SAS CEO Dr. Jim Goodnight will visit India for the first time next month to co-chair sessions at the World Economic Forum's India Economic Summit in New Delhi. Goodnight also will meet with key government officials and business leaders and also call on SAS clients in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. SAS is the world's largest privately held software company and leader in business intelligence.

Goodnight will co-chair a session on "Unleashing India's ICT (information and communication technology) Potential" with N.R. Narayana Murthy, chairman of the board of Infosys. The panel will include India's union minister for communications and information technology, Dayanidhi Maran.

Goodnight will also co-chair a session on "India and the USA: Much Room to Improve." This panel will include Shyam Saran, India's Foreign secretary.

The 20^th India Economic Summit, to be held in partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry, will be inaugurated by the Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh. It will bring together Indian and international business leaders, government officials, experts and representatives of civil society to work together to assess the country's achievement in areas of priority for its sustained economic progress. The other co-chairs include Rahul Bajaj, Chairman and Managing Director, Bajaj Auto, India; Rolf-Ernst Breuer, chairman of the supervisory board, Deutsche Bank, Germany; M. Shafik Gabr, chairman and CEO, Artoc Group for Investment and Development, Egypt; and Michelle Guthrie, CEO, Star Group, Hong Kong SAR.

Goodnight founded SAS in 1976. The company has grown from a start-up to a $1.34 billion entity. In India, SAS enjoys a leading share of the business intelligence software market at 22.5 percent (Source: Frost & Sullivan).

On the product front, SAS is credited with continuous innovation, making its technology offerings increasingly user-friendly and scalable, and revolutionizing the way in which data and applications are shared. The company's strong R&D capabilities have helped it to consistently deliver breakthrough technologies on the business analytics front.

Commenting on Goodnight's visit, Sudipta Sen, CEO of SAS India, said: "Since its inception in India in 1997, SAS India has grown from strength to strength. Today, India is a key market and a global R&D center for SAS. Jim Goodnight's visit will go a long way in reiterating the company's commitment to India as well as highlighting the tremendous potential this market holds for us."