Mark Taft, Ringmaster

Mark Taft, global vice president (at ABB it seems to matter where the word "global" appears in your job title) talked logistics and safety in his opening and welcome. There are more than 2400 attendees, with no final total yet because of the large number of walk-ins--38 countries represented--and with over 40,000 square feet of exhibit space. That last is about one-third of the total exhibit space at the ISA Expo. Taft also talked about knowledge management and pointed out my hobbyhorse: we're losing experienced people at a faster rate than we're replacing them. He concluded with a plea for collaboration. Walt Boyes BlackBerry service provided by Nextel