SSTY Chooses Philadelphia Executive to Build on the Success of Its Chinese Joint Venture
March 17 2006 - 9:14AM
PR Newswire (US)
Richard A. Bendis to Take Helm of Global Technology Company; Named
President/CEO of True Product ID, Inc. PHILADELPHIA, March 17
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sure Trace Security Corporation
(OTC:SSTY) today announced the appointment of Richard A. Bendis as
president and CEO of True Product ID, Inc. (TPID). Mr. Bendis was
most recently president and CEO of Innovation Philadelphia (IP), a
regional technology-based economic development organization, and he
will remain a member of the board of directors of Innovation
Philadelphia. Bendis brings to TPID a long and distinguished career
as entrepreneur, corporate executive, venture capitalist,
investment banker, and consultant in the technology and healthcare
industries. He is an international business consultant and featured
speaker to the United Nations, NATO, the European Commission, MITI,
and global technology-based enterprises and countries. James
MacKay, Chairman of both SSTY and TPID, said: "Over the last two
years in China we have built a solid foundation. From being invited
to The People's Great Hall, to joint ventures with government
agencies, to the signing of contracts. The government of China is
fully committed to leading the way to establishing a world standard
for authentication and anti- counterfeiting of all goods. And only
through a world standard can we protect the safety of the peoples
of the world and their governments. Governments lose through loss
of income from taxes. Terrorists use counterfeit goods to fund
their activities. People lose out through loss of jobs, and the
increased cost of goods due to counterfeiting. More importantly,
people's lives are lost due to fake products and fake
pharmaceuticals. With Rich, we can now help build a world standard
with China and the US leading the way. At the same time, we will
bring employment and commerce to Philadelphia and the US. Only
China and the US working together can achieve a world standard, and
Rich is the person to help deliver it. This world standard is being
built in the spirit of the Chinese Olympics: 'One World - One
Standard.'" Judith Rodin, President of the Rockefeller Foundation,
President Emerita of the University of Pennsylvania and former
Board Chair of Innovation Philadelphia, commented, "Rich Bendis is
a very innovative global business leader who understands that
implementation is the key to a successful organization. In the last
four years, I personally watched as he built an organization that
has successfully delivered exceptional results and received global
recognition." MacKay added: "Rich Bendis has the global marketing,
global business expertise and global network that will contribute
to our vision of becoming the world leader in the provision of
anti-counterfeiting, brand and product authentication, and security
products and services." As president and CEO of True Product ID,
Mr. Bendis will operate from the firm's newly established
Philadelphia headquarters and lead the efforts for expanding the
company's global presence as it capitalizes on the growing
international market for anti-counterfeiting and security
surveillance applications. The technology has applications across
multiple industries and geographies. The International Chamber of
Commerce estimates that seven percent of world trade are in
counterfeit goods and that the counterfeit market is worth over
$350 billion. This results in the loss of millions of dollars in
tax revenues and tens of thousands of jobs due to the manufacture,
distribution and sale of counterfeit goods. True Product ID has
developed technologies and related strategies to address the global
threat posed by counterfeiting. "This is a great opportunity to
develop True Product ID globally. The technology, the industry, the
potential market product growth, and the entrepreneurial spirit of
the company attracted me to this venture. I am especially pleased
that True Products ID will become a Philadelphia-based company and
there will be job growth and expansion in the future that will
further strengthen Philadelphia's position in the global Knowledge
Economy," stated Bendis. Prior to his appointment as IP's first
President and CEO, Bendis for the past twenty-five years has been
Chairman, President, or CEO of both public and private enterprises.
He successfully leveraged a career in the private sector with
companies including Quaker Oats, Polaroid, Texas Instruments,
Marion Laboratories and Kimberly Services and in the venture
capital industry to establish his own successful venture capital
firm, RAB Ventures, which made 15 investments in early-stage
technology and healthcare companies. Bendis also successfully built
an Inc. 500 healthcare software company, Continental Healthcare
Systems, Inc., which he took public on the NASDAQ and later sold to
an international conglomerate. As a leader who knows how to build
and launch successful organizations, he built the Kansas Technology
Enterprise Corporation (KTEC) into a globally recognized model for
technology-based economic development. Mr. Bendis was recruited to
Philadelphia in 2001 to serve as president and CEO of Innovation
Philadelphia, a public/private partnership dedicated to growing the
wealth and the workforce of the Greater Philadelphia Region. Under
his leadership, Innovation Philadelphia stimulated the local
technology scene for the Greater Philadelphia region by
establishing new and innovative programs in four distinct areas:
Direct Equity Investment/Financing Assistance; Technology
Commercialization; Global and Regional Economic Development; and
Market Research and Branding Philadelphia as a global Knowledge
Economy leader. Mr. Bendis currently serves on the board of
directors and is Chair of the Audit Committee and of PDG
Environmental, Inc. PDG Environmental, Inc., headquartered in
Pittsburgh, PA, is a leading provider of specialty contracting
services to commercial, industrial and governmental clients
nationwide through 18 U.S. offices. Mr. Bendis currently serves or
has served as a member of the following international, national and
regional organizations including: the Council on Competitiveness,
Eisenhower Fellowships Nominating Committee, founding member and
Board Member of the National Association of Seed and Venture Funds
(NASVF), Science Parks and Innovation Center Expert Group (SPICE),
founding member and Board Member - State Science and Technology
Institute, American Association for the Advancement of Science,
Governor's Appointee, member of the executive committee for the
National Governors' Association and Science and Technology Council,
The New York Academy of Sciences, National Business Incubation
Association, executive committee Greater Philadelphia Global
Partners, executive marketing and international committee for
Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, UNESCO Philadelphia
Executive Committee, World Trade Centers of Greater Philadelphia,
Temple University Center for International Business and Research
(CIBER), and the Drexel University Laurence A. Baiada Center for
Entrepreneurship in Technology. About Sure Trace Sure Trace
produces integrators for anti-counterfeiting and security
surveillance applications and is a provider of integrated tracking
devices. The Company intends to deliver turnkey solutions for
governments, armed forces, and industry, through its own
proprietary technology and through aggregating the technology,
products, and services of third parties via licensing agreements
and/or joint ventures. For more information go to:
http://www.suretrace.com/. SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT: This news release
contains "forward-looking statements" that are made pursuant to the
safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995. "Forward-looking statements" describe future
expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally
preceded by words such as "future," "plan" or "planned," "will" or
"should," "expected," "anticipates," "draft," "eventually" or
"projected." You are cautioned that such statements are subject to
a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future
circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those
projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks
that our products may not achieve customer acceptance or perform as
intended, that we may be unable to obtain necessary financing to
continue operations and development, and other risks. You should
consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements
included herein, and not place undue reliance on such statements.
The forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and
Sure Trace undertakes no obligation to update such statements. In
August 2005, the common stock of Sure Trace was suspended from
trading by the Securities and Exchange Commission, but the
suspension ended in accordance with the securities laws after ten
days. Management of Sure Trace is currently working with the
broker-dealer community and regulators to permit quotations to be
entered as soon as possible. More information will be provided to
the public when circumstances warrant. DATASOURCE: Sure Trace
Security Corporation CONTACT: Michael Cimino, President, Sure Trace
Security Corporation, +1-215-972-6999, Web site:
http://www.suretrace.com/
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