inc., a leading provider of enterprise applications for global manufacturers, announced that Ernesto Zedillo, former president of Mexico and director, Yale Center for the Study of Globalization, will present at Explore 2004, QAD's annual user conference in Charlotte, North Carolina. Zedillo will join best-selling author and business consultant Michael Treacy and noted scholar Dr. Tom Morris to address business and technology leaders from the world's largest and most influential manufacturers, gathered to exchange ideas for achieving excellence and resolving issues as the sector continues to experience globalization.

"Leaders in management and manufacturing strategy inspire QAD customers with compelling and intriguing ideas to advance their businesses throughout the year, and our 2004 conference will be no exception," said Pam Lopker, QAD president and chairman of the board. "Ernesto Zedillo, Michael Treacy and Tom Morris will make Explore 2004 an engaging and productive forum on practices and technology required to innovate and compete effectively."

Explore is the most important single event for QAD customers, and the 2004 conference takes place May 23-26 at The Charlotte Convention Center. Participants will gain valuable insight into solving the latest manufacturing challenges, and have an opportunity to network with top manufacturers from around the world. Explore 2004 participants will consider urgent topics and trends such as outsourced manufacturing, improving the management of suppliers and customers, government and industry compliance, lean and other advanced manufacturing practices, emerging markets and global competition.

Ernesto Zedillo is renowned for his ascent from a working-class childhood to president of Mexico and now, director of the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization. His achievements and acumen have secured Zedillo's position as a thought leader on the global economy. His accomplishments include serving on the board of the Institute for International Economics, serving as a distinguished visiting fellow at the London School of Economics, and contributing as a regular columnist to Forbes magazine. Zedillo will provide QAD customers with a valuable perspective on the implications of globalization, developed through his years as a policy-maker. Zedillo's expertise and experience in international trade, finance, and the political economy will afford conference-goers especially deep insight into the important relationship between developed and developing countries.

From a distinguished career helping senior management teams of major corporations transform their businesses, market expert and author Michael Treacy has distilled essential strategies for achieving and managing superior growth. Treacy will share these strategies, as well as his Growth Portfolio concept for managing opportunity, a common-sense approach to achieving superior profitable growth, with Explore attendees. Co-author of the New York Times bestseller "The Discipline of Market Leaders," Treacy has just published "Double-Digit Growth: How Great Companies Achieve It -- No Matter What." He serves as chief strategist and co-founder of GEN3 Partners, a professional services firm focused on creating science-based product breakthroughs for a wide range of clients.

Scholar and prolific author Dr. Tom Morris will conclude Explore with his distinctive approach to today's business challenges. A popular business speaker in the United States, Morris applies the wisdom of history's greatest philosophers to the practical challenges of everyday life -- for extraordinary insight. Morris served as a professor of philosophy at the University of Notre Dame for 15 years, and his credentials include a PhD in both philosophy and religious studies from Yale University, as well as a stint as a rock guitarist. He has written 16 books including "True Success," "The Art of Achievement," and "If A