U.S. BUSINESS LEADERS TO VISIT AZERBAIJAN

Baku, February 27, 2004
The U.S. Embassy is pleased to announce that Business Executives for National Security (BENS) will visit Azerbaijan on February 28 - 29, 2004. Retired USAF General Charles Boyd will lead the thirteen-member delegation of top American business leaders. During their visit, BENS members will meet with various Azerbaijani Government representatives in order to promote U.S.-Azerbaijan bilateral cooperation.
Business Executives for National Security (BENS) is non-partisan organization of high-level military and civilian leaders that works cooperatively with the U.S. government to bring the business experience and expertise of its members to develop practical, real world solutions to issues of national security. BENS focuses on two central national security themes: developing new tools to combat security threats that cannot be deterred or negotiated away, and finding resources to rebuild the U.S. military for the 21st century.
In addition to General Boyd, the BENS group members visiting Azerbaijan include: Mary McInnis Boies, President of Boies & McInnis LLP; James A. Cannavino, CEO of CyberSafe Inc.; Frank J. Caufield of Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers; Maurice Greenberg, CEO of American International Group inc.; James V. Kimsey, Founder of America Online; Randolph Lerner, Chairman of MBNA Corporation; Ramon Marks of Dorsey & Whitney; Stephen McClellan, First Vice President/Managing Director of Merril Lynch & Company, Inc.; John Morgridge, Chairman of the Board for Cisco Systems; Frank Pearl, Chairman and CEO of Perseus, Inc.; Major General James Darden, and Lieutenant Colonel Terry Dickensheet.