This is the Year to Invest in CRM

Companies must leverage CRM investments to pump up profitability and customer loyalty in the current economic climate. This requires strategic planning along CRM thoughtlines, according to Steve Braun, president and CEO of Braun Consulting, a professional services firm. "It's time to deliver on the promises that CRM technology and strategic thinking have made to companies," Braun says. ino, who was recently chosen to lead Relizon's newly acquired business unit.

In his new role, Kennedy will continue to be responsible for all of Epsilon's technology implementations while assuming responsibility for its strategic direction in the marketplace.

As chief technology officer, Kennedy oversaw the architectural design, deployment, and management of all marketing solutions for Epsilon's clients. Prior to becoming CTO, Kennedy held dual positions of vice president of technology and general manager of loyalty management services at Epsilon. In these roles Kennedy managed large marketing solution design and implementation efforts for clients while developing strategies for growth and market penetration.

•Interactive Intelligence, a global developer of interaction management software, has named David Hudson as new vice president of sales for Asia Pacific and Japan. Hudson is based in Singapore and assumes his new role effective immediately.

Hudson brings with him 20 years of sales experience from companies such as 3M UK, Memorex Telex UK, BMC Software and, most recently, Remedy Corporation, which was acquired by Peregrine Systems in August 2001. Hudson served as senior account manager for enterprise software sales at Remedy from 1996 to 1998, before the company promoted him to senior regional director of Asia Pacific and Japan in 1999. Hudson was Remedy's top enterprise sales manager in Europe before his promotion, where he was responsib