Premier Center for Customer Relationship Management Research to be Founded By Fuqua with Sponsorship From NCR

Duke University's Fuqua School of Business, with sponsorship from NCR Corporation, will found the NCR Center for CRM Research and Learning at The Fuqua School of Business to promote research and develop curricula to direct, facilitate and disseminate continuous learning and thought leadership in customer relationship management (CRM).

CRM is the strategic response of businesses to emerging technologies in interactivity, data collection, mass customization and tracking storage and management. The center will establish CRM as a science and address the growing shortage of skilled CRM practitioners though research, an annual conference and a journal.

Co-directors for the center have been named. Richard Staelin is the Edward and Rose Donnell professor and associate dean of executive education. Martha Rogers is an adjunct professor at Fuqua and a cofounder of Peppers + Rogers Group, a leading management consultancy specializing in CRM.

"Businesses will need skilled people in decision support, CRM and analytics," said Staelin. "The center will foster, shape and disseminate CRM research and curriculum design, resulting in a shift in the way corporations, students and academics view how to market to customers."

The center's advisory board will be led by NCR's Peter Heffring, head of their CRM solution division. Heffring was founder and former CEO of Ceres Integrated Solutions, a CRM software company acquired by NCR.

"Fuqua's existing leadership in CRM made it a natural partner for us," said Heffring. "Its capabilities combined with our experience in the business world will give CRM the firm academic standing it deserves and move it forward, both as a science and a practice."

NCR, a leader in Relationship Technology ^TM solutions, is contributing more than $1 million per year to the center in cash, tools and assistance. Funding is expected to last five years.