[March 02, 2005] Alien Technology Announces Election of Thomas M. Coughlin, Retired Vice Chairman, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. to Alien Board of Directors Tweet MORGAN HILL, Calif. --(Business Wire)-- March 2, 2005 -- Alien Technology(R) today announced the election of Thomas M. Coughlin to the company's Board of Directors. Mr. Coughlin, former Vice Chairman, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., is widely recognized as a pioneer in leading the adoption of advanced information technologies, including RFID, to transform business processes and operational efficiency in retail. After 28 years with Wal-Mart, he retired from his executive management role with the company in January 2005. "We are extremely pleased that Tom has joined our board," said Tom Baruch, Chairman of the Board, Alien Technology, and Managing Partner and Founder of CMEA Ventures. "His vast industry experience and vision for the adoption of RFID in the retail industry will be valuable for Alien(R) as the company continues to pioneer development and implementation of RFID." "During the last quarter, Alien has added two distinguished pioneers in transformational business solutions to its Board, Thomas M. Coughlin, and C. Scott Hartz, former Global CEO of PwC Consulting. Their election underscores the company's commitment to leading the RFID industry to broad-based implementations," said David Shrigley, Alien Director, and General Partner of Sevin Rosen Funds. "I look forward to providing guidance and corporate governance for Alien, a company leading the development and rollout of RFID technology. I am delighted at the opportunity to continue to contribute to the adoption of RFID in retail as I had envisioned over 10 years ago," said Thomas M. Coughlin. As Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Coughlin was responsible for the U.S. operations of Wal-Mart Discount Stores, Supercenters, Neighborhood Markets, and SAM'S CLUBS, as well as Walmart.com. Prior to this position, he served as Executive Vice President and President and Chief Executive Officer of the Wal-Mart Stores Division and SAM'S CLUB (USA). Since joining Wal-Mart Stores in 1978, he served as Vice President of Loss Prevention, Vice President of Human Resources, Executive Vice President SAM'S Club Operations, Executive Vice President of Specialty Groups, and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Wal-Mart Store Operations. In the fall of 2001, he was elected to the Wal-Mart Board of Directors. Mr. Coughlin is affiliated with numerous boards and organizations including Wal-Mart Stores, California State Hayward Educational Foundation, ChoicePoint, Inc., Cleveland Clinic Foundation Board of Trustees, MD Anderson Advance Team, National Association of Chain Drug Stores, Northwest Arkansas Community College Foundation, St. Edwards High School, and Students in Free Enterprise. He was recently honored by the Bentonville Library Foundation with the announcement that he and his wife Cynthia will be the namesakes for the new "Coughlin Library" in Bentonville, Arkansas, a new facility under development as a result of a $4 million gift from the Walton Foundation. Coughlin received his Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science from California State University. About Alien Technology Alien Technology Corporation is a leading provider of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) products for global customers in government, retail, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, transportation, and other industries. Using its patented manufacturing process, Fluidic Self Assembly (FSA(R)), Alien manufactures EPC tags in very high-volumes and at low cost. The company also provides RFID readers for a variety of applications including supply chain management, logistics, and anti-counterfeiting, to improve inventory management and reduce operating costs. Alien is an active member of EPCglobal. More information about Alien Technology Corporation can be found on the Company's website at www.alientechnology.com. Alien, Alien Technology, the Alien logo, and FSA are trademarks or registered trademarks of Alien Technology Corporation in the United States and other countries. Copyright 2005 Alien Technology Corporation. All rights reserved. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]